Reactionaries have long taken the position that the GOP represents the opinion of a majority of real Americans, and that Democratic victories must therefore be attributable to voter fraud on the part of minorities and illegal immigrants. That is the reason the GOP continues to pound the voter fraud drum and promotes inappropriate restrictions on voting even though there is absolutely no evidence of fraud making even the slightest difference in any election since 1960.
It occurred to me this morning that there is a real danger that Russian meddling in our elections, whose practical impact has probably been grossly overblown, could well turn into the left-wing version of the same phenomenon, particularly if the GOP manages to hang onto both houses of Congress this November. If we get to the point where large segments of both parties reject the legitimacy of our elections, the system is in real trouble.
Putin and Xi would love that.