If the GOP succeeds with its Trump-inspired dirty tricks, then we’re all at risk of losing our democracy.
President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, as Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La.
, applaud. SACRAMENTO — During my younger days as a soccer dad, I got to watch the variety of ways that people handled the inevitable wins and losses. The trophy my daughter won after a big championship game is packed in a box somewhere in the garage, but the memories remain. Life is aboutBut I remember some teams for which winning was everything. Their players would punch, kick and trip our players whenever the referees weren’t looking. The coaches constantly intimidated the refs. What’s the likelihood that one’s team is right on every single call? Not high, but these competitors never conceded anything. That experience reminds me of the modern Republicanis simple: Every election they win is a reflection of the will of the people. Every election they lose is rigged. The president never conceded the 2020 election, nor apologized for the January 6 Capitol attack. That was the result of angry partisans taking seriously Trump’s bogus election-fraud claims. Trump continues to push the tiresome rigged-election narrative even though he failed to win the dozens of court cases making such claims.Democrat since 2025 to flip a seat in a heavily Republican district. That’s not surprising. The party out of power often does well in special elections and mid-terms. Republicans have pushed an unusually divisive agenda, inflation is high, gas prices are soaring, ICE raids are frightening and the president has launched a Middle East war. So, yeah, there’s going to be electoral pushback. Instead of moderating their policies or engaging in normal soul searching, Republicans are doubling down — and trying to nationalize elections by promoting something called the. It would impose draconian voter-identification requirements. The bill would require voters to provide a birth certificate or passport for registration with the potential for disenfranchising vast numbers of voters as many Americans don’t have a passport or can no longer find their birth certificate.for traveling, it provided years for Americans to comply. This legislation would take effect before the midterms. It’s also a red herring. One can always find examples of illegal voting in a nation with 340 million people, but there’s no evidence of widespread voting by noncitizens. Even a major MAGA-aligned think tank can only find a tiny number of incidents. (Ironically, some of the most prominent illegal-vote, which is ironic given Trump himself used that system to cast his vote in Florida. Again, there’s no evidence that vote by mail is any less secure than traditional in-person voting systems. Given the bill’s iffy chances of passage, Republicans are cynically trying to build a case to challenge an election they believe they are going to lose. They’ll blame losses on Congress’ failure to fix a supposedly broken election system. It’s politics as performance art. But if it does pass, it could lead to serious voter suppression. Our Constitution — you know, the document that Republicans continually attack — gives state legislatures the power to determine the election ground rules. As the Institute for Responsive Government, the nation’s decentralized election system also makes a federal takeover impractical. The current process, run by local civil servants, is designed to make it harder for fraudsters and partisans to engage in shenanigans. Conservatives used to understand that federalism is one of the core founding principles that protects our freedoms, but not any more.Rafael Perez: Adam Miller promises to bring back sensible solutions to Los Angelesoccurring during the Biden administration. I grew up in Philadelphia, which is known for the election antics of its Democratic political machine. But the answer isn’t for Republicans to one-up those efforts with their own election-rigging measure.group: “When two-party competition becomes an existential zero-sum contest over the rules of the game itself, the incentive shifts from persuading voters to controlling the machinery of voting.” I have no real problem with Voter ID if it boosts Americans’ confidence in elections, but this measure would erode trust in the process. Trump has been disturbinglythat this isn’t about creating better elections. He’s trying to control the voting machinery to achieve his desired results. Like with soccer, playing dirty only undermines the sanctity of the game. In democracies, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But if the GOP succeeds with its Trump-inspired dirty tricks, then we’re all at risk of Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute and a member of the Southern California News Group editorial board. Write to him atWhat to know about the planned Saturday, March 28 ‘No Kings’ protests in Southern CaliforniaUCLA faces questions after falling short of the Sweet 16Things to do in the San Fernando Valley, LA area, March 26-April 3Mayor Bass announces initiative to install 60,000 solar-powered street lights citywide
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump boosts GOP war chest as House Republicans gear up for high-stakes midterm fightFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
Ex-Trump Adviser Says GOP ‘Losing Conversation Everyday’ with VotersRepublicans face growing midterm warning signs as a GOP strategist warns the party is losing voters on affordability and cost issues.
Read more »
GOP ad blitz blankets Senate map with promos for Trump tax lawThe ads target safe GOP seats and most competitive races by promoting some of the law's most popular provisions like no tax on tips and Social Security.
Read more »
GOP Senators’ ‘Utterly Absurd’ Trump War Logic Prompts Damning ComparisonLee Moran is a half-Spanish, half-English journalist based between Spain and the United Kingdom. He is the European correspondent for HuffPost U.S. covering a wide range of topics: from U.S.
Read more »
GOP Heavyweights Deliver a Stark Warning to TrumpA top Republican defense hawk has warned the White House it may soon face “consequences” for its secrecy on the war.
Read more »
Rep. Donalds to GOP Colleagues Critiquing Iran: ‘Take a Beat,’ Let Trump WorkSource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »