Reading the Internet

So the Lexington Herald Leader says this:

A growing number of Republican lawmakers are urging Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a fellow Republican, to either provide evidence of the voting “irregularities” he has alleged or concede Tuesday’s election to Gov.-elect Andy Beshear, who defeated him by 5,189 votes.

“The best thing to do, the right thing to do, is for Governor Bevin to concede the election today so we can move on,” said Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville.

But Slate has this:

Will the Kentucky Legislature assist Matt Bevin in stealing the governor’s race from Democrat Andy Beshear, who appeared to have won Tuesday’s election by about 5,000 votes? Ordinarily, I would consider the possibility preposterous. We do not live in ordinary times, though, and on Wednesday Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers raised the prospect that his institution, not the voters, could determine the outcome of the race. If Stivers and Republican Kentucky legislators were to make such a hardball move without good evidence that there were major problems with the vote count, the election would likely end up in federal court, where it is anyone’s guess what would happen. Either way, that we’re even discussing this potentiality one year before Donald Trump—who has repeatedly challenged the vote totals in his 2016 election victory—is set to face reelection is a wrenching sign for our already-damaged democracy.

This won't just be a Kentucky problem; this will provoke a national electoral crisis and mark the end of democracy as we know it!!!!!!!!!

Or not:

Nemes said he has not seen much support for an election challenge among his Republican colleagues in the House, largely because the governor has not backed up his claims. None of the lawmakers the Herald-Leader spoke to Thursday said they had seen evidence to support Bevin’s claims.

Evidence!  Haven't we learned by now that all evidence is just hearsay!  What about due process and the right to demand a different outcome because....well, because!?!  Besides, Slate has a quote from Robert Stivers!  Based on a post at Daily Kos!  Which has a link to a Louisville Courier-Journal article!  Which has a quote from Stivers' staff!  On Research!  None of which Slate explicitly mentions!  Because context doesn't matter!  Only FEAR!!!!!!!!!!

“There’s less than one-half of 1%, as I understand, separating the governor and the attorney general,” Stivers said. “We will follow the letter of the law and what various processes determine.”  

Stivers, R-Manchester, said based on his staff’s research, the decision could come before the Republican-controlled state legislature.

Yeah, it could, under the Kentucky constitution.  But it can't do it under Kentucky law:

Sam Marcosson, a constitutional law professor at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, told The Courier Journal that this language of the state Constitution suggests there must be procedure established by law for a review of a contested election to take place by the House and Senate.

“They can’t just make them up,” Marcosson said.

And the Kentucky House doesn't seem all that interested in it anyway.

Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, is a former state police officer who said he has heard rumors of election problems but no hard evidence.

“The last thing anyone wants to do is overturn a constitutional election,” Blanton said. “We want the will of the people to be done.”
....
In a statement, House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said the House will play no role in the election unless Bevin files a complaint. So far, Bevin has only asked for a recanvass, which requires county officials to check the results from every voting machine and recount absentee ballots.

“If he chooses to file a formal election contest, the House Majority Caucus will handle the matter in a legal, ethical, and appropriate manner that fulfills the requirements set forth by the Kentucky Constitution, statute and rules of the House,” Osborne said.

Besides, Stivers is already waffling:

“It is the governor’s prerogative to request recanvassing or file an application to contest the election, both of which will have a very high bar to succeed,” Stivers said. “If such a situation arises when the Senate’s involvement is required as prescribed by the Kentucky Constitution, our chamber will fulfill its requirements with the upmost objectivity and impartiality.”

The procedure, it seems, would be more a review of any evidence for overturning the election, rather than a coup d'etat by a rogue legislature bent on having its way, the people be damned:

Should Bevin contest the election, the legislature would form a randomly selected committee of eight representatives and three senators. The committee would look at any evidence of irregularities and make a report, which would be presented to a joint session of the legislature for a vote.

So far, any evidence of irregularities" seems to exist in the same realm as the evidence that Joe Biden helped Hunter Biden scam millions form Burisma while hiding Hillary's e-mails on a server in still at large in Ukraine.  And frankly, the Kentucky General Assembly sounds a bit more connected to reality than the GOP members of Congress in Washington:

“The proof isn’t that people were turned away, the proof is that you have to show fraud or irregularities,” Nemes said. “You can’t just go on a fishing expedition at this point, there hasn’t even been evidence of specific fraud.”

Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said it was “premature” for people to be talking about a potential election contest. He is “keeping his powder dry.”

“I believe members of the General Assembly should refrain from commenting because if there is one, we would be jurors,” Thayer said.

But you know, something gawd-awful could happen, so let's be preemptively afraid and beat the end of the year rush!

God bless the internet.  Without it, I wouldn't know what to worry about before there was anything to worry about.