Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, President, Detroit Branch NAACP
“We had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the electoral college. I guess the final numbers are now 306.” These are the words of President Donald J. Trump following his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton. Trump lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. He is only one of five U.S. Presidents who have been elected despite losing the popular vote. John Quincy Adams 1824, Rutherford B. Hayes 1876, Benjamin Harrison 1888, George W. Bush 2000, and Donald Trump 2016 lost the popular vote. Back then, Mr. Trump tweeted, “in addition to winning the electoral college in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who vote illegally.” If one uses that same standard for today’s election, President-Elect Joe Biden has won the electoral college by a landslide at 306 to Donald Trump’s 232. Even more significant is Joe Biden winning the popular vote with over 5 million more votes than Donald Trump. The most recent numbers reflect a margin of 77.9 million for Joe Biden to 72.6 million for Donald Trump. Can we stop the madness? Face it Mr. Trump, it is over. This madness lies in President Trump’s refusal to accept the decision of the American people to vote for whom they want as President. This madness is rooted in Republican leaders playing footsie with words and actions, refusing to recognize President-Elect Joe Biden as the choice of the majority of Americans. This madness is in the refusal of the current President to give the go-ahead to members of his staff to cooperate and provide essential information to the Biden Transition Team. It is in the refusal to provide financial resources and sensitive intelligence information to Mr. Biden, further putting the security of the nation at risk. It is demonstrated by a lame duck Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declaring, “there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump Administration.” It is made even more pathetic by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell playing the game of horseshoe politics. Close but not quite a President-Elect.
This kind of behavior diminishes the status of our nation and casts a shadow over our democracy. Frivolous lawsuits are being tossed out all over the country. Judges recognize what this really is, a fantasy in search of a tv show. In Wayne County, Judge Timothy M. Kenny ruled that an effort to stop the certification of the vote in Wayne County (emphasis placed on Detroit) pending an audit of the count, could have detrimental effects on the whole state. This could hinder all of Michigan’s certification of the vote. Judge Kenny said, “it would be an unprecedented exercise of judicial activism for this court to stop the certification process.” As everyone knows, Republicans simply detest judicial activism. Trump loss the state of Michigan by 150,000 votes. He won Michigan in 2016 by 10,704 votes. No one filed a lawsuit over his win. Electors were not threatened regarding their vote in Michigan. The complaint over the election in Arizona has been withdrawn by the Trump team where Biden has won by nearly 12,000 votes. Donald Trump won Arizona by 91,234 votes in 2016. President-Elect Biden won Pennsylvania by 60,000 votes. Trump won Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes in 2016. The law firm of Porter, Wright, Morris, and Arthur withdrew its participation in a complaint which alleged “the use of mail in ballots had created a two-tiered voting system in the state.” In Georgia, Mr. Biden has won by a margin of 14,000 votes. President Trump won Georgia by 200,000 votes in 2016.
Georgia law allows a candidate to request a recount if the margin between candidates is less than or equal to 0.5%. The Georgia recount is underway. Recounts only make a difference in small numbersThey do not change the outcome of elections in the hundreds of thousands or millions. One has to ask the question, why have these lawsuits been filed in predominately African American cities and voting districts? Cities like Detroit, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. Have there not been cases of voting irregularities in cities or counties in other areas of the nation? As a matter of fact, if one goes up north in Michigan, Antrim County election results had to be corrected. Initial results had Joe Biden winning the county. The results now show President Trump winning the county by more than 2,000 votes. According to Michigan’s Secretary of State, a mistake occurred because of a user error by the Antrim County Clerk. The state also indicated that the error did not affect the tabulation of the ballots. There has not been any complaint filed against Antrim County for election irregularities by Mr. Trump who won, or Mr. Biden who lost. Trump has called for the vote to be stopped in places where he is losing and called for the vote to be counted in places he is winning. The world is waiting on America to be the leader once again of democratic practices and principles. Stop the madness.
World leaders in Britain, Germany, France, Ireland, Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the list grows by the hour, have recognized President-Elect Joe Biden. It is the height of arrogance and political malfeasance that the so-called Republican leaders in the Senate and the House have not done so in their own nation. The Department of Homeland Security has declared that “the November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.” Our nation should not be held hostage from its forward progress by the antics of a 74-year old man. He is not a 4-year- old toddler having a temper tantrum in a supermarket because his mother will not let him have any candy. He is the President of the United States, the most powerful nation on the globe. We have a pandemic killing over 240,000 people. We suffer from major political division and an economy that needs special attention. The people need hope and stability, not despair and cruelty. Back in the day, my grandmother would cut the cake to give us all a slice as we stood waiting patiently in line. My cousins and I would make comparisons about who got the biggest piece. If anyone complained or had a tantrum, she would take the piece you had and put it back on the cake plate. If you made too much of a fuss, you got a whooping. She would say you obviously are not grateful for what you have. Well, the people have cut the cake. Joe Biden got the biggest piece. Mr. Trump, you got a piece. You should be grateful for what you had for the past four years. On November 3rd, you got a whooping. It is time now to take your cake and eat it too. Stop the madness. It is a landslide!
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