I've lost an election, so I know how painful it is to lose, and I also know that there is good life after it, because that's what I've been living for the last 20 years.
I know that in a democracy, the will of the people can only be determined through the electoral process. American democracy has worked well based on that model since George Washington.
Democracy is over when the people lose faith in elections. In the history of elections over 230 years, there have been as many losers as winners. By respecting the will of the people in elections, the losers may have done more to protect the people's government than the winners.
Richard Nixon famously resigned when he faced impeachment for the Watergate scandal. But Nixon also resigned after losing to John F. Kennedy in 1960 by just 0.17% of the popular vote. In that election, Kennedy won Illinois by fewer than 9,000 votes, a slim margin in Chicago, a Democratic stronghold controlled by party leader Mayor Richard Daley. There were also suspicions in Texas that Kennedy did not win fairly, although the margin was not as close as in Illinois.
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Nixon knew these things, but chose to avoid subjecting the country to the chaos that would inevitably result from litigating the election, and on election night, when the electoral count showed Kennedy to the lead, Nixon conceded defeat.
In his comments, Nixon said, “One of the great things about America is that we have political competition. As in this election, it's very tough. And once the results are in, we rally behind whoever is chosen. I congratulate Senator Kennedy.”
While some may still question Nixon's motives, his actions clearly demonstrate that he placed the interests of the country above personal ambition.
This example was again exemplified by then-Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush in the 2004 election. (I met and visited both Bush and Gore in the 1990s before they were presidential candidates. They were very different. Bush was easygoing and talkative. Gore was warm and personable, like a pet rock.)
But as former Montana Governor Ted Schwinden said, “How you lose an election really says a lot about what kind of person you are,” and by that standard, Gore was solid as a rock.
Gore beat Bush by about 500,000 votes in 2004, but lost the Electoral College by nearly three votes, resulting from a one-vote majority for Bush on the U.S. Supreme Court. Gore's response was swift and clear: “While I strongly disagree with the results of the election for Bush, [Supreme] “I accept the Supreme Court's decision, and in the interest of national unity and strengthening our democracy, I am willing to concede. I also accept my responsibility to pay tribute to the new President and do everything in my power to unite the American people. I will fulfill this responsibility unconditionally.”
The 2020 election, in which Donald Trump has never conceded defeat, was not close: Biden won the popular vote by 7 million votes and the electoral vote 306 to 232. To overturn this decisive result would have required systematic and organized fraud in multiple states.
But loser Trump has been bitterly lying for over three years that a national election in which hundreds of candidates filled out hundreds of ballots was rigged solely against him.
Unfortunately, and perhaps tragically, this year's election will be between a dangerous old bastard and a down-to-earth old man. Barring a miracle at the upcoming conventions, that's the choice we'll have. If Trump ultimately wins, he'll be a surefire winner with a vengeance. If he loses, he'll be the divisive sour loser he always has been.
Bob Brown is a former Montana Secretary of State and State Senate President.