A thread on election fraud, political grandstanding, and incitement—expanding on my tweets last week about Hawley and Carlson.
Let us begin by stipulating the following. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, and the first rule of rhetoric is knowing one’s audience.

2. Consider three convictions (1) Widespread election fraud occurred, on such a scale that Biden “stole” the election. (2) You doubt that, but you think it’s at least possible. (3) You’re pretty sure that, despite irregularities here and there, they did not alter the outcome.

3. It is clear that President Trump, beginning election night and insistently thereafter, made claim (1). Polls and personal experience show that a large portion of the GOP public, for their own reasons or because Trump said so, also embraced claim (1).

4. However, when it comes to conservative intellectual and political leadership, I have not encountered anyone personally who holds claim (1). Some seem to hold claim (2), most, however, are in camp (3). They believe Biden won fair and square. So, apparently, do the courts.

5. Now, consider if you are in camp (2). You think there might’ve been serious fraud. You think it’s worth investigating. But you also recognize that’s a massive claim. A claim that could destabilize the entire political system for years to come.