David Frum Profile picture
Sep 14, 2020 9 tweets 2 min read Read on X
a point about democratic legitimacy ...

It's not inherently a problem in a democratic system to "win" by the rules despite losing the popular vote.

1/x
In a multiparty list system like Germany's or Israel's, it will often happen that the parties that eg finished 2nd and 3d will form a coalition that excludes the party that finished 1st.

2/x
In a Westminster system modelled on that of the UK, it will often happen that one party wins more votes, the other wins more seats. That's what happened in the Canadian federal election of 2019: the Conservatives got more votes; Justin Trudeau's Liberals got more seats. 3x/
In Germany, Israel, Canada, etc. the winner gets to form a government - but they don't get to speak for "the people." Indeed in a Westminster system, there is a formal job of "leader of the opposition" - building into the system constitutional recognition of diverging views. 4/x
The PM heads the government, and only that - not the nation.

The American presidency is different. An American president claims more than a legal mandate. He or she claims charismatic authority resting on "the will of the people." 5/x
This problem is of course compounded when a society confronts a would-be tyrant like Donald Trump. Trump is president only *by* the rules - yet he constantly seeks to *break* the rules based on a claim to represent "will of the people." It *matters* that the claim is false. 6/x
Which is why the Trump presidency is a walking legitimacy crisis - and why a hypothetical 2nd Trump term, almost certainly with an even bigger popular vote deficit than the first - will create an even bigger legitimacy crisis than the first term. 7/x
Trump respects none of the other institutions created by the Constitution, including the oversight power of Congress and the 1st Amendment. He wants to trample every law in the name of his voters, even though his voters are outnumbered by the other voters. 8/x
So yeah, Biden voters are right to worry that a Trump re-election won't be legitimate. Trump wants to rule by lawless power, resting ultimately on the threat of vigilante violence. Constitutional legitimacy will itself be the first casualty of a 2nd Trump term. - END -

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More from @davidfrum

Sep 17
The difference:

The upsetting things said by Trump and Vance are not true.

The upsetting things said about Trump and Vance are true.

Trump really did mount a violent coup against the Constitution. He and his relatives really did take bribes in office, including from foreign governments. He really was helped into power by Russian espionage agencies. He really did steal secret documents from the US government after his election defeat. And Vance really did, and by his own admission, intentionally "create stories" for political advantage that put residents of his state at risk of physical harm.
When a group of right-wing extremists were arrested for plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer during the COVID pandemic, then-President Trump shrugged it off. "Maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasn't."

cbsnews.com/news/gretchen-…
When a Republican candidate for governor of Montana assaulted a reporter who asked a question he didn't like, Trump praised the candidate: ""Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!" axios.com/2018/10/19/tru…
Read 7 tweets
Sep 15
I wrote this after the attempt on Trump's life in July. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
Image
Trump and his running mate have spent the past week successfully inciting violence in Springfield, Ohio. Today they want to present themselves as near-victims of violence - in this case, of violence completely unrelated to themselves and at a very safe distance from themselves.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 13
Everybody remembers Ronald Reagan's famous question from the 1980 presidential debate, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" But have you recently watched the whole 60 seconds? A link follows ...
Notice the simplicity and dignity of the language. Notice the temperateness of the mood. Notice that he "suggests" - not demands - the viewer's vote. Notice the respect for the voter's ultimate right of decision.
Reagan's greatest vulnerability in 1980 was the perception of him as intemperate. That's the fear that finished Goldwater in 1964: "in your guts, you know he's nuts." Reagan refuted the fear by consistently speaking temperately.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 12
There's no mystery about this election. Trump's party talked itself into the idea that their guy led some mighty popular movement. In fact a voting majority of Americans have rejected Trump and Trumpism every chance they got since 2015. Now they're readying to do it again.
Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million in 2016. He lost the popular vote by 7 million in 2020. He was under 50% approval in every reputable poll every single damn day of his presidency.
Trump's party lost the House in 2018. Trump's party lost the US Senate in 2021, because Trump personally cost the GOP two Senate seats in Georgia. In 2022, Trump's party lost -1 in Senate, -2 governorships, -4 state chambers. An expected "red wave" in the House proved a trickle.
Read 13 tweets
Sep 11
A Trump loss would be good news for the MAGA grifters. Their target market will feel even more isolated and aggrieved- therefore, even readier to donate to scam PACs, subscribe to antisemitic podcasts, etc. etc. 1/x
A Trump loss will fall hardest on those who wanted real-world results: big tax cuts for the very rich; the surrender of Ukraine to Putin; etc. Such persons had *goals*; MAGA offered only performance - a performance that once fluked into power, but was too weird to hold it. 2/x
Unfortunately for the goal-oriented, they had no means to protect their goals from the MAGA grifters. JD Vance was chosen to serve the practical interests of some very rich people - but he could not break the habit of disparagement of women, cat owners, etc. etc. 3/x
Read 5 tweets
Aug 17
I wrote this yesterday about protectionists of Left and Right. theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Image
Trade policy is often presented as a contest between producers and consumers. "Pay more for toasters; save jobs."

That's a false image. The people who buy tariff-protected aluminum are not "consumers." They are other producers. Raise their costs, reduce their competitiveness.
Protectionism launches an economy onto a path of self-isolation. Protect aluminum from foreign competition? Every user of aluminum will clamor for protection in turn. Then every user of those users. And so on, forever.
Read 12 tweets

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