Observers are correct to condemn both Russian efforts to influence our presidential elections and President Trump’s failure to reject those efforts. But it is wrong to suggest that all efforts by foreign governments to influence our elections are improper. The question is not whether other countries are trying to exert influence, but whether they are doing so by legitimate means.
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Pulling Too Many Strings at the Democratic Party
After the Democratic National Committee (DNC) provoked criticism by favoring Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, you’d think it would have learned its lesson about trying to game the nominating process. Apparently not. The DNC has issued eligibility criteria for its presidential candidate debates that threaten to quickly winnow the field—nearly five months before the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.
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Presidential Campaigns and the Media
In today’s paper, th
e New York Times buried its article on U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s entrance into the presidential campaign on page A12. Last Friday, the Times featured former Vice President Joe Biden’s announcement of his candidacy on the front page, as a lead story for the day. While there will be many surprises between now and November 2020, we can be confident that the media will repeat many of the mistakes it makes in covering presidential elections.
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Abolishing the Electoral College—Fairer but Still Unfair
With Donald Trump and George W. Bush becoming President after receiving fewer votes than their opponents, calls to abolish the Electoral College have increased. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other 2020 Democratic candidates are leading the charge. But while elections would be fairer without an Electoral College, they still would be unfair.
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