This time, we made it. But it was a close call. The Constitution and laws are nothing more than reading material without people who believe in, and uphold, them. And Trump and his followers, who corrupted an entire political party, showed us just how fragile it all is.
A recent article in Vox (read it here) says,
“The United States has just lived through historic events, with no real precedent in its modern history. The president, having lost his reelection, tried feverishly for two months to overturn the result and retain power — an effort that culminated in a mob of his supporters storming the Capitol building. In the end, he failed. And the main reason Trump failed is that the people with key institutional roles in formalizing the outcome, including many Republicans, chose not to help him — opting instead to uphold the rule of law and abide by the norms of the country’s electoral system, despite facing great pressure to do otherwise.”
In short, it was people, not our formal legal framework, that saved our system of government — and our right to choose our leaders. Trump and his helpers — there were many — did everything they could to frustrate that right, even down to removing neighborhood mailboxes to keep us from voting.
“His efforts to delay state certifications, to get state legislatures to appoint new electors, to get judges to intervene on his behalf, and to get Congress and the vice president to throw out results he didn’t like all failed, as did the mob,”
but only because individuals in key positions refused, often at peril to themselves, refused to go along with it. But the Republican Party as an institution, having fallen under Trump’s thrall, was like a safety switch on a nuclear bomb that failed:
“The conduct of many Republicans since the election has been abysmal. Many at different levels of the party, from conservative activist leaders to state attorneys general to state legislators to most Republican members of the House of Representatives, claimed to doubt Biden’s wins in certain states and said they wanted them thrown out. Others tried to stay out of the controversy to the extent they could, and only a relative few openly debunked Trump’s lies claiming the election was stolen.”
The rightwing media, too, failed miserably; it played a large role in propagating the lies and false conspiracy theories that motivated the mobs and ultimately incited violence against the very institutions of our democracy, as did tech companies who gave platforms to, and amplified, the falsehoods that spread through the land like a virulent disease.
But although we dodged a bullet this time,
“This is not a call for complacency. Trump’s power grab failed given the particular circumstances and facts on the ground this time — how the election turned out, and which individuals (and parties) happened to hold key positions. For a future election, a closer one with a different set of circumstances and factors, this same outcome is not set in stone. The system only works if enough people in power agree to let it work, and a crucial question for the future of American democracy is whether enough Republicans will continue to agree.”
The Vox article points out the heart of the problem is Republican voters, 70% of whom believe the election was stolen, and notes, “The Republican Party is not going away.” Consequently,
“When it comes to preserving the American electoral system in the future, then, it’s crucial that Republican elites who are willing to defy their voters’ wishes … continue to hold the levers of power in the party. The risk is that more conspiracy theory believers, or more shameless and unethical panderers, will gradually replace those GOP elites in key positions who largely did the right thing this time.”
And given the power the GOP still holds in our country, that could lead to a different outcome if there’s a next time. How do we prevent this? The answer to that question is not addressed by the Vox article, and is beyond the scope of this posting, but a good start is serious consequences for the rioters who tried to violently overthrow our government. On his way out, Trump either neglected or declined to pardon them, leaving them as fair game for prosecutors.
It is impossible to know what you are inferring here. The Roman Republic did not end at one moment in time or at some specific election. In fact vestiges of the Republic remained as part of the empire. Cicero was likely too late to save the Republic and likely was born too late.
There is as much threat in the Democrats success as in the Republican supposed failure. It was a dirty election all around and we have had them before.
The first election was fraught with peril. It well could have been Dictator George Washington had he chosen that route.
It well could be an American Creon is now in office. All of this back slapping may just hide the power grab that is done with good intent. Perhaps we are merely an oligarchy and all this is much about a play for the public, but the rulers are in shadow waiting for the sunlight to reveal them.
That this whole article is merely like a story that is in Pravda and the true believers believe it hook line and sinker, The van guard manipulates. The glorious leader has power and leads with a velvet glove rather than a mailed fist.
The whole mob may just be a Reichstag moment. One a party uses to conceal a power grab and allows actions that are in fact stifling to the Republic. Perhaps a vibrant active opposition party. That party is the Republicans. With such a narrow majority Biden has to thread a small needle. Perhaps he needs to start with pardoning some rioters. Pardon Trump. Pardon Julian Assaung. Stop travesty of an impeachment in the Senate. Surely his is capable of doing a criminal case against Mr. Trump if the facts make a case a neutral persecutor in the AG office would bring.
Will our better angels prevail or will our Constitution carry on as our founders did not count on our better angels, but also the devils that would be among us.
In classical literature, Creon is a ruler who seeks to uphold the will of the gods. There are better metaphors for President Biden. As for you, by all appearances you’re thoroughly drunk on Trump’s Kool-Aid. You are well read, but can’t think straight. The Democrats are decent, while the GOP oozes indecency and incivility. Trump is an evil man, and a destructive force in politics. His followers embraced falsehoods, threatened public officials and journalists, and tried to violently overthrow our government. That speaks for itself. Imbibing from this poisoned well speaks poorly of you.