Trump's Legacy On Full Display in Brownsville

By Diego Garcia III | Editior of The Brownsville Beacon



One of my favorite TV shows is the White House drama The West Wing. The last season sees a presidential election between Democrat Congressman Matthew Vicente Santos from Texas against Republican Senator Arnold Vinick from California.

The election boils down to Arizona, where Santos squeaks out a narrow victory agsinst Vinick. A few thousand votes is the margin of victory. When the results are announced, the defeated Senator Vinick asks his aides to get the President-elect on the phone. When his campaign advisors tell him he should challenge the results in court, Vinick, played by veteran actor Alan Alda, says no. When his people insist, Vinick puts up his hand and says, "I'll either be a winner, or a loser tonight. I won't be a sore loser."

It would be nice if in this instance life imitated art.

Donald Trump has caused lasting damage to the presidency, to the country, and to the concept of separation of powers. One can hope the damage is not irreparable.

I am not going to list the ways Trump has disgraced and embarrassed the United States. Rather, I'll focus on the trickle down effect Trump's ridiculous legal challenges have had on local elections. 

It is sad to think from this day forward anybody who loses an election can simply claim election fraud with no proof whatsoever. Simply waving your arms and jumping up and down like a child who didn't get his way is enough to kick up enough controversy among the public.

That's part of Trump's legacy.

In one of Brownsville's local school board elections, an incumbent was defeated by the slimmest or margins. After all the votes were counted, the incumbent lost by one vote. That's not a typo. One vote.

The incumbent asked for a recount, and after all the votes were counted again, the election swung in favor of the incumbent by a total of eight votes. The election was certified and the incumbent was.sworn in for another term as a school board member.

Today, El Rrun Rrun and The Brownsville Herald ran stories saying the loser of the race is now gearing up for a legal battle. The candidate alleges multiple provisions of the Texas Election Code were violated by the incumbent during early voting and the general election. The challenger's legal team, headed by former Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa, argues the election is tainted and therefore should be nullified and a new election should be held to decide the legitimate winner.

It is apparent the days when there was a definitive winner and loser in elections are behind us. Instead of abiding by the results of the democratic process, it appears as if the judicial system will.be more and more involved in deciding who holds elected office.

It really is disappointing democracy is being perverted and manipulated by people who can't seem to accept defeat. 

It is even more disappointing and disheartening politicians are no longer held to a high standard of professionalism and maturity. Trump has lowered the bar lower than I could have ever imagined.

The American electoral process will never be the same again.

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