Stopping the Steal

As "Stopping the Steal" (2024 release; 90 min) opens, we are in Arizona, a key swing state in the 2020 presidential election, and the Maricopa Board of Supervisors, controlled by Republicans, are facing increased pressure to declare Trump the winner, even though he lost. At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: most critical in this documentary is that it is entirely seen and assessed from the Republicans' perspective. Not a single Democrat or independent voice is heard. Indeed, the remarkable thing is that the open and blatant attempt by Trump and his crew to throw out the will of the voters is thwarted primarily by... elected Republicans. We hear them time and again lamenting "we're simply doing our job". The documentary captures all the classis moments from election day to January 6, and to see it laid out so clearly is both chilling and horrifying. Of course we all know that Trump never has been, or is, or will be, a Republican. He simply hijacked the GOP for his own purposes and interests, and the GOP just let him do it. The timing of this documentary, released less than 2 months before the 2024 presidential election, is no coincidence of course. Already we see Trump cast doubt, every single day, that the election is "rigged". The fact that there is no evidence of that is of course nothing but a minor inconvenience, just like in 2020. It remains to be seen if our Republic can survive another open and blatant attempt to overthrow the will of the people...

"Stopping the Steal" started streaming on Max 10 days ago, and I finally found the time to watch it the other night. If you have any interest in politics, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

A comprehensive and narratively gripping recount of MAGA's attempts to pressure, intimidate, and smear Republican election officials into overriding the will of the American people. If you know anyone who didn't follow the events of the last election closely and still isn't quite sure what happened, I implore you to show this to them.

Behind the act, the man portrayed in the testimonies here is the real Donald Trump. A dangerous, self-obsessed narcissist who would have never taken no for an answer - even if he'd decisively lost every state in the nation.

Let it be a warning of things to come should we make the same mistake again.

Anyone can make a film where they embolden confirmation bias by interviewing people and presenting evidence that only supports their own position. That is part of the disease of today's social media culture. The strength of this film is that it presents a hypothesis-that Donald Trump knew he lost the election, and there was no evidence to support it and proceeded anyway, from the position of pre-Trump supporters, State Officials, and Washington insiders. These people all wanted Trump to win, but they believed in truth more, The film shows how they were systemically targeted and vilified as they could not find any viable evidence to support the outrageous allegations made by the President's election team. It really is heart-wrenching to watch. Mike Pence, whom I was never a fan of, is a hero. He is a hero, for not only not overturning the election, but, as you will see, by not abandoning The Capitol while under siege, as he could have. This is a must watch.

I was hesitant to watch Stopping the Steal because I already knew how crooked the attempts to overturn the results of the election were. The likely outcome of my viewing, I thought, would only be further agitation at how many people bought the lies and took their displeasure to violent extremes. But I loved it and actually felt encouraged after watching it because A) it's very well done and B) I forgot and was partly unaware of how many heroes stepped up (Republicans, mind you) to ensure the election results were secure and ultimately honored. The makers went to the trouble of including a few Trump diehards who are still not convinced of the validity of the results, but their participation really just served as a reminder that there's still a range of opinions out there (regardless of how rational they may or may not be). People should know the names of the individuals who disregarded any sense of party allegiance in favor of allegiance to the process that makes America great--yes, already great.

Shines a light on the courageous people (all of which are Republicans) who 'held the line' after the 2020 election and acted with honor and integrity. Stark warning at the end, to ensure that we elect honorable people who respect the rule of law and the constitution into positions of power. Somehow a large chunk of Americans don't seem to care about that going into the next election though ... this documentary serves as a good reminder of why you should care. We need documentaries like this to ensure that the shameful conduct and actions that many took part in after the 2020 election, culminating on January 6th, are not forgotten.