Ever since it became clear that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election, there’s been chatter among progressives and others on the left side of the American political spectrum about demanding an official recount. As her lead in the popular vote has continued to mount and has now reached 2 million, the calls for a recount have grown much louder. But so far, Hillary has not asked for one.
The latest development is that Green Party presidential candidate, Jill Stein, has raised the necessary $2 million fee to formally request a recount in the key Rust Belt states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. In fact, she raised substantially more in just days and is now seeking to reach $4.5 million.
Stein doesn’t believe the recount will significantly change the election result for her personally, of course. Her campaign manager David Cobb explained her challenge this way:
“Over the last 48-72 hours, reports have come in from experts, cyberexperts, who are reporting to us some very troubling news about the possibility of security breaches in voting results across this country.”
My guess is that the real reason behind her challenge is Stein is suffering from severe guilt. I’m not saying Cobb is wrong about the election being rigged, but I think what’s behind this for Stein is the hope that she can get out from under the burden of having enabled Donald Trump’s (apparent) victory. The parallel to Ralph Nadar’s candidacy in 2000 and how it essentially allowed George W. Bush to prevail over Al Gore is all too obvious.
Whether there’s actually a recount and, more importantly, whether it makes any difference in the end result of the 2016 election remains to be seen, but I suspect Hillary is conflicted about what she’d like to see happen.
On the one hand, she knows she’d make a far better chief executive for the country than Donald Trump. Just looking at the people he’s nominated for key positions in his administration has to make it abundantly clear to her (and every other sane person) what a horror show a Trump presidency will be — white supremacist Steve Bannon for Chief Strategist, overt racist Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, wing-nut Ben Carson to head HUD — to mention a few of his more egregious choices. And it appears likely Trump will nominate climate change denier Myron Ebell to head, or should I say dismantle, the EPA. Then there’s the mention of Sarah “drill, baby, drill” Palin as Secretary of the Interior. Yes, Hillary is well aware of the vast amount of damage a Trump administration could do.
On the other hand, though, I’m sure Hillary realizes the dangerous situation which will ensue if the election result is actually changed and she becomes President-elect. It is entirely possible she’d get to preside over a nation at war with itself — not figuratively, but literally. Given the rabid nature of many Trump supporters, it would hardly be surprising to see them grab their guns and start shooting. I’m sure she realizes both she and her family would be among the first targets.
But she also has to weigh the possibility of civil war and personal peril against the very real possibility that a Trump administration will wage a quieter — but just as deadly — war against its opposition within the country. As she knows, Trump does not take criticism well at all. Once he’s at the controls of the government security apparatus, he can be expected to do what all autocratic rulers do, eliminate opposition by whatever means necessary, including lethal means.
So I don’t find it surprising Hillary has chosen to remain silent thus far. She has a lot to think about.