Escalating rhetoric related to voter-fraud conspiracy theories is crossing the line into what election officials say are threats against their physical safety, with less than two weeks left before Montana’s primary election. Addressing the state Legislature’s oversight committee for election processes, Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan said Wednesday he’s been working with other organizations to encourage local election administrators and law enforcement to develop plans “for the safety of their staff, polling locations and equipment.” “Election misinformation, disinformation, the stuff that’s happening across the state, is harming and putting at risk our election officials, our election judges, our election volunteers and poll-watchers in the coming elections,” he said, adding, “someone needs to stand up and say Montanans need to be proud and feel good about the election practices we have in place and can feel confident about their vote.” Mangan cited potential threats directed at election officials in Carbon and Cascade counties, and asked the State Administration and Veterans Affairs Interim Committee to consider legislation that would enhance protections for election officials and judges against safety threats.
Editorial: America’s billionaire class is funding anti-democratic forces | Robert Reich/The Guardian
Decades ago, America’s monied interests bankrolled a Republican establishment that believed in fiscal conservatism, anti-communism and constitutional democracy. Today’s billionaire class is pushing a radically anti-democratic agenda for America – backing Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, calling for restrictions on voting and even questioning the value of democracy. Peter Thiel, the billionaire tech financier who is among those leading the charge, once wrote, “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” Thiel is using his fortune to squelch democracy. He donated $15m to the successful Republican Ohio senatorial primary campaign of JD Vance, who alleges that the 2020 election was stolen and that Biden’s immigration policy has meant “more Democrat voters pouring into this country.” Thiel has donated at least $10m to the Arizona Republican primary race of Blake Masters, who also claims Trump won the 2020 election and admires Lee Kuan Yew, the authoritarian founder of modern Singapore. The former generation of wealthy conservatives backed candidates like Barry Goldwater, who wanted to conserve American institutions. Thiel and his fellow billionaires in the anti-democracy movement don’t want to conserve much of anything – at least not anything that occurred after the 1920s, which includes Social Security, civil rights, and even women’s right to vote.
Full Article: America’s billionaire class is funding anti-democratic forces | Robert Reich | The Guardian
