A Foiled Coup

November 15, 2022

Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 13 November 2022
by Karl Doemens (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Kirsty Low. Edited by Michelle Bisson.

The midterm elections were a victory for U.S. democracy. A different outcome would have resulted in conspiracy theorists gaining a dangerous level of influence.

Less than a week after the midterms in the U.S., the results are looking surprisingly positive for President Joe Biden and his Democrats, who defended their majority in the Senate and contained their losses in the House of Representatives. However, what is most important is that they averted the threat of an administrative coup in 2024.

As crazy as this idea sounds, this was a real risk. In the crucial swing states of Michigan, Arizona and Nevada, radical far right conspiracy theorists who dispute the outcome of the last presidential election were candidates for secretary of state, a role that involves responsibility for how elections are run. You don’t need much imagination to envision what these individuals would have done had Donald Trump called and asked them to find a few thousand votes. All three election deniers lost in the midterms.

That is a success for their Democratic opponents. Above all, however, it is an important victory for U.S. democracy.

Verhinderter Putsch

Die Midterm-Wahlen sind ein Sieg für die US-amerikanische Demokratie. Bei einem anderen Ausgang hätten Verschwörungsideologen gefährlichen Einfluss gewonnen. Der Kommentar.

Die Mehrheit im Senat verteidigt, die Verluste im Repräsentantenhaus eingedämmt: Knapp eine Woche nach den Midterms in den USA stellen sich die Resultate für Präsident Joe Biden und seine Demokraten überraschend positiv dar. Das wichtigste Ergebnis aber ist die Verhinderung eines drohenden administrativen Putsches im Jahr 2024.

So wahnwitzig die Idee klingt, so real war die Gefahr. In den entscheidenden Swing-States Michigan, Arizona und Nevada hatten sich rechtsradikale Verschwörungsideologen, die den Ausgang der letzten Präsidentschaftswahl bestreiten, für die Posten der Secretary of States beworben, die für die Durchführung der Wahlen verantwortlich sind. Man braucht keine Phantasie, um sich vorzustellen, wie diese Figuren gehandelt hätten, wenn Donald Trump sie angerufen und um ein paar tausend Stimmen „gebeten“ hätte. Nun sind alle drei Wahlleugner bei den Midterms unterlegen.

Das ist ein Erfolg ihrer demokratischen Gegenkandidaten. Mehr noch aber ist es ein wichtiger Sieg für die US-amerikanische Demokratie.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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