Does America’s History Justify Rigged Election Fears?

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 27 October 2016

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two weeks from today, Election Day will be over. But will we have a president? Yes. Well, maybe not. “I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense,” GOP candidate Donald Trump said at the last presidential debate after the moderator asked if he would accept the election results. Trump’s suspicion towards the system reflects the views of 4 in 10 Americans who agreed that the election could be “stolen” from him as a result of voter fraud. This is but one area in which American democratic institutions have come into question. In recent years, law enforcement and the criminal justice system have been increasingly accused of racism and racial bias, while former Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders accused the country’s economy of being “rigged.” Some of the other rigged accusations may have merit, says Elesha Coffman, an assistant professor of history at Baylor University. But applying this term to the United States’ elections is “horrifying.” “It is unprecedented to say, ‘I don’t know, I’ll keep you in suspense,’” said Coffman. “It was profoundly undemocratic and profoundly destabilizing, and you really wonder if and when Trump goes down … what all is he taking down with him.” Coffman joins Mark and Morgan on Quick to Listen to discuss whether the Gilded Age should be seen as an aberration or norm, the problem with trying to use the criminal justice system to make a point, and whether gerrymandering leads to accusations of rigged elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.
0:11.0	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion.
0:14.5	Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at apologeticsky.com.
0:20.6	Thank you. Michael Del Rosario at Apologeticsguy.com.
0:34.0	You're listening to Quick to Listen. I'm Mark Galley. I'm the editor-in-chief at Christianity today. Each week, we go beyond hashtags and hot takes and set aside time to explore the
0:39.0	reality behind a major cultural event. And I'm joined today by my co-host, I'm Morgan Lee. Hey Morgan.
0:45.2	We've been doing it for three weeks now. Yes. I just wonder how you're doing. The weather's glum,
0:50.2	the giants are going home, the 49ers are doing lousy. How's it going?
0:56.4	You see me. I think I smile every day in the office.
0:58.0	Yeah. You put on a good front.
0:59.0	Whoa.
1:09.2	Anyway. So our theme this week is some statements made by Donald Trump about how he's not going to trust the election, which he thinks is rigged. That leads to a lot of questions about various incendiary cultural institutions in this democratic experiment. We want to talk
1:17.3	about that. And who's going to talk about that with us, Morgan? So actually, we brought on a
1:20.7	former coworker of yours, believe it or not. So this week we'll be speaking with Alicia Kaufman,
1:25.6	who right now is at Baylor University, where she is an assistant professor of history.
1:30.4	Previously, she was the assistant professor of church history at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.
1:37.2	But the reason that you know her really well is because she worked at Christianity today back in the day as the managing editor of Christian History magazine.
1:45.7	Her first book, The Christian Century and the Rise of the Protestant Main Line,
1:49.2	came out a couple years ago. Hey, Alicia, it's great to have you here.
1:53.0	Yes, it's great to be here.
1:54.2	Yeah, it's good to reconnect with you, Alicia. I just remember when you worked at Christian history,
1:59.7	I was just so impressed with you, and I knew
	...

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