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U.S. Election Results Disputed Election Deepening Discontent with Whole Set-UpU.S. presidential elections are supposed to help "lower the temperature," as Biden puts it, on the disputes among the ruling factions. They are also supposed to provide the presidency and institutions with their democratic veneer -- the appearance that whoever is elected has "the consent of the governed." In the absence of this democratic veneer, the fact that the people are kept out of government cannot be kept hidden.
Trump's lawsuits in Pennsylvania could go to the Supreme Court, as could others which are attempting to block the certification of the vote in Michigan and Pennsylvania. An intervention by the Supreme Court could impact other states and possibly call into question enough of Biden's Electoral College votes to send the dispute to the House of Representatives. Any of these results would be met with resistance among the people. It is perhaps in anticipation of this that Trump fired his Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, and replaced him with Christopher Miller. Esper was among those who challenged Trump's threats to use the military against demonstrators. It is expected that Miller, another Army man, would support and implement such action. How the top military brass, active-duty soldiers and National Guard would respond, however, given the dispute, is not predictable. The strength of resistance is such that unions representing 600,000 members are calling for a general strike if Trump disputes or discredits the election results and refuses to concede. These include 70,000 workers in Rochester, New York; 60,000 in Western Massachusetts; hundreds of thousands across the Midwest; the 200,000-member labour council in Seattle, and the 50,000-member Association of Flight Attendants.
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The
results of the current election, however, in no way restore the
credibility of the U.S. democratic system. The continued dispute,
especially the potential for Supreme Court intervention and possible
use of the military against the people, has only deepened the anger
among the people.
The stand being
taken is not simply one directed at Trump and his
efforts to dispute and discredit the election. It
is reflective of the growing demand among the
people to have a say beyond a vote. Workers
especially are bringing forward that they have a
role to play in the political life of the country
and in defining a democracy that serves their
interests, not those of the rich. The
dysfunctional nature of the existing set up is
being widely debated. So too is the demand that it
is the people who need control and are fit to
govern and decide, not the rich.
