The general election is still nine months away but that didn't stop Schiff from saying it will be corrupt if Trump is acquitted.

During his monotonous two-hour rehashing of the case against the president, Democratic House Manager Adam Schiff argued that if president Trump is allowed to run for president this year, “we cannot be assured that the vote will be fairly won.” That’s right, nine months out from election day Schiff and the Democrats are laying the groundwork to call a Trump second term illegitimate, just as have they done for the entirety of the first term.

“The President's misconduct cannot be decided at the ballot box, for we cannot be assured that the vote will be fairly won,” lead impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff says during his opening statement at the Senate impeachment trial. https://t.co/14mXcvjVzh pic.twitter.com/F2OZhLYx7v — CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) January 22, 2020

Remember the good old days, back in 2016 when there was no chance Hillary Clinton could lose and the only question was whether angry Trump voters, or even Trump himself would accept the outcome of the free and fair election? Boy did that narrative bust. Instead, the exact opposite happened. Trump won and it is the Democrats who now express grave concerns about the sanctity of our election results.

However ludicrous, Schiff’s statement is the necessary extension of the Democrats’ logic in bringing the case so quickly, without waiting for witnesses. And as it seems extremely likely the senate acquits Trump, then the same “emergency circumstances” will exist that caused the rush to impeach in the first place. Schiff is flat out telling voters that if Trump is not removed from office they should question the fairness of the outcome of the next election.

This is the corner the Democrats have painted themselves into. The Mueller investigation failed, this impeachment has failed to gain bipartisan support or even anything approaching a strong polling majority, and now when the impeachment trial inevitably fails, they will resort to arguing that their thwarted efforts have rendered the upcoming election corrupt.

This is the madness in all of this. A dispute in the White House as to whether to put a temporary hold on a foreign aid package that was released by the deadline has turned into a vast conspiracy that will the undermine the most important election in America. It is a deranged theory.

The excuses have started early for the Democrats. As their dull-as-a-doornail presidential primary prattles on with no candidates gaining wide and excited support, they are already preparing for the worst: a Trump win. They are already starting to question its validity.

But the American people are not stupid. They know an acquittal of Trump would in no way, shape or form undermine the November election. Instead, under the guise of defending our democracy, it is Schiff and the Democrats calling it illegitimate.