I think the shock had a lot more to do with his behavior displayed and the dirty, underhanded tactics used to win the election. This was further exasperated by the role of the electoral college in the election. It’s rare that it goes against the popular vote and the fact that the last two times it has been coupled with potentially illegal and fraudulent or questionable tactics perpetrated that, in essence, steamroll voters shouldn’t sit well with anyone. Even you Libertarians.

Look, obviously Democrats want their candidate to win. So do Republicans. That’s politics. So what? Each party usually concedes a lost election with grace and good wishes. That’s politics too. It’s designed to be adversarial but civil and fair. Nothing wrong with that. It’s worked well enough that way for over 2 centuries now.

That said, if a Republican candidate lost an election because a Democratic candidate colluded with or took advantage of foreign interference… if a Democrat won after violating campaign finance laws … if a Democrat slid into office after a credible concern over voter fraud and a questionable court decision … I wouldn’t say the Republicans were sore losers for recognizing that there’s something squirrelly going on and raising all sorts of hell about it.

I’d say they were courageous Patriots acting to protect our democracy by demanding accountability for the integrity of our electoral process.