Oh, gosh – I turned to One America News (“OAN”) this morning and bumped into a story by OAN’s Pearson Sharp stating that Democrats have a long history of claiming voter fraud, making them just as dishonest as the Republicans. I’m not sure why “being just as dishonest as the other guy” is a good thing, but, anyway, that was the sales pitch so let’s continue. Sharp’s “long history” claim is supported by one primary incident: Jimmy Carter’s run in 1962 for the Georgia state senate. The opinion journalist’s conclusion is that Trump is justified in claiming voter fraud because “the Democrats” have repeatedly made the same claim about Republicans.
Here is the lead-in to the Sharp OAN story: “Democrats have a long history of not only contesting elections they lose, but blaming voter fraud and even demanding the elections be overturned. One America’s Pearson Sharp reports.” Mr. Sharp’s argument is outlined below, on the left. The comparison to Trump is unstated in the OAN piece so I have taken the liberty of stating it.
| Carter Situation | Trump Situation |
| Carter claimed voter fraud in one district, went to court | Trump claimed widespread national voter fraud by Democrats, brought 60 court cases |
| The Georgia State Court looked at evidence, concluded fraud had occurred in the one district | 60 courts looked at evidence, concluded that no fraud had occurred by Democrats (or anyone) in any of the cases |
| Court: Fraud committed by Carter opponent | Court: No evidence supporting fraud by opponent |
| Recount ordered, resulting in overturning of prior result | Recount(s) ordered, no change to outcome of election |
Mr. Sharp concludes from this that Democrats are just as guilty as Republicans in both fraudulent activity and in claiming the other guy cheated. Lots of additional innuendo that both sides are equally dishonest. Even though, in the Carter case, only one side was dishonest – and it was not Democrat Carter – although Sharp does not mention this.
The last part of the report is a litany of cases where Democrats have complained about Republicans who commit voter fraud. He goes through these so quickly that you have no idea what really happened, just like the Carter 1962 reference earlier. The result is that you are left with the impression that Trump’s complaints about the Democrats must also be legitimate. Please stop for a minute and think about this logic: a) my party commits election fraud; b) your party complains about it; c) therefore, my complaints are legitimate. Sharp, of course, does not give you time to think about his logic; he moves quickly with his monologue.
If conservative media sources like OAN were my only source of information, I would think that the deep state is out to get Trump, and that the Democrats have a history of unethical behavior. Pearson Sharp has a very compelling TV persona, and presents the story with a high degree of self-confidence. How could someone so sure of himself be wrong?
The Carter story is not what you’d think from Sharp’s quick recap; it turns out not to have anything to do with Democratic vs Republican politics.
Carter, in his first election to public office in 1962, ran for a seat on the Georgia state senate. On election day he was traveling to each of the Georgia county polling places when he observed a local political boss pulling Carter votes out of the ballot box, marking ballots for the other guy, and generally doing things to ensure that Carter would lose in tiny “deep south” Quitman county. This was evidently not surprising to the people who lived in Quitman County, as the local boss doing this was well known for these tactics. Carter complained to the local election officials, who ignored him, as they were friends with the local boss. He then went to the state officials and to the Atlanta newspapers, and the rest is history, since the evidence of ballot fraud was overwhelming, and a recount showed Carter to be the winner by a landslide. It is a story, not about Democrats or Republicans, but about standing up to an entrenched culture of political favoritism. Party affiliation was irrelevant.
This experience gave Carter a reputation for honesty and integrity which stayed with him for the remainder of his long political career.
So, what was that One America News thing about again?
I thought you might be curious, so here is a link to the OAN story which you can view, and then decide for yourself:
Grandpa Dave Reads the News 