In the stretch run of the campaign, Trump warned his supporters that “we are competing in a rigged election” and demurred from saying in advance that he would accept the results. Democrats lamented Trump’s rhetoric as tantamount to the end of democracy, but when he pulled off a stunning upset, they immediately resorted to rigged charges of their own. Trump hadn’t really won; the election had been stolen in a smoke-filled room somewhere in the Kremlin.
The charges and countercharges contrast with the bygone era when national politicians avoided public allegations of foul play even when they might legitimately suspect it. Richard Nixon didn’t contest his razor-thin defeat in the 1960 presidential election, despite doubts about the vote count in Illinois and Texas. He thought it wouldn’t be good for the country, whereas now charges of rigging are the default. With trust in most American institutions badly eroded over the past 40 years, such accusations find a ready audience — and do their part to undermine trust a little bit more.
The idea that whatever we don’t like about our country is the handiwork of shadowy forces is a form of paranoia, certainly when it involves systems as large, diverse, and uncontrolled as our politics or our economy. But there is a certain comfort in this mindset. It provides a ready, simple explanation for unwelcome trends or outcomes, and fixes responsibility for our troubles on an enemy. It implicitly promises not so much the creation of a set of truly neutral rules or more legitimate institutions than simple vengeance against those who are allegedly responsible for the rigging.
In other words, it heralds a particularly nasty politics, and, increasingly, it’s the one thing that unites the Right and Left.
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