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A reminder -- as obvious as it is (or should) be:
Elections are intended to be a product of the will of "we, the people."
We are a sovereign nation.
We have a democratic system of government.
Under that system, the American people choose their government.
Elections are intended to be a product of the will of "we, the people."
We are a sovereign nation.
We have a democratic system of government.
Under that system, the American people choose their government.
2/ Had you asked folks in the Founding era what the greatest risk to a republican form of government was, many would have said "foreign influence."
From writing the Constitution straight thru the 1790s, people worried re: England or France swaying American politics their way.
From writing the Constitution straight thru the 1790s, people worried re: England or France swaying American politics their way.
3/ They recognized that elections were prime moments for foreign nations to influence domestic politics -- through bribes, through manipulation, through secret dealings.
They also recognized that intense partisanship made such behavior even more likely.
They also recognized that intense partisanship made such behavior even more likely.
4/ If you want to get an idea of how worried the Founding generation was about "foreign influence," search on it in the "Founders Online" database.
You'll see scores of angst-ridden fears re: a foreign nation manipulating the US into promoting foreign interests and not its own.
You'll see scores of angst-ridden fears re: a foreign nation manipulating the US into promoting foreign interests and not its own.
5/ Here's John Adams's inaugural address:
"If...Suffrage can be obtained by foreign nations by Flattery or Menaces, by fraud or Violence, by terror Intrigue or Venality, the Government may not be the choice of the American People, but of foreign nations...."
"If...Suffrage can be obtained by foreign nations by Flattery or Menaces, by fraud or Violence, by terror Intrigue or Venality, the Government may not be the choice of the American People, but of foreign nations...."
6/ Most pointedly, Adams notes that through foreign influence over elections,
"It may be foreign nations who govern Us, and not We the People who govern ourselves."
It's a valid fear that's worth remembering.
We the People govern ourselves.
"It may be foreign nations who govern Us, and not We the People who govern ourselves."
It's a valid fear that's worth remembering.
We the People govern ourselves.
