Lynch: Trump is proof that system is not rigged

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2016/08/12/lynch-trump-is-proof-that-system-is-not-rigged/

STATE HOUSE — Donald Trump’s recent claims that the November election would be “rigged” are “shameful” and damaging to democracy, Congressman Stephen Lynch said Thursday.

After attending a bill-signing ceremony, the South Boston congressman and supporter of Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton fielded questions about recent Trump statements.

Lynch said Trump referring ambiguously to what “Second Amendment people” could do to stop Clinton from making judicial appointments was “reckless” and “unfortunate,” and the nominee’s more recent claims that Clinton and President Barack Obama founded the terrorist group Islamic State are “utterly ridiculous.”

Without prompting, Lynch then launched into a takedown of claims by Trump that the election where he will face Clinton and less popular candidates in November would be “rigged.”

Trump and his surrogates have repeated the claim the election would be stolen from them in recent days.

“I don’t know. I just worry. The campaign is one thing, but also the damage to the office and to the whole process. The other day he was complaining that in spite of the fact that he is the Republican nominee, that our political system is rigged and fraudulent. He is proof positive that the system is not rigged,” Lynch said. “The fact that Donald Trump is a major party nominee, given his lack of experience and the reckless things that he says – I mean the fact that he is the Republican nominee shows you that this system is not rigged.”

Trump has run an unconventional campaign, relying on his own newsworthy, bombastic statements to keep himself front-and-center and stealing the spotlight from rivals, rather than the traditional route of canned stump speeches, paid TV ads and support from those already holding elected offices.

The real estate developer-turned politician’s calls to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country and to target the families of terrorists along with his no-holds-barred stance toward critics has turned some Republicans away – even as Clinton stands as the most feasible alternative. Republicans have been arguing against Clinton’s ideas for two decades or more, and the former senator and secretary of state has maintained there exists a “vast right-wing conspiracy.”

Lynch noted that on his way to winning the nomination, Trump defeated governors – including the chief executives of Texas, Wisconsin and Ohio – and senators.

“If they had the ability to rig it, they would have rigged it for themselves. This system is not rigged. We’ve probably got the strongest democracy on the planet,” Lynch told reporters. “I just think now that he has fallen behind in the polls he’s saying, ‘It’s unfair. It’s rigged. It’s a corrupt system.’ I think that hurts the process. Regardless of how this election comes out you don’t want to cast those type of claims against a very strong democracy. I think it’s shameful.”




— Written by Andy Metzger

Copyright State House News Service