One of the biggest pieces of news coming from Washington, which did not receive nearly as much publicity as it probably should have, was that 106 members of Congress - all Republicans - are attempting to take action to reverse the official election results in four key battleground states - in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin - and to then declare Donald Trump the winner.
Meanwhile, many members of the Republican Senate, led by Mitch McConnell, are refusing to officially acknowledge Joe Biden as the President-elect and thus attempting to cast doubts on the election results, even though there really is no basis for it. They have not, and really cannot, produce the
And the irony is, they are doing it - or claiming to do it - with the stated purpose of preventing what they claim is a coup d'état. The funny thing is that Republicans have long and baldly admitted that if there are more voters in elections, they would never win another major, national election again. That very likely would be the truth, too.
Here's the thing, though: the elections are supposed to be about the will of the American voters. So if you are worried that you will not win another election, then traditionally, what you have to do is change your ideas and make them more friendly to voters. At the very least, you have to work on changing your approach, the means of communicating your ideas. Republicans have clearly shown an unwillingness to do so. They are not alone, for that matter, because if we are honest with ourselves, it is clear that corporatist Democrats (often referred to as "mainstream Democrats") are guilty of the same thing. Republicans get more negative media attention because they try to suppress the will of voters in the general election, while Democrats do it during their primaries.
What is alarming and truly unprecedented is that these are prominent lawmakers. They hold high-ranking, national government posts, representing their states. They were, presumably, elected in a democratic fashion, although we need to note here just how much our democratic elections have been undermined by all of the problems that have long plagued our elections, including huge sums of money from special interests in lobbying and PAC's, gerrymandering, and outright voter suppression. But these are people very much in the public domain, claiming to serve and protect the American people and the Constitution of the United States (and by extension, the Bills of Rights), and who are now actively attacking the free and fair results of a national election. To say this is unprecedented in modern American history is an understatement. Indeed, it is a very troubling sign. It is dangerous, and they are playing with fire. We need to remember that these members of Congress do not represent a majority of Americans, or even close to a majority. In fact, the rabidly pro-Trump faction of the American population is and always has been in the minority. The fact that they are pushing the envelope more and more is clearly a sign of trouble to come, and we ignore this transparent threat to American democracy at our peril.
How much of this is just political showmanship to cater to the obviously hugely influential base of Trump supporters is hard to say. Some of these clowns may very well believe in what they are doing. Or worse, some of them, I suspect, know only too well that these efforts lack any legitimacy, but are continuing because, again, it is likely politically profitable for them to do so. Also, they may be hoping to be on the "right side" of this real attempt at a coup d'état should it succeed. It likely will not succeed, but the fact that so many high-ranking lawmakers in Washington are so willing to come out publicly in favor of something like this, pathetic as it is, reveals yet the latest extent to which American democracy has eroded. It has never been clearer just how alarmingly fragile our American democracy is. If nothing else, this Trump era, which clearly will not simply end even if Joe Biden gets inaugurated on January 20th, has revealed just how much our democratic traditions have deteriorated.
Perhaps the most alarming thing is that recently, it was revealed that some ex-military officers, in support of Trump, are now urging that martial law be imposed. This includes former war hero Scott O'Grady, and Michael Flynn, a former member of the Trump administration. They are actively spreading rumors suggesting that Barack Obama and the Democrats are "sworn socialists." Anyone who has an ounce of perspective and objectivity, and is even remotely familiar with the political leanings of Obama or Biden or Harris, would surely know that they are quite far from socialism. On the different political end of the spectrum, actually. In fact, anyone familiar with socialism or communism would clearly be able to reveal that they are very, very far from promoting anything resembling socialist ideas. Unfortunately in this Trump age, facts do not matter, and vicious rumors and attacks without a shred of proof have become so commonplace as to apparently be accepted as the new normal in our national political discourse. That is not merely a sad statement. It is pathetic and shameful.
One way or the other, the anti-democratic spirit among many of our high-ranking lawmakers in Washington - long suspected - are now being clearly exposed. Not surprisingly, many Democrats are blasting this attempt at a coup d'état. What may be more surprising is that more and more Republicans are recognizing it for what it is, as well. A former Republican strategist, Steve Schmidt, suggested that "106 members of Congress broke faith with American democracy." He went on to add that “we’re one election away from losing the country to people who do not believe in democracy.”
He's right. And let's face it: this is just the latest attempt at trying to circumvent and undermine our democratic traditions to get their way. Eventually, much like with the political rise of Trump himself, many of these people - still almost exclusively Republicans, for now - will mold their arguments to such an extent as to justify outright ending a real democracy, if they do not outright even possibly drop any pretense of respect or faith in democracy.
These are dark times for this country. Storm clouds are gathering, and they are no longer distant rumblings in the distant horizon. If the storm is not quite over our heads yet, they very likely will be soon enough. As Schmidt suggested, the end of our democracy as we know it might just be one election away.
It may not even take that long.
Note: The Texas Supreme Court lawsuit was defeated, making it just the latest failure in an ever growing list of already long failures by Trump and his cronies to reverse the results of last month's presidential election.
These are links to the articles used in writing this particular blog entry, and from which all of the quotes used above are taken:
The GOP Abandons Democracy by David A. Graham, Staff writer at The Atlantic December 10, 2020:
One hundred and six Republican members of Congress, and 18 state attorneys general, are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the election. DECEMBER 10, 2020 David A. Graham Staff writer at The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/republican-party-abandoning-democracy/617359/
Backing Trump, Some Ex-Military Officers Spread Conspiracies, Urge Martial Law by Greg Myre, December 5, 2020:
Steve Schmidt: ‘106 members of Congress broke faith with American democracy’ by MSNBC, Dec. 10, 2020:
Good job, I like your evaluation of the situation.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Scary times.
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