It is about the Constitution and the Law

You can like him, and many people do. You can hate him, and many people do. However, everyone has an opinion about President Trump, and right now he is his own worst enemy.
Some of what Trump is doing right now isn’t good for him, and it is not good for the nation. It also isn’t helping the Republican party, or the two incumbent Republicans in the Senate runoff election today in Georgia either. If the two incumbent Republican Senators in Georgia lose, the Democratic party will have the majority in both the House and the Senate, and on Jan. 20, President Elect Joe Biden will officially become president. There is a lot at stake here for both parties, and the surrounding controversy over the 2020 election is a big part of it.
We understand Trump has not accepted the results of the election, which is unfortunate. In fact, according to a recent Politico poll, two thirds of those who voted for Trump believe the results of the election are not valid and illegal voting and fraud took place. There are various unrealistic theories about how Trump could still somehow win the election that he lost. Nevertheless, he has every right to pursue every legal angle to try to make this happen. For example, Trump criticized Georgia’s governor and asked him to resign. This wasn’t a smart move with the Senate runoff election coming up soon. In a leaked phone call, which was mischaracterized by most media outlets, Trump told Georgia’s secretary of state that he believed massive election fraud occurred in Georgia, and asked the secretary of state to investigate the matter.
Some may agree with Trump refusing to accept the election results. Nevertheless, some of what Trump has done and is doing is dangerous and could have unpredictable consequences. Trump has shared a post multiple times advertising a Trump march in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6. Trump also stated that he will be in attendance at this march himself. This will be the day that, barring any incredibly unusual developments, Congress will meet to certify the presidential election results. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is preparing for the worst-case scenario and, according the Associated Press, has put in a request for the National Guard to have 340 troops in Washington from Tuesday through Thursday. We suspect this was at the behest of cautious members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle. Bowser has encouraged residents to stay away from the downtown area and avoid confrontations with anyone who is “looking for a fight.” D.C. police have posted signs around the city informing everyone that guns will be prohibited in the downtown area, effective Monday through Thursday.
There is obviously an understandable fear that the march on D.C. could turn violent, as far too many protests end up in violence. We are certainly hoping the march will be peaceful. Violence won’t solve anything here, and it certainly won’t give the presidency back to Trump. Nevertheless, violent protests are becoming far too common.
Numerous court cases involving the election have all been dismissed by several courts, including the most important one, the Supreme Court. Supreme Court justices unanimously have refused to take up any election fraud or illegal voting cases. Several Republican lawmakers have said they will not certify the election results and will insist the election be investigated. However, other than further dividing the nation, it won’t matter. The Supreme Court has decided on this challenge, and there is a reason why it is called the “Supreme” court. Once the Supreme Court made its decision, this election was officially over in our opinion. What some do not understand is this is a nation of laws, ultimately decided by the Supreme Court, the pinnacle of the third branch of government, the judicial branch. The sanctity of the courts is part of what makes the U.S. different from third world nations.
D.C. and the nation would be better off if the march did not occur at all. Violence emerging from the march would be bad, but not nearly as bad as what some have suggested could happen. The far left leaning Washington Post and other media outlets have implicitly questioned Trump’s willingness to follow his Constitutional duty to peacefully relinquish power on Jan. 20. Biden has complained of efforts by Trump-appointed Pentagon officials to obstruct the transition of power. We don’t believe this will happen…it smacks a bit of hysteria. However, there are some people who think it could. All 10 of our nation’s living secretaries of state as well as senior military officials, including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, weighed in on the matter in an op-ed in the Washington Post.
“Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” the secretaries of defense wrote. “Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.”
Milley said publicly in recent weeks “that the military has no role in determining the outcome of U.S. elections and that their loyalty is to the Constitution, not to an individual leader or a political party.”
We agree with these former secretaries of defense and senior military officials. What they have said is a big deal. If Trump did try to get the military involved in overturning the election results it would be the equivalent of treason, and he would deserve to be charged with crimes. He doesn’t have to like it, and neither do you, but after Wednesday Trump and everyone else needs to accept the fact that Joe Biden will be our president. A peaceful transition of power is of paramount importance, and the smoother this transition happens the better off we will be.
-Kernersville News Editorial