by Sebastian Moronta Blanco, Staff Writer
Because the details surrounding the recounts have been covered in another section of this issue, I’ll advise anyone who isn’t familiar with them to refer to that article before reading mine.
Jill Stein, the 2016 candidate for the Green party, has been spearheading the recounts in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, three of the nation’s “battleground” states.
She’s made the reason for these recounts abundantly clear: to ensure that we have a fair and free election process.
I can personally understand that reasoning, specifically when put into the context of this election.
To be clear, there has been no evidence of tampering or an otherwise compromised voting process, at least just as far as the casting of ballots goes, according to federal officials.
The reason I can understand it becoming so worrisome is because of Russia.
Top government officials, including Congressmen Bill Keating, who said so in his visit to UMass Dartmouth last month, have confidently stated that they believe Russia had attempted to influence our election.
The evidence to support these claims is under wraps, but the biggest piece of public evidence is the release of documents that hurt Hillary’s campaign via WikiLeaks, which are largely suspected to be the work of Russian hackers, or the Russian government.
Once again, I’d like to make clear that there is no concrete evidence confirming Russia’s involvement, but still, our top government officials have expressed their confidence in it.
That alone may be a legitimate reason for recounts. However, I believe that these recounts are pointless and a waste of time and money.
Officials have estimated that the recounts are going to cost millions of dollars per state, and a significant portion of the bill will be footed by taxpayers.
Recounts are a huge labor requirement, and require extra security and posted officials for it to be executed swiftly.
Even more so, the recounts have an abysmal shot at changing anything, which Stein herself has acknowledged.
Trump leads by a collective number of votes close to 100,000. The odds of enough voter fraud and tampering to reverse the decision being discovered are slim to none, making these recounts a waste of time.
Stein has certainly led the charge, but what’s interesting is the Clinton campaign has agreed to support the recount cause.
They’ve taken a passive approach, but still sent lawyers to aid in Stein’s request for the recount and made clear their support in public statements.
This, to me, is more infuriating than any recount.
The reason for this is simple: Hillary spent her entire campaign run being the noble one.
Her attack ads were founded in truth, her campaign ads touted her as a force for good, being a role model for women everywhere.
Then, on stage in front of the entire country, she listened to Donald Trump say that he wouldn’t commit to accepting the results of the election if he lost, and Hillary called that “horrifying.”
Remember when Michelle Obama said “When they go low, we go high” during one of her speeches?
Well if you don’t, you probably remember Hillary quoting her on it very often. If you compared the number of times she said that one line to the lines Melania Trump stole, I think Hillary would come out on top.
Anyone who was on the fence about Hillary as a candidate, many of them Trump voters, now have the final nail in the coffin they need to brand Hillary as the liar she now is.
All that aside, I’m thinking of the books. Anyone who didn’t vote Trump in the election has speculated as to the untold horrors of a Trump presidency, and now have to wait to find out if they were right.
Whether or not they were, history books will have to report this election between their pages.
If Hillary had come out against the recounts, or even refused to comment, the history books could jot her down as the candidate who almost had the opportunity to inspire a generation of women, and put a newborn emphasis on morality and truth in our country, but lost to Donald Trump.
Now, they have no choice but to remember her as the hypocrite career politician who got cocky and lost it all in the fourth quarter.
Future candidates can and should learn from Hillary, and they should learn this:
If you held the high ground during an election and lose, for God’s sake, keep it after you do.