Kristine Christlieb, Senior Correspondent, Michigan Fair Elections | November 7, 2024
At 12:19 a.m. ET yesterday, Newsweek reported, “Donald Trump looks set to win Michigan and secure the state’s 15 electoral votes.” Less than two hours later, Fox News declared Trump the winner of the 2024 Presidential election race.
The blue wall came tumbling down in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, helping Trump win both the electoral college and the national popular vote, giving him a undeniable mandate to govern.
In his victory speech, Trump told his elated supporters, “We’re going to help our country heal, and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders … fix everything about our country.”
For most, Trump’s victory prompted both celebrations and huge sighs of relief. For some, it prompted tears and handwringing.
Trump’s promise of healing wasn’t just a metaphor for political reconciliation. The emotional build-up to November 5 election day has taken a mental health toll on the nation.
As early as July, the American Psychological Association (APA) was warning about the impact of election stress. In comparison to 2016 when 52% of adults reported significant stress from the election, the 2024 election saw that number jump to 69% reporting significant stress.
The sharp increase was related to concerns about violence and the possible end of democracy.
Mainstream media sources repeatedly warned that election workers were under threat of intimidation and violence. In her recent testimony before the U.S. Committee on House Administration, Michigan SOS Jocelyn Benson related how her family and others had been threatened. “People have come to my home. They’ve threatened me, my staff, and many of the hundreds of clerks and local election officials in our state. As a result, we have an omnipresent feeling of anxiety and hypervigilance that permeates our daily lives, our staffs’ lives, and our families’ lives.”
Benson went on to testify these on-going threats could be directly attributed to misinformation, and she told the Committee, “These threats are a direct result of false information about the security and accuracy of our elections.” She said she was putting Committee members “on notice” that unsubstantiated accusations about elections harms “those charged with protecting our election systems.”
She told News Nation these threats to election workers have caused limited resources to be diverted to security protections, and that the emotional intensity of the situation grows with every day.
Reuters collected 13 of its news stories about threats to election workers in a special feature called “Campaign of Fear.”
The Department of Justice created an Election Threats Task Force and sent monitors into 27 states.
On Monday, a Washington Post headline reported, “Panic buttons, drones, snipers among plans to guard a high-risk election.” The story said these security measures were necessary because of “the far-reaching effects of Donald Trump’s election denialism.”
Given the threat level being projected, Election Day came and went with very little drama. In fact, there were zero major incidents. The exaggerated angst cost American taxpayers millions in security resources.
What will become of all those unused panic buttons?
The media also seems to want Americans to believe Trump’s base is the non-college educated and disgruntled white man. Exit polling shows the Trump tent is a coalition of voters from an array of backgrounds. That broad-based coalition stands in contrast to the monolithic, professional, managerial class that dominates progressive policies.
Progressives’ open contempt for Trump voters (whom President Biden called “garbage” and Hillary Clinton labeled as “deplorables”) has caused them to underestimate their opponent, to see them as lesser than—poorer, less intelligent, and poorly educated—an inferior species of sub humans.
That error is at least part of the reason Trump won so decisively. Pride blinded progressives to the power and spirit of American voters.
Trump told his supporters in this morning’s early hours, “This will truly be the golden age of America. We’re gonna make you very proud of your vote.”
Trump’s call for healing was not an exaggeration. The nation has been through a lot, especially since 2020, and does need healing. His promise of a golden age in America did not sound prideful. It sounded entirely possible.
After all this nation has been through—beyond the stress and fear of societal collapse—hope springs eternal.
Kristine Christlieb serves as senior correspondent on MFE's communications team. She publishes Trust but Verify on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/trustbutverifyreport/p/voter-registration-blitzkrieg?r=2haa2x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
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Agenda
Pure Integrity Michigan Elections
Coalition Task Force Meeting
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, Nov, 7, 2024, via Webex.
PIME Mission: To help restore fair and unbiased elections in Michigan through local task force coalitions, legislative action, and litigation.
Patrice Johnson, Chair, Mich. Fair Elections: We pulled back from the abyss.
Reports:
--Last in Line program.
--Local task forces: After Action Assessment
--Jeff Vega, Proposito
--Adam Rebandt, People of Faith
--Wayne County, Only Citizens Vote Initiative
--Issues and Actions
--Ground game in Detroit
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