There is a deepening rift in the Republican Party. On the one hand there are major segments of the party who believe that Donald Trump is so important to the country and to prevent the liberals from gaining power that most any means are appropriate to stop Joe Biden from ascending to the presidency on January 20.
The president, his lawyers and millions of followers claim that Biden won the popular vote by fraud, although no one has made it clear whether it is the almost 6 million vote Biden lead that was won by fraud or the margin of victory in only certain States.
In contrast we have witnessed over these past weeks Republicans who, although supporting president Trump's politics, deride the methods being used to attack the voting results. Among the elected officials taking this position are: Mitt Romney, Ben Saase, Joni Ernst, Pat Toomey, Lamar Alexander and Larry Hogan, all going public by distancing themselves from what they see as the use of destructive, but in addition futile tactics of smearing the integrity of the American election process.
Mitt Romney said Trump's actions "damage the cause of freedom here and around the world, weaken the institutions that lie at the foundation of the republic, and recklessly inflame destructive and dangerous passions."
These Republicans are alarmed at the president putting his own personal interest above the general interest by claiming that the election was won by fraud. According to them, this is simply untrue and also this falsehood goes not just to delegitimize Mr. Biden but tarnishes the viability of our electoral system itself. In addition The fraud scenario boomerangs because, if true, it would show that the government and the president himself were incapable of ensuring that the conduct of this election was fair and free from manipulation.
Both for the Republicans who do, and do not, oppose the effort to cast aspersions on the election results, a very serious consideration that has not taken center stage is what would be the consequence for many in the Republican establishment if some states refuse to mandate their electors to vote in the Electoral College for the winner of the state's popular vote?
A success in changing the election voting results through the courts or by political pressure in one or two states would not in all probability block the Electoral College from electing Joe Biden. However, the very fact that the voting result counted in some states was blemished by some official institutional body as incorrect because of fraud would seriously compromise the role of America as a role model for the world. We are one country that has as its major asset fairness, democratic institutions, the fair workings of government above partisan politics, and, in general, placing the general interest above the interest of any one individual, however highly placed.
If our divisions came to the point where we cannot for whatever reason use a fair election to vote into power the president of the country, the American guarantee of asset values and monetary regulation in the realm of world finance would be jeopardized.
Though the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high on news of effective coronavirus vaccines, Michael Cembalest, chairman of J.P. Morgan market and investment strategy, warned that undermining the rule of law through "electoral illegitimacy" would send stock markets into turmoil.
"A modest decline in the rule of law ... could result in a de-rating of U.S. equities," he wrote. A fundamental underpinning of American world economic success is the predominance of American markets. Our markets account for 56% of worldwide market activity but only 25% of world economic output. The American stock market over the last decade has been up 250% while all of the other world stock markets, on average, are up 50% or 60%.
Our ability to stand on top of world finance is because the world believes in us and our ability to mange transfer of power from one man and one party to another seamlessly. And this ability allows us to marshal resources and finance activities where we are best.
The question then is what response should we expect from those who value the preservation of the integrity of the system over support for any one man but also from those who do not want to risk the stability of their own assets?
Investors who have the most to lose if there is a crack in the perception of the integrity of the American electoral system can make it known to the Republican political leaders that campaign funding will be judged based on which Republicans are courageous and take a firm stand and which do not.
Many have a direct contact with one or more politicians to whom they donate: senators, representatives, governors, mayors, attorney generals, etc., to whom they can make known the urgency of putting an end to the American election process being put in doubt.
Furthermore, the Republican elected representatives and those in the higher levels of government service who have taken a strong position can be motivated to call on others to abandon their embarrassed silence. "Meet The Press" apparently was unable to convince any senator this Sunday to appear on the program.
Phone calls, letters, contributions now and in the future, public pronouncements, will work more than hand-wringing and essay-writing.
Mark L. Cohen has his own legal practice, and was counsel at White & Case starting in 2001, after serving as international lawyer and senior legal consultant for the French aluminum producer Pechiney. Cohen was a senior consultant at a Ford Foundation Commission, an advisor to the PBS television program "The Advocates," and Assistant Attorney General in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He teaches U.S. history at the business school in Lille l'EDHEC. Read Mark L. Cohen's Reports — More Here.
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