Republicans are already making excuses for losing the 2016 election, as Chris Christie claimed that Hillary Clinton is trying to increase voter fraud.
Video:
https://youtu.be/oE1YhA0c75I
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Transcript via Face The Nation:
DICKERSON: Hillary Clinton mentioned you and said you and other Republicans are trying to make it harder for people to vote. What is your reaction to that?
CHRISTIE: She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
In New Jersey, we have early voting that are available to people. I don’t want to expand it and increase the opportunities for fraud. Maybe that’s what Mrs. Clinton wants to do. I don’t know.
But the fact is that folks in New Jersey have plenty of an opportunity to vote. And maybe if she took some questions some places and learned some things, maybe she wouldn’t make such ridiculous statements.
DICKERSON: She says it’s fear-mongering, this idea that there’s a lot of election fraud going on.
CHRISTIE: Yes. Well, she’s never been to New Jersey, I guess.
Christie’s main point was an absurd claim that Hillary Clinton is going to steal the 2016 election by encouraging eligible voters to vote. Christie’s claim that the larger the electorate the greater the possibility for fraud was as anti-democratic as it gets. The idea that voting must be restricted so that elections remain uncorrupted is the height of absurdity.
CBS’ John Dickerson confused voter fraud and election fraud. The laws that Republicans are passing in the states that they control are voter ID laws. Voter ID laws only cover voter fraud, which is an individual trying to vote as someone else. Election fraud is a broader category of fraud that can involve anything from absentee ballots to voting machines. Republicans have shown zero interest in combatting election fraud.
Republicans are already making excuses for losing an election that is still more than a year away. The idea that the most popular candidate in either party could only win by fraud or theft is delusional. The Republican Party continues to fool themselves into thinking that it isn’t their ideas that are unpopular.
Just as encouraging more people to vote isn’t voter fraud, the idea that Clinton can only win by cheating is illogical nonsense. The whining coming from Chris Christie is a sign that Republicans just don’t get it. Instead of changing to win more votes, Republicans are going to whine, cry and claim that the election was stolen from them if Hillary Clinton wins in 2016.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
