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Showing Original Post only (View all)"we'll soon reach the point where it will become impossible to stop America's slide into... [View all]
...authoritarianism through elections. "
Link to tweet
If democratizing reforms do not come, all the states in which Republicans are in power will soon resemble apartheid South Africa much more than anything that could reasonably be called a functioning multiracial democracy. 2/
In about half the states, Republicans will be erecting stable one-party rule and install a system that is best described as a herrenvolk democracy: A system that is fairly democratic if you happen to be a white Christian man and something entirely different if you are not. 3/
Does that sound far-fetched? Alarmist? Its not. In many ways, it would constitute a return to the pre-1960s situation and be much closer to the historical norm in the United States. Remember that until the 1960s, apartheid was the reality in many regions of the country. 4/
What about the national level? If you combine the current systems anti-majoritarian distortions with the GOPs many aggressive anti-democratic initiatives, Republicans are basically guaranteed enough power to obstruct and make functional Democratic governance impossible. 5/
The result is definitely not a functioning democracy. The question is: Would it even be a sustainable country? @davidmfaris worries about a breakup in this interview and hes right! America is already facing a crisis of democratic legitimacy, and its only getting worse. 6/
In a representative democracy, the party that consistently gets significantly fewer votes on all levels of government shouldnt be able to hold onto power and control the nations fate. At some point, this crisis of legitimacy will have to be resolved one way or another. 7/
History doesnt repeat itself. There wont be another Civil War blue vs. gray the coming crisis will look different. But the idea that things are definitely going to work out somehow is mainly based on a It cant happen here type of American exceptionalism. 8/
And still, It cannot happen here seems to be, as @AmandiOnAir puts it in the @RonBrownstein piece, the animating principle for too many Democratic officials and liberals more broadly. American democracy cant afford this sort of willful ignorance and naivety. 9/
We must face the fact that the radicalization of the Republican Party has outpaced what even most critical observers imagined, and we need to grapple with what that should mean for our expectations going forward and start thinking about real worst-case scenarios. 10/
I think @perrybaconjr really captured the situation perfectly in last weeks important column: Perhaps democracy dies faster in darkness. But it could also die slowly in the light, as all of us watched but didnt do enough to save it. 11/
Will America become a stable multiracial democracy - or will the history books record multiracial democracy as a fairly short-lived and ultimately aborted experiment, an interlude from the mid-1960s to the 2020s, when the country returned to its previous historical norm? 12/
I understand the criticism of what @ezraklein calls a self-fulfilling cycle in this great conversation with @pastpunditry: By emphasizing how high the stakes are, they get even higher making it more difficult to solve the situation politically. 13/
But I maintain that for journalists, analysts, and scholars, the prime responsibility is to cover, describe, assess, and interpret American politics as objectively, accurately, and adequately as possible. We shouldnt downplay, appease, play politics. 14/
I dont think the situation is all bad, by the way. Reactionary forces are radicalizing because America really has become more liberal, more pluralistic, and is closer to being a truly multi-racial democracy than its ever been. 15/
But thats exactly what makes the current moment so acutely dangerous. Reactionaries who define real America as a nation dominated by white Christians feel their backs against the wall and are convinced that all measures are justified to defeat an illegitimate opponent. 16/
I believe this struggle is of world-historic significance. And we are witnessing a very similar conflict in all Western democracies: Is it possible to establish a stable, truly multiracial, truly pluralistic democracy? 17/
I tried to make this point at the end of this @DinDpodcast, on democracy in Europe and how it compares to the situation in the U.S.: Such a truly multiracial, pluralistic democracy has never been achieved anywhere it would be a world-historic first. 18/
There have been several stable, fairly liberal democracies but either they have been culturally and ethnically homogeneous to begin with (think Sweden); or there has always been a pretty clearly defined ruling group, or herrenvolk. 19/
A truly multiracial, pluralistic democracy in which an individuals status was not determined to a significant degree by race, gender, or religion? I dont think thats ever been achieved anywhere. 20/
The U.S. is in many ways the most advanced, most acute test case: Will it become a stable multiracial, pluralistic democracy or remain a white Christian nation, defined by white Christianism, in which white Christians dominate socially, politically, and culturally? 21/
Its an open question, one of enormous significance for all of us, all democracies around the world. Which is why the stakes, right now, are enormously high. We must hope that Democratic elected officials understand the situation and are willing to act accordingly. /end
Lets add this:
Democrats will have to accept the challenge that accompanies the recognition that they will act alone to protect democracy, or it wont happen at all.
This here, from @ThePlumLineGS, goes right to the heart of the matter. So the question is: Will they?
Since I wrote this thread, a little over 24 hours ago, Republicans blocked a January 6 Commission in the Senate. I want to extend the thread by highlighting a few reactions to the latest Republican assault on democracy that I found particularly relevant:
The perfect encapsulation of Americas urgent crisis of democratic legitimacy.
Unroll available on Thread Reader
Link to tweet
Ignoring and erasing the January 6 insurrection is very much in line with what has been the historical norm in the U.S. for most of the countrys existence.
Much closer to the truth than the lame, but pervasive center-right country pseudo-analysis.
This, exactly.
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"we'll soon reach the point where it will become impossible to stop America's slide into... [View all]
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May 2021
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