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In the latest liberal take on a potential Democrat defeat in November, “law-and-order” Republicans are being urged to vote for Joe Biden to avoid riots that will be triggered by President Trump’s reelection.
The argument for the election of the Democratic presidential nominee as a way to avoid tantrums by his supporters if he loses was presented in an opinion piece published in The Atlantic, the same left-wing outlet that was called out earlier this month for claiming Trump had disparaged U.S troops.
Author and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Shadi Hamid, posited that if Trump is reelected, Democrats “and others on the left will be unwilling, even unable, to accept the result” in a piece titled: “The Democrats May Not Be Able to Concede.”
While clarifying at the outset that he does not believe that President Trump “is a fascist or a dictator in the making,” and he does not believe “America is a failed state,” Hamid worried that a Trump victory will certainly “undermine faith in democracy, resulting in more of the social unrest and street battles” that have played out in Democrat-run cities over the last few months.
“For this reason, strictly law-and-order Republicans who have responded in dismay to scenes of rioting and looting have an interest in Biden winning—even if they could never bring themselves to vote for him,” he wrote.
“I struggle to imagine how, beyond utter shock, millions of Democrats will process a Trump victory,” he continued, claiming Biden has been “the clear favorite all summer.”
“If Democrats can’t beat a candidate as unpopular as Trump during a devastating pandemic and a massive economic contraction, then are they even capable of winning presidential elections anymore? Democracy, after all, is supposed to self-correct after mistakes, particularly mistakes as egregious as electing Donald Trump—whose unfitness for the nation’s highest office makes itself apparent with almost every passing day,” the Atlantic contributing writer contended.
Hamid went on to recall the shock of Trump’s 2016 victory and how it was blamed on a manipulated electorate and even Russian interference, lamenting “how bad, and exhausting, a president” Trump turned out to be.
In some eyebrow-raising acrobatics, the writer compared Biden’s current lack of engagement versus that of failed 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton as a bonus for Democrats.
‘Moreover, Hillary Clinton was an unusually polarizing candidate, whereas Joe Biden tends to attract attention for not attracting attention,’ he wrote.
Clinton recently declared that “Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances,” as Democrats have been pushing the narrative for weeks that Trump will not leave office quietly or willingly. She also warned that Trump might try to “steal” the election.
‘Take it from me’: Hillary Clinton can’t get over 2016, warns Trump might ‘sneak or steal’ the election https://t.co/j3qvYJtrYW via @BIZPACReview
— Jack Furnari (@JackBPR) August 20, 2020
“If Trump manages to win, recent polling data indicate, he will likely do so despite losing the popular vote. That will fuel disillusion not just with the election outcome but with the electoral system,” he claimed, adding that it could spark a “mass movement” to change America’s voting system.
“A certain kind of cognitive dissonance—the gap between what is and what should be—can fuel revolutionary sentiment, and not just in a fluffy, radical-chic kind of way. In such situations, acting outside the political process, including through nonpeaceful means, becomes more attractive, not necessarily out of hope but out of despair,” Hamid argued.
“The gap will grow larger under a Trump presidency than a Biden one, and this has implications for mass unrest and political violence across American cities,” he predicted. “For democracy to work, the losers of elections need to believe that they can win the next time around. Otherwise their incentives to play the spoiler increase.”
Ironically, Hamid was slammed by liberals for focusing attention on the wrong thing and worrying about Democrats having a meltdown if Trump wins.
I’m not sure I’ve read anything so cynical & yet so naive. The right has already shredded our institutions. Trump is holding super-spreader rallies & talking about 12 more years. The country is literally on fire. And you’re worried about the left? What even?
— Laura Ruby (@thatlauraruby) September 13, 2020
Finally, someone with the bravery to say the most useless thing
— antifa customer service (@jesseltaylor) September 13, 2020
Thank you for printing this utter nonsense. Before I saw the headline, I was considering a subscription to @TheAtlantic .
— Bummerman (@cgoodrich66) September 13, 2020
I don’t understand, so You’re not worried about Biden winning and Republicans not accepting the results and armed militia roaming the streets with the explicit encouragement of Trump?
— قـُرص (@Ta3meya) September 13, 2020
Others called out the ridiculous premise by Hamid and criticized The Atlantic, which also came under fire recently for another op-ed which demanded the Nobel Peace Prize should be cancelled after Trump was nominated twice.
I consider this voter intimidation.
— MrMonkeyMonk (@MrMonkeyMonk) September 14, 2020
The left always thinks their opponents would react the same as they would.
— Michael Sweet (@MzeeTamu) September 14, 2020
I wish places like The Atlantic, NYTimes, and WaPo understood that they can’t compartmentalize the credibility of op-ed pieces. Publishing twaddle and propaganda like this doesn’t make them look detached and unbiased, it makes them look like they have no editorial standards. https://t.co/wgLm9Y2rwn
— Max Kennerly (@MaxKennerly) September 14, 2020
100+ days of rioting now, would anyone really notice if they just continued?
— Gina Marie (@Raney__Nickel) September 14, 2020
Increasingly it sounds like the Dems know they’re going to lose, and are trying to figure out how to snatch victory from defeat. They’ll pull every dirty trick they can think of, including the extortion gambit in this article.
— Charles Gomez (@cgomez000) September 14, 2020
Increasingly it sounds like the Dems know they’re going to lose, and are trying to figure out how to snatch victory from defeat. They’ll pull every dirty trick they can think of, including the extortion gambit in this article.
— Charles Gomez (@cgomez000) September 14, 2020
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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