minus two

A few weeks ago, an editorial appeared — your syndicated columnist — the liberal side of the op-ed page — who bemoaned Jill Stein’s recount efforts in those rust belt states as futile, and undermining the system — if the numbers change, Trump supporters would cry foul and deservedly so.

Which begs a problem we have in popular representative democracy.  Now, I have every expectation that indeed — this is the vote tally of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and a good case can be made that Jill Stein — with Hillary Clinton shifting about in the back – and this recount are misguided, but…

If results show something different, it undermines an undermined system?

So Sigh and Take Two.  And we see Paul Krugman postulating that a Hillary Clinton win that would’ve come sans the last minute Anthony Wiener re-opening wouldn’t have been viewed as a minor victory.  Maybes.  But that’s in part because he would have helped write the narrative that would whitewash the electoral forces that would be present in a Hillary Clinton win, just submerged.

If, if, if…

Congress is looking into things.  Bi-Partisan support.  With Paul Ryan carefully saying “The election is settled.”

And indeed it is.  And the reason that despite that, Donald Trump is pooh-poohing the idea of Russia hacking and unleashing Hillary Clinton’s email —

— incidentally, supported by last month’s Harpers cover story –

is that it will indeed undermine his election claim.  Maybe it’s a thing the Republicans want anyways — the better to pass the Republican Agenda shared by Trump, and stop as much as they can this Protectionist Nonsense and maintain a spot with the new Cold War.

Any more than the idea that Barack Obama won in 2012 because a Hurricane stopped Mitt Romney’s momentum at the end?   Hard to figure.  In an election result where I can’t claim “The American people were duped” due to the popular vote thing.  In 2000, had the networks not called Florida for Gore even before all of Florida was not done, how would the resulting election result of a clearer Bush victory in the popular vote have shifted things, subtly or not?

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