The Threat to American Democracy
In the U.S., we’ve all been raised to believe in “American exceptionalism”. And it’s true. America really is exceptional. Our culture is original, resourceful, ingenuous, and has a depth of character that’s richer and more varied than any other country on Earth. Plus we enjoy rights, freedoms, and values that the founding fathers had the foresight to establish through our constitution.
But even with those virtues and roots, it doesn’t mean our democracy is safe. Freedoms can erode without even noticing it’s happening.
The real reason for elections
Think of some comparably-sized countries:
China
Russia
India
Turkey
These are all major, modern countries. But surprisingly the governments in all these nations are autocratic. Power is concentrated in the hands of a just a few people. Judicial and legislative branches exist, but they’re relatively powerless compared with the executive branch. Decision are made by the executive or his inner circle. Judical and legislative leaders simply comply.
The interesting part is that, for these major nations, the current governments started out as freely elected leaders. These leaders can no longer be removed because meaningful opposition candidates are not allowed. This power was accrued over time by weakening surrounding branches of government and taking that power for themselves.
Given that, an election’s purpose is only partly to select new leaders. Its other purpose is to get rid of the existing leaders when they’re no longer wanted.
But the countries above have all lost that ability. They’re stuck with these leaders until the leaders literally die. The consequence is that corruption bleeds into these governments, killing the country’s economic competitiveness and eliminating job and life opportunities that develop in a properly functioning country. The negative effects hurt everyone.
How it happens
How it happens is: a little at a time and while no one is looking.
The first step is to fill the media with divisive rhetoric. In other words, use media to frame people as “good” or “bad” to create divisions. Use Twitter and Facebook. Or use traditional media, e.g., FOX News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Citizen’s Free Press. Spread misinformation, so it’s hard to distinguish propaganda from fact.
The second step is to take actions that weaken institutions and concentrate power. For example:
replace judges with loyalists
weaken independent institutions like universities, law firms, and media
crush dissent in your own political party
normalize actions like mysterious arrests by an unaccountable federal police force
sew doubt about the legitimacy of election results
file lawsuits that make voting more difficult
The third step is to eliminate the competition:
threaten and/or replace judges who enforce voting outcomes
arrest leaders of major cities or states who are in the opposition-party
contest election results or rig elections altogether
Putin has done this in Russia, Xi in China, and Erdogan in Turkey. None of these countries can remove their current leader. Their concentration of power is too great. Citizens cannot dissent without risk of arrest. The threat to dissenters is literally your life.
The U.S. is particularly vulnerable to this kind of threat because we’ve not seen anything like it in our lifetime.
Trump is doing this
Trump’s actions align with the those listed above. Benign goals like “Make America Great Again” are not Trump’s true interest. Trump seeks to take the U.S. down this road for his own gain. He’s not to the end yet, but we are deep in Stage 2.
Trump particularly admires Erdogan because Turkey is the most Western of the countries above and Erdogan has executed this playbook so gracefully. Turkey elected Erdogan in free-and-fair elections in 2003. 22 years later, he is still in power.
Recently, Erdogan arrested the primary opposition leader 3 years ahead of the next election to prevent the candidate from becoming a strong challenger. Erdogan is now arresting mayors of other major cities who are members of the opposition party who could become potential future rivals.
Trump has already tested this possibility by threatening to arrest the governor of California and a mayoral candidate in New York City.
The antidote for extremism
None of this makes the original reasons for people to support Trump wrong or invalid. The pain in our country, particularly in rural districts, is real.
The source of the problem lies with the failure of major factions of the political parties to find platforms, policies and candidates that give voters a viable choice. The Republican Party have failed by buckling under Trump’s threats. Republican legislators fear retribution. The Democrats have failed by becoming beholden to special interests, supporters of identity politics, and their urban constituency.
The Blue Dog Coalition is the antidote because it advocates local representation. Local representation allows for tolerance of competing views. It creates room for compromises that come from the bottom up. It combats authoritarian decision-making that turns American democracy into a replica of its former self, because it’s an autocracy at heart.