It is important to note that "stolen elections" have been a critical element of the modern conservative movement in the United States since the 1940s. 1/

Conservatives believed they had a chance to end the New Deal by electing Robert A. Taft in 1940. Taft was a member of America First, a supporter of the National Association of Manufacturers, and a staunch anticommunist. Standing in their way? The liberal wing of the party. 2/

Liberal Republicans dominated the NY news media. Using their understanding of public relations, the liberal wing launched the candidacy of Wendell Willkie, an internationalist former Democrat, from the newsroom of "Fortune" magazine. Conservatives were completely blindsided. 3/

Taft lost in the primaries again in 1948 and 1952. Each time conservatives thought it was their year, and that the liberal news media had stolen the election. 1952 was particularly egregious, because Truman was viewed as a weak candidate and Taft had a real shot at winning. 4/

Conservatives viewed Taft's third defeat at the hands of the liberal wing of the GOP as a "stabbed in the back" moment. Taft's death shortly after the election further hammered home the point that their leader had been robbed. This betrayal fueled right wing orgs thru the 1950s/5

Throughout the 1960s, conservatives felt betrayed by the party and questioned the legitimacy of the democratic process. In 1960, Richard Nixon made a pact with the liberal wing of the party, the "Treaty of Fifth Avenue," to run for president on a liberal platform. Betrayal. 6/

In 1964, the GOP ran Barry Goldwater, the Arizona arch conservative. Conservatives believed he lost because liberal Republicans turned their back on the party. Betrayal. In 1968 and 1976, Ronald Reagan lost the primaries to less conservatives Nixon and Ford. Betrayal. 7/

The GOP is primed and ready to hear another tale of electoral betrayal at the hands of the liberal media and liberal Republicans. Denying Biden's victory fits a pattern, while also introducing a troubling escalation of rhetoric. 8/Fin