AndyO Blog

I just read that Trump is doubling down on his challenge to overturn the election. OK, this man has continued to yell “Fire!” to the entire country, where there are clearly no widespread conflagrations. There’s not even a wisp of smoke. Can you imagine someone repeatedly calling the fire department because they think there might be a fire nearby?

“If you people would just start looking around in basements and backyards, I’m sure you’d find some spark somewhere.”

After the second or third false alarm, the firefighters would be correct to question the president’s mental state. They’d be in their right to fine him for the false alarms, even though he’d sue them—because that’s what solves everything. 

Now we’re hearing about more of Trump’s desperate plans, like bringing in the military to run another election. It’s as if he’s calling fire stations outside his neighborhood to come in and investigate—because the local ones are incompetent. 

Someone is incompetent.

1. Biden won the Electoral and Popular Vote for the 2020 Presidential Election.
2. Anyone asking for the will of people to be overturned without evidence is not interested in democracy or the rule of law.
3. Party leaders who don’t stand up to a lawless president are complicit in the erosion of democracy.
4. We’ve reached a point where the flaws in the system have been exposed, and we can no longer rely on good intentions for presidents and other elected officials. What is expected must now be codified into law. 
5. Candidates running for office must release all taxes and financial information and put all investments into a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest. If they’d rather be in business instead of politics, then they shouldn’t run for office. 
6. Lying is not the same as free speech and should carry legal consequences. Any elected official who deliberately spreads misinformation and is charged with doing so can be prosecuted—even the president.
7. Running for office should require prerequisites. Presidential candidates should have at least four years of experience as an elected official at the federal or state level. 
8. Citizens United and the dirty money it’s allowed into our system should be struck down.
9. We should change the presidential election to a popular vote so all citizens have equal say.
10. Pardons and commutations must go through a thorough review before being carried out to guard against conflict of interest. Pardons for friends, colleagues, loyalists, or anyone else with personal ties will not be permitted.