One of Gore's henchmen actually made the General Will argument in November 2000 (If I could search FR by date, we discussed it all then).
This is what they now believe-that the "actual votes" don't really reflect the will of the people, because of late capitalism, false consciousness, and "vote suppression".
Since they should "really win" every election, cheating is just a tool to fulfill the general will.
This, of course, leads directly to war if it is not stopped.
As a history buff, I like to go back to the 1850's for a comparison. The Whigs wanted to have it both ways on slavery when people were becoming more committed to one stance or another, and more strident about their views. Eventually it killed them, and the Republicans took their place.
But during this period, the Jacksonian Democrats did not get stronger. In fact, they got weaker and weaker as the decade progressed, and their splintering in 1860 over slavery was a key factor that led to the fracturing of the nation.
Turning to today, I understand that the Republicans have not taken on key senators who should have been challenged. As a matter of fact, pulling out of Washington state three weeks before the election prevented Dino Rossi from pulling out a convincing win for governor. But with a limited amount of money available, triage becomes inevitable. Certain people can be challenged, but in this era of permanent imcumbency sometimes you just have to swallow hard and pick your targets carefully.
Is the GOP all that strong? No. But in the absence of Democratic Party strength, all you have to do is hold your own, and you get where you want by default.