Photo caption: Secretary of State Mac Warner claimed the CIA and FBI colluded with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to throw the 2020 election to President Joe Biden during a gubernatorial debate on Dec. 7, 2023. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
By: ELI BAUMWELL – DECEMBER 14, 2023 5:55 AM
It shouldn’t require a strain on the imagination to accept that former president Donald Trump — a man who was impeached twice and left office with a 34 percent approval rating — lost the 2020 election fair and square.
And yet, the belief that Joe Biden and his allies stole the election continues to persist, despite at least 64 failed lawsuits seeking to invalidate the election and a complete lack of evidence for the claim.
It’s disappointing but not necessarily surprising that about three in 10 Americans continue to believe this lie. But what else should we expect with many of our elected leaders — including West Virginia’s own chief elections officer — pouring fuel on the conspiracy flames?
In an increasingly desperate bid for governor, Secretary of State Mac Warner now claims the CIA and FBI colluded with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to throw the election to Biden.
“The election was stolen, and it was stolen by the CIA,” Warner said in a recent gubernatorial debate. Although Warner’s claims are the most extreme among the current gubernatorial contenders, two of his three primary opponents also refuse to say the election was secure.
It is unsustainable for 30 percent of the population to distrust election results based on these kinds of unsubstantiated claims. This rhetoric is downright dangerous because it corrodes faith in democracy itself.
It’s also a significant departure from how Warner has characterized the 2020 election in the past. He distanced himself from the “Stop the Steal” movement after attending a rally in December 2020. A month later, he wrote an op-ed calling the election “one of the best, and safest, elections in the United States, and in the history of West Virginia.”
In recent weeks, Warner has cozied up to former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, who pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI and advocated behind closed doors for Trump to declare martial law, seize voting machines and hold a new election in order to remain in office.
Without a hint of irony, Flynn recently said while endorsing Warner for governor: “Ultimately, our national security is directly related to how legitimate the government is viewed by our citizens. If elections are in question, then respect for government is diminished and our consequent ability to protect the country is degraded.”
There is zero evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. There is zero evidence that the U.S. intelligence community worked with social media moguls to oust Trump. If questioning the legitimacy of elections is as harmful to the country as Flynn says, why does Warner continue to do so without any providing any actual proof?
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https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/12/14/warners-election-comments-endanger-our-democracy/