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Aaron Blake
Senior political reporter, writing for The Fix
The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, made a bold statement on Wednesday: she said the Democrats' anti-Brett Kavanaugh efforts were meant to "undermine the voice of the American people when they are in the dark." they elected Donald Trump ".
According to Sanders, it is not a good faith effort to investigate the allegations against the Supreme Court candidate. It's not even just a partisan effort. Instead, it is an effort to invalidate and / or ignore the will of voters.
This is an argument that the White House has already presented, but it has arisen more and more frequently. And this despite some very obvious disadvantages and logical illusions.
The first problem is, of course, that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016. (No, that's not how we elect presidents, but it reinforces the fact that Trump's electoral mandate is not exactly different. yuge.) The second is that the Republicans opposed almost completely everything that a duly elected president, Barack Obama, had done for eight years. Apparently, when Democrats do this with Trump, it's an affront to democracy.
Beyond these problems of rhetoric, however, there is the question of where does this argument stop. This suggests that everything you do after winning an election carries the stamp of voter approval; they elected you, after all. But this argument is particularly rich in the case of Kavanaugh, who is opposed by a plurality of Americans, according to polls. Its confirmation is by definition do not the will of the American people, according to these polls, but the White House said that an election 23 months ago means that is the case.
And the logical extension of all this is that the efforts of the minority party to stop things are not fair supporter efforts but undemocratic those too. At the end of this slippery slope is the assertion that election winners should be allowed to do what they want because they won.
It's … not how the US government works. But that did not stop the White House from sinking further and further slowly as Trump's presidency progressed. Here are some examples of the White House claiming that its opponents ignored the will of voters.
1) Kavanaugh
Trump Saturday night in West Virginia: "A vote for Judge Kavanaugh, it is also a vote to reject the ruthless and scandalous tactics of the Democratic Party: obstructionist, resistant. In the last 18 months, Democrats have spent every minute trying to reverse the results of the last election. "
2) The "resistance"
Trump last month at a rally in Missouri: "The the so-called "resistance" does not accept the will of the American people. They do not believe that you have the right to run your own country, control your life or defend the borders, traditions and heritage of the nation. But the American people will never be silenced. You will never be silenced. "
3) "Resistance", again
Trump at an August rally in Indiana: "Every day, they resist the will of the American people and try to undermine the verdict of our democracy, delivered so strong in 2016, like never before. The most remarkable thing about the modern Democratic Party is how much they have become undemocratic, right? "
4) The different nominees of Trump
Marc Short, then Trump's director of legislative affairs, said in July: "The Democrats have even withdrawn from committee hearings to refuse a quorum, like schoolchildren taking their toys out of the playground. But it is the American people who are hurt. This obstruction tactic consists of resisting the Trump administration and playing against a radical leftist base. But it is the will of the American people that is refused. "
5) The nominees, again
Sanders in March: "Traditionally, the Senate systematically confirmed the candidates of the administration once out of the committee. He is here to respect the will of the American people and the election of an administration to fulfill its roles under a new president. Instead, what Senator Schumer has done, is to require closing votes to slow the process and hinder.
6) The nominees, three times
White House information sheet in July 2017: "Senate Democrats have delayed the crucial appointments made by President Trump in order to block the will of the American people and the agenda of the president. "
7) The nominees
Sanders in July 2017: "To be clear, they walk slowly because they can not justify blocking these qualified and non-controversial candidates, a deliberate strategy to obstruct the agenda of this president and resist the will of the American people.
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