Tag: American democracy

Trump’s threat to democracy

Washington Post logoPolite society warns against the drawing of certain historical parallels. But as another tumultuous year of Donald Trump’s presidency draws to a close, it seems like a good time to ask: Where does one look for a political equivalent in a yearwhen the president’s supporters chanted “send her back” about a nonwhite member of Congress?

Should we attach a bland label like “illiberalism” to such a wretched public display when “fascism” fits so much better? And what term best describes a 2019 political rally where a U.S. president, who had previously suggested the shooting of migrants, laughed as a supporter shouted that they should be gunned down at the border?

Do we bite our tongues as Trump apologists dismiss this rhetoric as harmless? Do we stay silent as left-wing commentators claim this to be the natural progression of Reagan conservatism? How do we define Trump’s slandering of Hispanics as breeders? How should newspaper editors and political leaders label a presidency that inspired white supremacists such as David Duke to celebrate Trump’s moral equivocation after Charlottesville? Terms such as “illiberalism” and “conservatism” seem both inaccurate and inadequate. Continue reading

President Trump and the warping of democratic governance

Washington Post logoNot for the first time, President Trump has revealed the fragility of this country’s democratic system. Three years into his presidency, the evidence of a weakened system is all around. It has happened in plain sight.

The latest involves the president and Ukraine. Based on what has so far been reported, the president asked, encouraged or demanded that the leader of a foreign government undertake an investigation designed to produce information that could damage a potential 2020 campaign rival.

Whether this also involved a quid pro quo is in question. The full story is not yet known. The biggest reason the details are not known is because Trump’s White House and the Justice Department, which is supposed to operate independently, have so far prevented Congress from obtaining the information that could help reveal what is missing.

View the complete September 21 article by Dan Balz on The Washington Post website here.

George Orwell and why the time to stop Trump is now

Aware citizens must stand up to insist that aiding and abetting a foreign attack, and depicting as traitors those who rise to “the common defense,” are high crimes that must be stopped and punished.

As evidence of Hitler’s intentions crystalized in the 1930’s, many politicians who recognized the danger continued to vote against vital defense expenditures. George Orwell, reflecting on that and other cases of “ignoring facts which are obvious and unalterable,” concluded: “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”

Until Germany invaded Poland in 1939, there was room for wishful thinking regarding Hitler’s plans. Current defenders of the American Republic, by contrast, confront the “obvious and unalterable” fact that an assault has already been launched. The Mueller report puts in front of our noses Russia’s “sweeping and systematic,” interference in the 2016 election, its perception that “it would benefit from a Trump presidency,” its work “to secure that outcome,” and the Trump campaign’s expectation “that it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.”

Everyone able and willing to distinguish facts from lies has witnessed Trump’s brazen cover-up of Russia’s attack. He has never named or denounced the aggressor, while depicting the investigators as traitors who used a hoax to attempt a coup.

View the complete May 13 article by David Goldfischer of the History News Network on the AlterNet website here.

A new expert survey finds warning signs for the state of American democracy

Note: This is a disturbing, but necessary read, folks. We don’t know if your Trump-supporting family and friends would be open to reading it. But, if they are, it would be good for our country if they did.  (If they won’t, please remind them standing being a patriot for our country is something they can never do again.)

The following article by Michael K. Miller was posted on the Washington Post website May 23, 2017:

The Capitol is illuminated before sunrise in Washington. (Bloomberg)

The decline of democracies is not as dramatic as it used to be. Instead of military coups, the greater threat is the steady erosion of democratic norms by elected leaders. If done skillfully, leaders can consolidate power and weaken democracy while most citizens remain unaware. Continue reading “A new expert survey finds warning signs for the state of American democracy”