No headline

The majority of Americans did not vote for Donald Trump, they voted for Hillary Clinton. Trump lost the popular vote by more than two million voters, the largest margin of popular votes ever lost by a candidate who won the election.

Trump had charged that the “voting system was rigged.” And now he embraces a thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory that Clinton’s campaign experienced “massive voter fraud.”

The real scandal is that millions of would-be voters didn’t participate because of obstacles — such as strict photo-ID requirements, cutbacks in early voting and new registration restrictions — designed to discourage them, columnist Dana Milbank says. “They arguably suppressed enough minority voters to cost Hillary Clinton the election.”

Another factor influencing the election were “fake news” stories that blanketed the internet and has forced Facebook and Twitter to investigate their sources. A “fake news” operation based in Macedonia, has flooded social media with fake stories that have thousands of followers in this country.

A recount has begun in Wisconsin, with other recounts possible. But it’s unlikely they will significantly change the results.

Since we must, at least for now, accept the result of the Electoral College process, (in a democracy, isn’t the majority supposed to rule?) like others, I am scared for our country. I was scared too in 1972 when Richard Nixon won reelection by a wide margin. But less than two years later, because of Watergate, he was forced to resign.

JAMES W. RAMSEY

Sandpoint