Conspiracy theories are a disease of both the Left and the Right

 Larry Elder gets it right at townhall.com.

Both the Left and the Right have come up with some notable conspiracy theories.  Conspiracy theories are to be expected when there is insufficient transparency and obvious corruption.  What is unfortunate is the inability of much of the populace to discuss them calmly and refrain from name-calling.

---------------------------------------------

Democrats and much of the Republican-hating media call the Republicans' election challenge dead on arrival and say the effort hurt Republicans in Georgia. If so, why the outrage protestations from the left?

Many of the election fraud allegations made by team Trump have been ignored or downplayed by media sources from which much of America gets their "news." So many Americans know nothing about the legal challenges that raise questions about voter irregularities, mathematical improbabilities, questionable extensions of ballot deadlines and unsolicited ballots apparently illegally sent in Michigan, among other factual and legal issues raised.

Yes, the President Donald Trump-hating cable TV hosts, pundits, column writers, newspaper editorials and legal scholars prattle on about how these GOP congresspersons "undermine the integrity of our republic." But many of these same critics said little about the integrity of our republic when, for the entirety of Trump's presidency, critics made baseless charges, including but not limited to: that Trump's relationship with Vladimir Putin turned the president into a Russia asset fraudulently elected to do Moscow's bidding; that under the 25th Amendment, Trump's mental state required him to step down; that Trump's violations of the emoluments clause make him a "grifter"; and that our democratically elected president is a "fascist," a "Nazi" and, of course, a "racist."

Democrats and the media realize that much of the country knows nothing about the concerns raised by attorney Alan Dershowitz, who campaigned for Barack Obama, and George Washington Law School's professor Jonathan Turley, who says he does not support Trump and he voted for Bill Clinton and Obama, and former independent counsel Ken Starr. All raised questions about the election, especially regarding Pennsylvania and how its deadlines were extended.

Critics hammer Trump for embracing election "conspiracy theories." But many who now call Trump "delusional" for questioning the election have embraced some of the most outrageous conspiracy theories, without the believers being held up to public ridicule. These conspiracies include:

Seventy-eight percent of Democrats, according to an August 2018 Gallup poll, believed not only that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election but also that this interference put Trump in office. Our intelligence community reached no such conclusion.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., falsely blames President Ronald Reagan's CIA for playing a major role in the urban crack-cocaine epidemic. Waters even wrote a foreword for a book called "Dark Alliance," that made this sensational claim. The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, despite their contempt for Reagan, all disputed Waters' assertion. The San Jose Mercury News, the newspaper that published the CIA-crack cocaine allegation, issued a retraction of the most serious claims. The reporter resigned, and later, at age 49, committed suicide.

Prominent Black entertainers accused the American government scientists of inventing HIV/AIDS. Comedian/activist Dick Gregory said the virus "was not passed from chimpanzees to mankind, but was probably knowingly developed by doctors and scientists working for the U.S. government." Bill Cosby said AIDS "was started by human beings to get after certain people they don't like." Will Smith claimed, "AIDS was created as a result of biological-warfare testing." Director Spike Lee said, "I'm convinced AIDS is a government-engineered disease."

Lee also speculated that the U.S. government, under President George W. Bush, blew up levees during Hurricane Katrina to force Blacks out of New Orleans. "It's not far-fetched," Lee said, "and also I would like to say it's not necessarily blow it up. But, the residents of that ward, they believe it, there was a Hurricane Betsy in '65, the same that happened where a choice had to be made, one neighborhood got to save another neighborhood and flood another 'hood, flood another neighborhood."

So, spare us the concern about irresponsible "conspiracy theories" given the left's embrace of several, including the damnable lie that the police engage in "systemic" racism against Blacks. For four years, Democrats like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Rep. John Lewis called Trump "illegitimate." Democrats and the media do not want a Biden presidency similarly handicapped.