#181 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday October 28)
Good morning!
A TRUMP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRUTH THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN
Was it ever possible to expect former President Trump to acknowledge defeat, regardless of the facts laid out before him? Peter Bain imagines a press conference in which Trump would acknowledge truth, saying something like this:
“I have now had the time I needed to do my research and engage in the analysis of the 2020 election. I have analyzed all of the court cases which my supporters brought, over 60 of them, claiming election fraud. I have also reviewed and analyzed all of the recounts and other election audits in the many states where we challenged results: Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and others.
“I have concluded that all 60+ of the legal cases which we brought, and which we lost summarily, were in fact without merit. We had no evidence of any fraud or violations that constituted the basis of a colorable claim.
“I have also concluded that none of the election audits and recounts uncovered anything even close to what would have been necessary to cast the certified results of the election in doubt, let alone support a changed outcome. Joe Biden won the election precisely as certified. The elections were free and fair.
“I have also researched and reviewed the issue of COVID vaccines. I remain a believer in limited government, the importance of individual rights, and the value of resisting government overreach. But I also have watched as our party’s defense of these important values has resulted in our supporters suffering demonstrably greater sickness and death than those who have embraced the vaccine. The fact is that the vaccines work and are safe. For our own strength going forward, I now urge all my supporters to get the vaccine. This is not bowing to government overreach; this is each of us choosing to act so that we preserve our strength to continue to fight for what we believe.”
THE THOUGHT EXPERIMENT IS THIS…
Peter asks that if Trump gave such a speech, his most staunch supporters would believe him and proceed accordingly. When he raises this question with his conservative friends, basic paralysis results: “To say no and to refuse to modify their position is to reject the leader upon whom they have relied for years. To say yes and to modify their position is to concede that they have placed fealty to an individual above their own capacity for thought. Either way, they end up in a really difficult spot (which is why the most consistent response is, of course, ‘Well, that’ll never happen, so I don’t have to answer.’)”
TRUMP IS ONLY THE CURRENT STANDARD BEARER
We cannot agree on what is true and what is not true, and no number of court cases, certifications of elections, recounts or audits are going to change people’s minds.
I believe the answer to Peter’s thought experiment is that the believers that only they know the truth would drop Trump like a hot rock if he went against the orthodoxy that the system is out to get them and there is a giant conspiracy that utilizes purported “facts” based on silly things like “science” and “data.”
Best regards,
Glenn
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