The White House doesn't want election security

It's hardly a surprise, but now we (or at least I) have on-the-record quotations from a White House spokesperson confirming that the White House killed election-security legislation last year in the Senate.

The Rules Committee planned to advance the legislation last August but postponed it after criticism from the White House and some state officials.

White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said at the time that if Congress wished to continue pursuing the Secure Elections Act, it should not “violate the principles of federalism.”

“We cannot support legislation with inappropriate mandates or that moves power or funding from the states to Washington for the planning and operation of elections,” she said.

Heaven forbid that states be required to have minimum security standards for little things like our elections.

The White House simply is not a credible voice when it comes to ... well, anything these days, but particularly not when it comes to anything related to our elections. Our domestic Dear Leader is apparently so touchy about the continuing furor over Russian interference in the 2016 election that Cabinet members can't even bring the subject up in the context of protecting the next election.

The trouble is, the only one Donnie's obstinacy and indifference to electoral integrity benefits is him. The rest of us? We get him for another four years, along with who can guess what other bizarre and untrustworthy results.

Look, I know that if you support him it feels like the rest of us are out to get him come hell or high water. You think we'll say anything to boot him from office, fairly or otherwise.

But get this straight: Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

If the Russians had jumped in on Hillary's side, you would have broken out the pitchforks and the torches. You would have called on the rest of us to join you because you would have been enraged that a foreign country messed with our decision. You would have done that even if Hillary had lost, in spite of their support.

Does that give you a better idea of how the rest of us feel, knowing that the Russians interfered on Trump's behalf?

The bottom line is, the Russians have no fucking business messing with our, or anybody else's, election.

We are overdue to harden our elections against them (and other bad actors). Yet the White House killed Congress' prior attempt to respond, rather than working with Congress to fix the bill.

Even if you love Trump, you can't let him leave our elections open to interference. That would betray the entire country.