Thread by @dandrezner

I’m glad you asked Erick, because this attempt —which you and other conservatives have made — to make a false equivalence between 2016 and 2020 is worth examining in more detail. 1/

https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1329639425253535745

Let’s focus on the most obvious difference: Hillary Clinton conceded the 2016 race within hours or the networks calling it. We are now approaching two weeks between a similar network call and Trump refusing to concede. 2/

Furthermore, by and large Democrats did not sabotage the transition period. Obama’s GSA ascertained the result for Trump almost immediately. Democrats in Congress did not en masse urge Clinton to litigate the outcome. FFS, Clinton attended the inauguration. 3/

Now, it could be argued by some that Democrats called the legitimacy of Trump’s election into doubt with: a) the Russia investigation and b) Hillary’s rhetoric about Trump being illegitimate. But that’s a bad argument for two reasons. 4/

First, the assessment of Russian interference came from the intelligence community. Warnings & reports were issued both before and after the election. The Mueller report & Senate Intelligence Committee report confirmed much of this. It wasn’t just Democrats — it was everyone. 5/

Second — and this is key — when Hillary Clinton called Trump’s election into doubt, did Democrats back her play? No, not really. Her pronouncements would generate a single news cycle and then nothing else, because elected Dems did not want to litigate 2016 again. 6/

Contrast all of this with Trump’s behavior. He has refused to concede despite losses verified by recounts. He has blocked Biden transition efforts. After litigation failures, he is pressuring state GOP officials to delay certification/vote for independent slates of electors. 7/

All of Trump’s actions make any of Hillary Clinton’s protestations for the last four years look like a pleasant garden party. But that’s not the most important distinction between 2016 and 2020. 8/

The most important distinction is that in 2020, the GOP has wholeheartedly backed Trump’s efforts to delegitimize the election results. Democrats did not do the same for Clinton. 9/

The GOP has done this despite the fact that state officials from both parties — not to mention Trump’s own DHS officials — have declared November’s election to be free and fair. 10/ washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/1…

So you’ll forgive me, @EWErickson, if I question the premise of *your* question. Because the idea that the GOP’s 2020 behavior is payback for the 2016 behavior of Democrats is the kind of thinking that one would normally find in a small, petulant child. #fin