10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

Americans Agree on One Thing: They Fear Political Violence

Tuesday will make the 44th election I have covered.  I have voted in each of those elections, so naturally I have my preferences—candidates I want to see elected or re-elected, and candidates I hope lose.

But this is the first General Election where my primary interest is that nothing bad happen. I don’t believe we will have any trouble in West Virginia, but I worry about other parts of the country.

And I’m not alone in my concerns.

A Washington Post-ABC News Poll last week found that 88 percent of voters are either very concerned or somewhat concerned “about the increased risk of politically motivated violence.”

Good Lord!

What does that say about the health of our democracy, when nearly nine out of ten Americans believe the essential process of electing our political leaders may cause people to get hurt, property to be damaged or both?

The fear is bipartisan.

When asked who might be responsible for the violence, 31 percent said the Republican Party, 25 percent said the Democratic Party and 32 said they blame both parties. That 32 percent stands out because it confirms that a narrow plurality is worried that the two major parties will be disruptive.

We have had sore losers as long as there have been elections, although the overwhelming majority of the defeated have had the decency to accept the outcome and, if they choose, live to fight another day.

However, as our politics have become more tribal and angrier, the losing side increasingly claims wrongdoing as a reason for their defeat.

For Democrats, that is typically the claim of “voter suppression.” Many Republicans, motivated by Donald Trump’s false claims of a “stolen election,” have coalesced around a narrative of fraud that culminated in January 6th.

The Washington Post reported, “A dozen Republican candidates in competitive races for Governor and Senate have declined to say whether they would accept the results of their contests.”

On the Democratic side, Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams never accepted her loss to Brian Kemp in 2018.  Many Democrats were stunned by Trump’s victory in 2016 and remained in denial about the outcome.

The growing intolerance of election outcomes badly undermines democracy. How can people have faith in their government when their leaders raise doubts about the government’s legitimacy?

In 2020, a mob stormed the United States Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. They failed. Hopefully, an insurrection like that will never happen again, in Washington or anywhere else in this country.

However, the survey indicates almost all American voters fear it just might.

 

 

 

 





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