Democracy and Ben Cline: Regarding his January 5, 2020 Statement

We seem to disagree on almost everything. But this is actually not the case; there is much on
which we agree, and that agreement is key to electing representatives who actually serve our interests.

We agree on the importance of preserving democracy, even as we disagree on the nature of the threats to democracy. We also agree on the essential elements of our democracy. Two of them are the rule of law and the separation of power. Our Congressional representative, Ben Cline, has shown his willingness to subvert both.

Consider his Jan 5, 2020 statement objecting to Congressional acceptance of state certified election returns: “…rules and procedures established by the state Legislatures were deliberately changed by a number of individuals, including governors, secretaries of state, elections officials, judges, and private parties. These changes are in direct violation of Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution. That usurpation of the Legislatures' constitutional authority was a primary reason why the 2020 election became riddled with an unprecedented number of allegations of irregularities and improprieties.”

When and how do we know that there has been a “direct violation….of the Constitution” or an “usurpation of Legislatures’ constitutional authority”? When a Congressional representative stands up and says so? In the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections it was Democrats who found the election process unacceptable. Would Mr. Cline have found Democrats justified should they have refused to accept, as he did, certified state returns? I don’t think so. He would have pointed to court decisions supporting the legality of those election results. He would have cited the limited role of Congress to only count the results.

Legislatures make the laws, but they do not judge whether those laws are being followed. This separation of powers is foundational to the rule of law. The courts determine what our laws, including the constitution, mean in practice. In a democracy, how could it be any other way? If the Legislature made our election laws and then also adjudicated their application, no legislature would ever go out of power – that would not be a “democracy”.

Yes, the 2020 election was “…riddled with an unprecedented number of allegations of irregularities and improprieties…”, but not because there actually was an “…unprecedented number of actual irregularities and improprieties…”. An allegation is not a fact. A lawyer’s argument is not law. The courts determine the facts of the case and their significance for law. In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, the courts spoke with one unanimous voice; there was no fraud sufficient to alter any vote totals.

I’m sure that Mr. Cline knows these things. Our representatives take an oath to uphold the Constitution, which means, among other things, upholding the separation of powers and the rule of law. Mr. Cline has shown that he would throw them both out of the window for political advantage. He does not deserve re-election.

Dan Stuhlsatz

Staunton