Kontos Column: Civics 201—Have patience, presidential elections are a process
By Dan Kontos
Thank goodness, the presidential elections are finally over, right? Well, no; not by a long shot.
I know that this may dismay some who pine for the end of all things 2020, but we are not there yet. I know that the concept of American elections confuse many, and civics was not the favorite subject for a great many students in school—but it’s important that we understand what is happening. This is our country, after all, and we as the citizens are the sovereigns who at least owe it to our fellow Americans to know what is happening.
First, I know that this may seem simplistic for some, but understand that we do not live in a democracy. No, this is not hyperbole intended to dramatize a point, it is a fact. We do live in a federal constitutional republic, where we elect fellow citizens to make decisions on our behalf, and with the consent of the governed.
You can only imagine the chaos of direct input by over 330 million citizens on every decision made by government at every level. Watch the bellwether barometer of left-wing dogma, the Huffpost, lose their minds after Senator Mike Lee made just this very point. How are they still a thing?
This goes for the presidential election as well. The old refrain of “one person, one vote” is another widely accepted but flawed misnomer. The President is not elected based on the raw popular vote totals, for good reasons that we may save for a Civics 301 column. We utilize the Electoral College system. When we vote, we actually vote for a slate of electors who will in turn cast the actual vote for the President, if all goes well.
On December 14, 2020, the Electoral College will meet and the 538 members will cast their votes for the President and Vice President. On January 6, 2021, Congress will meet to count the votes and certify a winner. Then—and only then—will we have a “President-Elect.”
Never mind what the media is proclaiming now, they are wrong—either deliberately or through ignorance. Either way, shame on them. Pundits and partisans do not anoint the President.
In the meantime, we are waiting for states to complete canvases, certify their votes, respond to numerous legal challenges, conduct recounts, and complete audits. As you probably heard many times by election officials, it is more important to get it right than get it done fast. I am still dismayed that they cannot do both, but again, we can save that for another day.
Back on December 12, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled on the case Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), which impacted recounting in Florida during that presidential election. Recently South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said on ABC’s “This Week” that during the 2000 election, former Vice President Al Gore was given 37 days to run the process of legal challenges to the election.
Therefore, we should “afford the 70.6 million Americans that voted for President Trump the same consideration.” Seems fair, right? This election is more likely to raise even more serious and complicated questions than the infamous hanging and pregnant chads.*
It is irresponsible for legacy news outlets and political pendants to cry out in feigned outrage since President Trump has not conceded to the former Vice President. After all, the media has declared a winner, and they are the self-appointed arbiters of the truth, right? The same outfits that jammed another set of false polls down our throats, and have yet to accept the results of the 2016 election. Hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me.
So, have a little patience, as we are far from done. In the end, a winner will be declared on January 6th, and then—and only then—we will know for sure. That is the system, and the reality of it all. Thank goodness, 2021 can’t be as bad as 2020, can it?
Join me on Parler @”DanKontos” for some bare-knuckles political opinions, a bit of overly dry humor, and shades of columns to come. All opinions are truly welcome there. God bless.
Dan Kontos is a paid columnist for the Metro Wire. He chooses his own topics and his opinions do not necessarily represent the staff of the Metro Wire. He lives with his family in Whiting.
*Editor’s Note: CHAD stands for “Card Hole Accumulated Debris” and can be used both as a mass noun (as in “a pile of chad”) and as a countable noun (pluralizing as in “many chads”).