“If you want to win, make your own rules” (an old football coach)
Inflection Point
November, 2026 may well be what history calls an “inflection point”. What direction will the United States take? Will Americans endorse more authoritarian rule by the Trump Administration, more Federal intrusion into private lives, more wealth moving from the masses to the few at the top? Or will a Congress get elected that’s willing to stand up for Article I of the Constitution, redeem the power to declare war, stand in front of the Supreme Court and the President as the lawmaking power? It’s not just that the November elections are important. The 2026 choice may be the last, best chance that Americans have for a free and fair election.
Ohio
I live in Ohio. The “Safe Act” now in Congress, is politically designed to reduce the voting population by making it more difficult for millions to vote. Much of that Act is already the law here in the Buckeye State. Our gerrymandered state legislature knows no boundaries when it comes to pursuing the MAGA agenda. Even the Republican Governor, Mike DeWine, is unable to curb their enthusiasm for legislating elections, bringing religiosity to school curriculum, interfering in personal rights, and transferring wealth to the already wealthy, as quickly as possible.
Democrats in Ohio have strong candidates for some offices. Sherrod Brown is running for the US Senate again, this time facing the appointed Senator John Husted. Amy Acton, the former state health director, has a well-financed campaign to counter Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s personal wealth of billions. But I’m not holding my breath. The “game” of politics ain’t “ tidily winks” here in Ohio; and Republicans here, like those in Texas, will do whatever it takes to remain in power. But “us Democrats” will fight the good fight. I hope that a national “Blue Tide” will rise high enough to float even our boat.
Rigged Elections
But what about the rest of the nation?
Let’s dispense with the ridiculousness. There are virtually no “undocumented” voters in the United States. Even the Republican “think tank”, the authors of “Project 2025″, the Heritage Foundation, agrees. But, the Republican Party, all the way to the Speaker of the House , the Vice President and Trump himself, claims that the only way Democrats can win is through “criminal, illegal voters”.
That works two ways. First, if they can use that line of “bull” to pass the Safe Act through Congress, they can keep millions of legal US citizens, particularly those of color or women, (and more particularly women of color), from voting. Women of color are a huge, largely Democratic voting block (see Georgia). Reducing their influence would be a huge win for Republicans.
Never Lose
But even if they can’t get the votes to pass the Act in Congress, they are setting up their post-election strategy. If Republicans win, that’s only because the “overcame the cheating”. And if they lose, they can say “we told you so”, and try to block the legitimate electoral outcomes. Already, Federal Courts have accepted purely falsified conjectures about the 2020 election to issue subpoenas for ballots (Atlanta). Once the Trump Department of Justice gets hold of the election results, who knows what might happen.
It’s been the Republican talking point since 2016. And it’s achieved one goal: millions of Americans are convinced that elections in “other states” (blue states) are rigged. What was an American norm, beginning with John Adams leaving Washington DC to his opponent Thomas Jefferson, is now altered. Nixon didn’t contest his 1960 loss to Jack Kennedy. Gore went to the Nation to tell us to accept the Supreme Court decision giving Bush the Presidency in 2000. John McCain and Hillary Clinton both conceded their losses and wished their opponents well. But now, Republicans don’t ever “lose”, they simply claim the election was stolen.
Stop the Steal
Trump tried to “stop the steal” in 2020. He’s still whining about that election. He was ready to contest a Biden win in 2024. And now, he’s trying to gain the power to actually steal an election himself. That is, if he can find a way to Federalize the voting process. The “Safe Act” is just one step.
The Department of Justice is already trying to collect detailed voter information from the states. Many states, including here in Ohio, just gave it to them. Other states are fighting to keep Justice from getting the information. What would the Federal government do with all of this? Here’s the first example announced by the White House yesterday. The President, by executive order, directed the US Postal Service to refuse to deliver mail-in ballots to voters that are not “verified” by the Federal Government.
That’s a huge deal, particularly in those states that primarily use mail-in ballots to conduct elections: California, Colorado, Washington DC, Hawaii, Nevada and Oregon. And it flies in the face of the US Constitution, which states:
“The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations…”(US Constitution, Art 1, Sec 4, underlining added).
The theft of the 2026 election is already underway. Like many of the transgressions of the Trump Administration, they aren’t stealing under cover of darkness, but brazenly in the light of day, as if it wasn’t illegal at all.
Americans need to choose whether we allow it or not.
