Congress is set to conduct what normally is a quick, and usually mostly ceremonial event Wednesday to count the Electoral College votes. But, some Republican supporters of President Trump's efforts to overturn the election are promising to fight it. A South Coast presidental scholar who founded an online presidential archive says what the President has been doing is damaging to the office.
The count is the last formal step before a new president is inaugurated. But, some House and Senate Republicans say they will object to the outcomes in some states where the President Trump and his supporters claimed there were vote counting issues.
Some political observers think this could be the last gasp for the unfounded claims of election irregularities.
UCSB Professor John Woolley is founder, and co-director of the American Presidency Project. It’s a non-partisan online archive of documents, videos, and other information about America’s presidents.
Woolley says after a presidential election, the loser traditionally will graciously congratulate the winner, and offer to help with a smooth transition. That certainly isn’t the case now.
While some leading Republican have accepted the election results, others have not. The historian says some may be doing that in an effort to curry support from President Trump’s sizable voter base. He says they are doing it to build support for their own future presidential bids.
President-Elect Joe Biden says he wants to work to try to reunite the country, and to serve everyone, and not just those who elected him. But, the longtime UCSB historian says pulling Democrats and Republicans together has become an increasing difficult task. He says while you once had variations in each party, like a Republican who might have some liberal leanings or a somewhat conservative Democrat, members of both parties now mostly fall within limited, traditional boundaries.
The presidential historian says while the UC Santa Barbara based American Presidency Project was originally created to help students, the online archive is available to everyone. Professor Woolley says it’s mushroomed in size over the years.
If you’d like to learn more about our presidents, you can find a link to the American Presidency Project at www.presidency.ucsb.edu
