Andrew Beckwith’s Post

Things to consider:

Love the various pundits, primarily conservative but also liberal, opining today how barring Trump from the ballot is somehow "anti-democracy." This from people who routinely remind you, usually when they're losing an argument, that we don't live in a democracy, but rather a republic. Listen: barring someone who attempted sedition from holding office is absolutely democratic, it says so right in the Constitution. You know what IS anti-democracy? Refusing to accept the results of democracy when you lose and then attempting to overthrow democracy and change the results of an election. Declaring that you'll be a dictator, that's about as antidemocratic as it gets. Trump is antidemocratic, he is the antithesis of democracy, he's at BEST a seditionist and at worst a traitor. You might not like Biden, but if you want to keep your democracy AND your republic, you better show up and vote for him. You want a better nation, be a better citizen. —Jim Wright at Stonekettle Station

Some think I'm too liberal, others think I'm too conservative. I have in every primary, general, and presidental election since I turned 18 (1980). I may belong to one political party or another (I've been a registered Republican, a registered Independent, a registered Green, and a registered Democrat). I vote my conscious as I would hope every one does (though, increasingly, America is all about party politics and not everyone keeps an open mind or does their own research. They are guided by party politics propaganda). What I see now is a continuation of a do-nothing Republican party. WTF? The crisis at the border could be solved or at least controlled if the MAGA crowd in Congress would just stop taking orders from Trump. Republicans don't want to help America or the border issue, the simply want want Biden to fail to help Trump get elected. Time to hold a do-nothing Congress accountable. Time to put partisan politics aside and fight for America not special interests that only help the politicians.

Trump and his election campaign in the "post-factual age" In the age of disinformation and fake news, Donald Trump seems to have achieved mastery in the art of post-factual campaigning. A frightening example of this is his most recent quote: “All you have to do is vote again. Trump tells Christians they 'won't have to' vote again after election - and calls Harris a 'bum'.” With such statements, Trump aims to mobilize his supporters and undermine basic democratic principles. The context of the quote At a campaign event in front of a group of evangelical Christians, Trump claimed that his re-election would ensure that they would never have to go to the polls again. This remark is not only disturbing, but also symptomatic of a candidate who repeatedly tests the boundaries of truth and democratic principles. By calling his political competition, in this case Kamala Harris, a “bum” (freeloader), he is trying to defame his opponents and strengthen his own position. The post-factual election campaign The term “post-factual” describes an era in which emotional and personal beliefs have more influence on public opinion than objective facts. Trump cleverly exploits this by repeatedly lies, making untrue or misleading claims to appeal to and mobilize his base. As a result, facts and scientific findings are increasingly being pushed into the background and replaced by emotional rhetoric. The dangers for democracy Trump's approach poses a serious threat to the democratic order. By undermining trust in the media, scientific institutions and ultimately the electoral system itself, he is fostering an atmosphere of mistrust and division. His supporters feel vindicated and emboldened, while his opponents and critics are defamed and delegitimized. Conclusion Donald Trump's election campaign strategy in the post-factual age clearly shows how dangerous the spread of disinformation and the manipulation of public opinion can be. His quote “You only have to vote one more time” is an alarming signal for the future of democracy in the US. It is crucial that voters become aware of their responsibilities and critically scrutinize what is presented to them in order to make an informed decision. #Trump #USA #KamalaHarris #USCampaign #democracy #demokratie #USWahlen #Postfaktisch https://lnkd.in/eXe95QMe

After several days of rain a few weeks ago, I told our Yorkie, Champ, that he needed to go for a walk anyway (he doesn’t like rain). I knew that he would be wet and maybe a little muddy when we returned home. No big deal. A towel and maybe a hair dryer. Easily fixable. Frankly nothing is so wet it cannot be dried. Nothing is so soiled that it cannot be cleaned. No relationship is so broken it cannot be fixed. But what about things that are “un-fixable”? How about not voting in America? Here in Virginia it is election time. Early voting ends today but Tuesday is Election Day. No matter how one stands politically, not voting, forgetting, or just abandoning the right to vote all result in a zero impact in an important election. Assuming an honest and fair election process, the result of not voting removes the right to critique or criticize the result. Not voting is unfixable. #votenow #votingrights #vote #responsibility #america #honor #duty #bettertomorrow #bettereveryday #futuregenerations #futureforward

3 months out from the Nov election, and most have decided who they're supporting as our next President. But, many may not yet be committed to actually voting. Don't be fooled. Your vote matters now more than ever. No matter the lefts' candidate, no matter the lies and propaganda they spread, they stand for the same policies that we've seen for 4 years. 10-20M illegals, high crime, high inflation, gender madness, attacks on family and religion, endless wars, DC corruption, and lies after lies. Soured by Trump's style? Put that aside, and cast a vote for his policies. Encourage your friends and family to do the same. We must make the conservative, America First, vote too big to rig.

The attached article is a very good examination of the conflict of American principles that Trump's candidacy for president is causing, particularly with the application of the #14thAmendment, Section 3 to Trump's conspiracy to retain the presidency after he lost the 2020 election. The conflict is between the principle that "no man is above the law" with the principle of the democracy that Americans should be allowed to vote for the person they support for president. I come down strongly for the rule of law that #NoManIsAboveTheLaw, even a president or presidential candidate. And the one point I will make here is to remind Trumpistas that Trump lost the 2016 popular vote, but legitimately won the #ElectoralCollege vote, which #Trumpistas supported with the correct claim that America is not a pure democracy. #DumpTrump https://lnkd.in/g46AQvBs

#politics #unitedstates I am an unaffiliated or independent voter. Close to 50% of registered voters are independent now in the United States, a large voting bloc, assuming all independents turn out to vote on Election Day. I voted for Nikki Haley in the Virginia open primary. The Governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu whose father John H. Sununu was Chief of Staff of George H.W. Bush became an ardent supporter of Nikki Haley against Donald Trump in the primaries. Both father and son are engineers, like me. Most natural scientists and engineers are trained to think logically and analytically, and are independent minded like most people in New Hampshire. Politics, economics, and society are far more complex than reducing them down to a math problem in science and engineering because they involve human nature, which does not come in the bookends of black and white but in many shades of gray and the entire color palette of nature. Still, politics for me is first a policy problem to solve as in science or engineering, assuming a problem exists to solve rather than create one which, in fact, does not exist, to win elections. A semblance of a conservative solution, conservative not in the sense of imposing social and fiscal conservatism (or liberalism for that matter) on the society as a whole but care and caution without cowboyish Texas-style rodeo experimentation on people and nature is how I typically make policy under incomplete and imperfect knowledge and uncertainty which I then try to credibly (operative word) package and sell to the people to get their buy in by communicating it in easy to understand ways to the broader population, because it will ultimately affect the lives of the people who adopt it and make it their own by giving their voluntary consent in our system of government. Political partisanship or ideology or violence or uncivility has no place in this, nor the rancor of pitting one social group against another. My approach to politics largely aligns with America’s founding fathers. The problems are really not that insurmountable if good, basic common sense prevails. Attempting to solve America’s problems, just as any other nation would solve its own, if it involves threats of violence, narcissism, megalomania, inflexible, uncompromising, ideological partisanship and group behavior to end the nation as we know it, unbecoming of the American principle if not its practice in our history, to fix the country as Donald Trump wants to do, to me appears to be suicidal. Trump is akin to healing yourself after you kill yourself because you think the disease which afflicted you merits reincarnation, akin to resurrection of Jesus after crucifixion, to be born again. It does not. Fixing America requires returning to the founding principles of our Nativity in 1776 in the Declaration of Independence which are already enshrined under law in the constitution, not ending 1776. What is there to fix? We only need to follow.

The Unexpected Impact of Trump's Legal Challenges Recent polls suggest an intriguing twist in American politics: the efforts to legally challenge Donald Trump might actually be bolstering his popularity among voters. Many see these actions, including the unprecedented raid on a former president's home, as examples of political persecution rather than legitimate legal scrutiny. This perception is seemingly turning Trump into a martyr in the eyes of his supporters, enhancing his position in the polls against Biden. Such developments prompt a deeper examination of how political and legal actions are interpreted by the public and their impact on election dynamics. As more individuals voice concerns over potential abuses of power, it underscores the complex interplay between justice and political strategy in shaping public opinion. #PoliticalPersecution #ElectionInterference #Trump2024 #PublicOpinion #AmericanPolitics

#politics #unitedstates The Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is under pressure directly from Donald Trump to declare him the party’s nominee. Haley on NBC’s Meet The Press made it very clear what is going on and wants the American people, not RNC or judges in courts, to make the call, as to who the Republican nominee will be. She has a valid point. Haley wants to run in all 50 states irrespective of whether she wins South Carolina, her home state, with dignity on issues and not on personal attacks as Trump is doing against her. The man was president of the United States, Ivy League educated, and a billionaire who is trash talking McDaniel, a woman, not to support another woman Haley, but commandeer RNC funds to help him get over the many litigations he is in and crown him victor. The same behavior which got him into the litigations he is in because of his 2020 election antics in Georgia. The Democrats are only driving the Trump Republican tail deeper into a reluctant hands of the Republican dog, akin to driving Russia into China’s hands on foreign policy in Ukraine only to resume what can be an uglier Cold War and many hot wars only to lose democracy both at home and abroad, with the hope that they can reelect Joe Biden if Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the veteran political campaigners who won four presidential elections between them, lend their voice to Biden. I suggest all three Democrat presidents covering 20 years of American presidency between them, a whole generation coming of age, move on from damage control to save their legacies and endorse a Republican, Nikki Haley, crossing party lines to save the Republican Party and the Republic. The United States Supreme Court when deciding Trump’s fate must defer to the Congress, as Haley is suggesting, for the Congress is the American people if it does its job voting its conscience as it did on January 06, 2021 to certify Biden’s election across party lines and to get Trump off the 2024 election for the January 06, 2021 insurrection for supporting Proud Boys who were convicted for insurrection. The Constitution permits the Congress by overwhelming bipartisan vote to make this happen.