Trump, a Texas lawsuit, and democracy’s future

Update: The United States Supreme Court has rejected Texas’ attempt to throw out the presidential results in four other states, saying that it lacked standing and “has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.” Justices Thomas and Alito said they would have allowed Texas to file, but “would not grant other relief.”

President Donald Trump’s continued false insistence that he is the rightful winner of the 2020 election is culminating six weeks after Election Day with a widespread Republican embrace of an audacious legal effort to invalidate the votes of entire states and mandate a Trump victory – an attempt which, if successful, would inflict grievous damage on American democracy itself.

The mere fact that the attorneys general of Texas and 17 other GOP-led states, a majority of House Republicans, and the president have signed on to such a lawsuit calls into question the Republican Party’s very commitment to democratic