Americans have heard this complaint before from Donald Trump. After he lost the popular election by nearly 3 million votes in 2016, Trump launched a national commission to investigate his allegations of fraudulent voting by illegal immigrants. The investigation turned up nothing. Now that his margin of defeat has expanded to nearly 4.5 million voters and the Electoral College count has gone irrefutably in President-elect Joe Biden's favor, Trump again insists that he won and the election was rigged.

The sore-loser delusions of an unstable leader obsessed with retaining power would be easy to disregard except that millions of his followers along with Republican congressional leaders have joined in. Trump's campaign has turned to the courts for redress with only one key ingredient lacking: proof.

For any such national election fraud to have occurred, Republican election officials, governors and secretaries of state would have had to join hands with Democratic plotters in a vast conspiracy to subvert democracy. They would have had to concoct this scheme in total secrecy to prevent Trump and the FBI from finding out. Local election officials and poll observers — Republicans as well as Democrats — would be required to ensure millions of votes could be manipulated or fake ballots inserted into the vote-counting system.

Diabolical!

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is doing his wild-eyed best to feed the conspiratorial flames, declaring on Fox News: "If Republicans don't challenge and change the U.S. election system, there'll never be a Republican president elected again. President Trump should not concede. ... These computers in Michigan do not pass the smell test. Keep fighting for every legal and live vote."

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told Fox News Trump shouldn't concede: "I think that is way premature at this point. We do not know who has prevailed in the election."

Actually, we do know because dedicated poll supervisors representing both parties have confirmed the tallies in key states. Recounts might disqualify a few hundred ballots here and there, but tens of thousands would be required to overturn Biden's victory.

All this effort to concoct a vast conspiratorial web of deceit when the truth is staring them in the face: A record-setting 75.6 million American voters preferred Biden over Trump. That fact was good enough for former President George W. Bush and dedicated Trump ally Chris Christie, former Republican governor of New Jersey, to call and congratulate Biden.

Americans are tired of GOP divisiveness. Besides, where was all this effort after the FBI confirmed election manipulation by Russia in 2016 that helped put Trump in the White House? The most serious affront in memory to American sovereignty received a resounding yawn from those who now are stomping their feet with feigned outrage over fraud. The bottom-line requirement remains unchanged: Prove it.

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