The entire Editorial Board Of the new York Times published one of the most unlikely op-eds imaginable, headlined, \u201cHow California Is Damaging Faith in Government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Incredibly, the Editors argued that California\u2019s vote-counting system is broken\u2014 and blamed it for why Americans now spend weeks not knowing which party controls the House of Representatives after elections. California allows mail-in ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, then counts them, in the Times\u2019 own words, \u201cwith agonizing slowness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCalifornia adopted its rules with the admirable intention of maximizing voting access,\u201d the Editorial Board generously opined. \u201cBut the system has failed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Board noted that, for more than a century, same-day election resolution was the American norm. In the Nineteenth Century, for instance, telegraph lines delivered results by the next day\u2019s newspaper. Now, they wrote, \u201cIn each of the past three congressional election cycles, Americans waited at least a week to find out whether Democrats or Republicans controlled the House of Representatives. The main reason has been California.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s ultimately President Trump\u2019s fault. The NYT\u2019s Editorial Board acknowledged the confusion \u201cplays into the hands of bad-faith political leaders, including President Trump, who lie about vote counting and fraud.\u201d But even while blaming Trump for shooting lies, they blamed California for feeding him the ammunition.<\/p>\n
The Board called the civic benefits \u201cclose to nil\u201d since turnout has actually fallen since California changed its rules. \u201cTurnout in California has fallen farther behind the national average since the state changed its rules,\u201d they admitted. Worse, \u201cwhen uncertainty lingers for days, Americans wonder why government today can often seem less competent than it once was.\u201d<\/p>\n
No kidding. Welcome to the club.<\/p>\n
When the far-left New York Times Editorial Board \u2014the same people who published \u201clockdowns worked, trust the experts, MAGA is a threat to democracy\u201d\u2014 publicly blames California for \u201cdamaging faith in government\u201d and enabling \u201cmisinformation peddlers,\u201d you immediately save the screenshot. But questions linger.<\/p>\n
We must ask the obvious question: Why now, Times? I can\u2019t help but notice the other electoral elephant in the room: the SAVE Act lurking in the Senate\u2019s wings. It now has 51 Senators\u2019 support (thanks, John Fetterman), is arguably bipartisan, and awaits only a decision by Majority Leader John Thune to force a talking filibuster.<\/p>\n
The timing cannot possibly be coincidental. The Times Editorial Board didn\u2019t run this California-critical editorial by accident. Assuming they aren\u2019t just trolling us, it\u2019s possible they\u2019re pre-positioning an explanation. Just in case.<\/p>\n
If \u2014or when \u2014California\u2019s vote totals drop noticeably in November, whether from broader administrative reforms, ICE raids and deportations, or from the SAVE Act passing and requiring proof of citizenship, progressives who\u2019ve denied illegal voting will be faced with an uncomfortable question: where did all those votes go?<\/p>\n
Maybe the Times is prepping a tailor-made answer. If they publish this editorial now, in February, they establish for liberal readers that California\u2019s system was \u201cbroken\u201d and needed \u201creform.\u201d Then, when the numbers do come in lower, they can point back here and say: see, California just cleaned up its process, like we recommended. Nothing to see here. Certainly not evidence of anything improper happening before.<\/p>\n
Maybe this isn\u2019t an editorial. Maybe it\u2019s a pre-built alibi for missing votes. I\u2019m taking it as terrific evidence the SAVE Act is likely to pass after all. At least the Times seems to think so.<\/p>\n
JEFF CHILDERS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The entire Editorial Board Of the new York Times published one of the most unlikely op-eds imaginable, headlined, \u201cHow California Is Damaging Faith in Government.\u201d Incredibly, the Editors argued that California\u2019s vote-counting system is broken\u2014 and blamed it for why … Continue reading