How the Trump concession differs from Clinton

I read an article which stated more or less that if the shoe were on the other foot, the Democratic candidate would act the same as Trump and referenced Clinton's refusal to withdraw immediately after the prior election.

I don't know how these two are considered even remotely similar. Yes, Clinton awaited recounts in key states where the race was close. And the race was closer in those states than in any where Trump is contesting now. And no one is saying that he isn't permitted a recount regardless of its unlikeliness to change the outcome. It is his right. But, the margins are wide enough that a simple recount won't change anything.

Additionally, Clinton had won the popular vote. Making it more likely that miscounts would be in her favour.

I'm not trying to suggest for one second that Clinton was gracious in defeat or anything like that. But, a few key differences would be that she never did anything beyond await the outcome of recounts, whereas Trump has attempted to call into question the validity of perfectly legal ballots and he is seeking to block vote certification. 

If Donald Trump would like to refuse to concede until the votes are certified, that is one thing. Petty, sure. But, his right to do so.

On the other hand, trying to dictate to the individual States what their voting laws should consist of and which ballots should be considered valid is an insult to the US constitution. I'm no American, and things aren't the same here as they are in the US. But, the uniting of the American states was not some happy, unanimous event. And, control over voting, even for Federal positions such as the Senate, House and the Presidency were things which were INTENTIONALLY left for the states to handle autonomously.

This is for the simple reason that "confederate leaning Southern states" didn't want a "Yankee" lead Federal government eroding the value of their votes by manipulating the system to make it easier to stack government in their favour. And vice versa. It would be bad enough for states which were once at war with each other to have a government comprised of a majority of people whose ideology is that of a group of people who killed your ancestors. But, to then allow them to assume control over your voting laws would have been an unacceptable insult added to injury. In short, the US wouldn't have formed if it were otherwise.

And this is exactly what Trump and Republicans are attempting to accomplish now. They are trying to rewrite election laws in states which didn't swing the way they wanted. They aren't awaiting a lawful recount. They aren't entrusting the vote to the states. They aren't going through the approved processes.

This is nothing less than the mutually assured destruction of the American democracy. A primarily Republican Government is attempted to rewrite voting laws to convert Democratic leaning states Republican by force. But, if Trump can pull this off, then so too can any future Democratic president and it will continue back and forth until one side successfully converts the government into dictatorship. And no. I'm not exaggerating.

Of course there are 2 potential solutions to this problem. Rescind PAs votes entirely, decreasing the number of electoral college votes required to win the Presidency by half the excluded amount. In which case Biden still wins. Or, redo the PA vote, giving the legal voters who voted by mail a chance to cast a ballot legally, in which case Trump will likely lose again. But Trump doesn't want those votes counted whether they are legal or not. He wants to take the state by force. He wants to exercise the will of the current Federal government over that of the States. 

If you cannot see how this differs from past Presidential elections, chances are you would simply rather not see the truth. But, you should be shitting your pants if this succeeds. Because, after this, if Republicans don't hold onto power indefinitely, you're in for a world of hurt when they're replaced.

Precedent. That is what they are attempting to set right now. But, precedent is a double edged sword.