Under Barrack Obama, one of the reasons people screamed “bloody murder” over Common Core Standards in public schools was they thought the Federal government was prying into their lives and attempting to mine personal information about their children. Now, under the presidency of Obama’s successor, the man most of these people voted for and support, the Federal government is truly digging for personal information. What gives? Where is the outcry that Washington is sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong? Where is the outrage over the millions of dollars being spent to fund President Trump’s Commission on Election Integrity, which is little more than an excuse to collect personal data on citizens and stroke the President’s ego? The Commission says they only want to “root out” voter fraud; therefore, it is okay for Washington to ask states for the names, birth dates, and social security numbers of state citizens. Hogwash! The Commission on Election Integrity is a barefaced example of government infringement on the rights of private citizens.
Fortunately, at least one Mississippi state official, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, has taken a stand against President Trump’s commission and says he will deny access to confidential voter information. Maybe, he recognizes, like so many others across the nation, little if any voter fraud took place during the Presidential election, or maybe, he is simply doing his job and standing up for the privacy of Mississippi citizens. Most likely, he is doing both. The fact that he has the courage to tell the Feds to “go jump in the Gulf of Mexico” is a testament to his integrity and commitment to do right by state citizens. Kudos to Mr. Hosemann!
The fact the voter fraud debate is still circulating when there is no proof, only speculation about possible fraud, is ridiculous. The election is over and the verdict is final; Donald Trump won the election by the same process as Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barrack Obama. It is senseless for Trump detractors as well as Donald Trump to continue to fuel the issue that never was. Like him or not, Donald Trump did what he needed to do to win the election, and the Democrats did not. He was elected by the same electoral college that elected every President that preceded him, so the Democrats and other naysayers need to accept the verdict and move on. In the 2016 Presidential election, the popular vote was not the deciding factor nor does it matter; the electoral college was the balancing factor that mattered.
Donald Trump also needs to get his ego under control and accept he did not win the popular vote. “Trumping up” bogus voter fraud speculation to justify his failure to win the popular vote will not change that fact. He needs to accept that he is simply not as popular as he thinks and understand that if there was truly widespread voter fraud, as he claims, he most likely would have lost the election. To anyone with a lick of common sense, it is obvious the whole popular vote issue is built on hard feelings on the Democratic side and vanity on the Trump side. Both sides need to get over it; there are much bigger fish to fry than a petty popular vote vs electoral college vote debate.
Thank God, at least one public official, Delbert Hosemann, seems to recognize a non-issue when he sees one and has the courage and integrity to say so. Mr. Hoseman has it right, and it is time President Trump, the Democrats, Trump haters, and Trump supporters stop sending this country on “wild goose” chases.
Thank you, Mr. Hosemann for stepping up.
JL
©Jack Linton, July 2, 2017
I Don't Mean to Offend, but . . . . 