The Republican Plot to Undo American Democracy Is on Track for Success
Currently Republican politicians across the country stand largely united against democracy. Though some have voiced opposition, they are gradually being purged from the ranks of the now highly authoritarian party. Rather than shifting their policies to a changing America in order to increase their dwindling support, they have chosen to engage in a campaign of coordinated election rigging to ensure that the popularity of their policies does not actually matter.
Using methods such as gerrymandering, voter suppression, and refusing to certify election results, they are well equipped to accomplish their goal. In fact, if their attack on our democracy is allowed to continue it is very likely that in the coming years we will find ourselves in a situation where it is impossible for Democrats to regain control of the federal government, even though they represent far more of the population. We will be living under Republican minority rule, and no amount of elections can get us out of this situation. It is frightening to think about, but we must acknowledge this as the current trajectory of our country. The question is, who will stop them?
For a long time Americans had hoped Republicans would tone down their authoritarian behavior after the defeat of Donald Trump in 2020, but instead their authoritarian activities have dramatically increased. It is now almost certain that Republicans will not simply stop this. And why would they? Abandoning democracy and rigging elections represents a very clear path to permanent power for them, and they are taking it. Some authoritarians stop, most must be stopped.
Congress could pass legislation to outlaw Republican election cheating, but currently this seems impossible as several Democrats remain in complete opposition to abolishing the filibuster, a requirement to passing such voting rights legislation. Efforts have been made to pressure them but none have been effective thanks to the unique electoral position and personal disposition of these conservative Democrats who would knowingly doom our democracy to benefit themselves. Sadly, congress cannot be relied on to protect American democracy.
The courts are also very unlikely to stop republicans. Legal processes around challenging Republican election cheating will be agonizingly slow, and there is no existing process for reversing an election, even if a judge finds it’s victor to have illegally cheated. More important is the current composition of the Supreme Court, which after having carved away at voting rights for years, will almost certainly deem Republican’s election cheating actions entirely legal. Because of this, federal law enforcement will not be coming to the rescue either.
Some hold out hope that corporations could stop Republicans, but this is incredibly unlikely as these businesses are motivated entirely by profit. Many of the corporations which pledged to withdraw support from presidential election result denying Republicans went right back to funding them as soon as it was convenient. Corporations will not be stopping Republicans from achieving their authoritarian ambitions. Even if they would, putting the security of our democratic system in the hands of for-profit companies is incredibly unwise to begin with.
The end of American democracy should not be thought of as something which may happen, but something which is currently in the process of happening. The current state of our democracy is much like a woman falling from an airplane. Rather than asking ourselves whether the woman will die, it is more useful to ask what could possibly save her. Thankfully, in our case, the woman has a parachute. It is her last chance for survival, but whether or not it will properly deploy is still unknown.
The parachute capable of saving our democracy from certain death is the vast majority of Americans who support free and fair elections refusing to tolerate illegitimate Republican minority rule. This will mean organizing a large-scale pro-democracy resistance to delegitimize Republican election cheaters and any government they fraudulently claim to control. This movement must then apply various forms of nonviolent force to remove these putschists from power. Nothing will stop these power hungry authoritarians from dismantling our democracy but the actions of the American people, who when all else fails, must stand as the final safeguard against tyranny.
Defending American democracy through nonviolent resistance may sound impossible, but similar acts have been achieved successfully elsewhere in the world before. The article below describes what such a pro-democracy movement may look like in the United States.
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