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Can American Democracy survive its electorate? [1]

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Date: 2023-06-27  

Can American Democracy survive its electorate?

In the face of overwhelming evidence, tens of millions of people have demonstrated they are willing to vote for an amoral, megalomaniacal con artist. Worse, many of their elected representatives are so fearful of their constituents, they were unwilling to defend the U.S. Constitution and the citizens of this country. That was clearly demonstrated when the Senate twice declined to do its Constitutional duty to remove and block from reinstatement, the impeached President Trump despite very convincing evidence of wrongdoing. The effort to resist both times was headed by Senator Mitch McConnell, whom Trump personally denigrated by calling him among other nasty things, a "dumb son of a bitch," a "stone cold loser," and a “piece of shit.”

Consider the experiences of Sarah Longwell, a quite conservative political strategist, who conducts focus groups to ascertain the thinking of potential voters on a variety of issues. Strikingly, she recently interviewed a group of Iowa Republican voters, all of whom believed that the indictment of Donald Trump was purely motivated by politics and again would vote for him even if convicted. Incredibly, 100 percent of them also indicated they believed the 2020 election was “stolen or rigged” and Biden is not the legitimate president. Longwell indicated that these responses were typical of those she has heard from Republican voters across the country. Even conviction for sexual assault (rape really) doesn’t faze them. Frightening.

It is not only poorly-educated people who hold beliefs that are counterfactual and thoroughly disproven. Consider this quote contained in an email to me (and others) from a retired senior CIA official. “You managed to repost the ‘official' tally as though that confirms your false hypothesis that Joe Biden did not steal the election.” That is a Ph.D.-level educated, former civil servant, who has been claiming for years that the election was stolen, and that Trump received millions of more votes than Biden. He supports the magical thinking hypothesis stating, “In those instances declassification was done ‘by thinking about it’ immediately prior.”

He also added that, “Although ‘declassified’ he (Trump) did not intend to disclose this information, so he kept it locked up in a secure area.” These comments were made after the revelation, that at Bedminster, Trump acknowledged the documents were still classified as he showed them to others sans clearances. With decades in CIA, this official should know that Mar-a-Lago is neither a certified SCIF nor “a secure facility.”

Importantly, several of the addressees on that email chain also hold doctoral degrees in various fields, and tend to agree with him that the 2020 election was stolen. They are impervious to hard data that runs counter to their mentally-constructed alternative reality, even when those facts come from organizations they previously worked for. Here is but one of hundreds of examples of the conspiracy-oriented nonsense they spread. “We are in a Civil War left against right. It will end in blood no doubt assuming Putin does not use his nukes and kill us all. The ideological cultural split WOKE hate whites, hate America crap is too insane - big reaction coming.” And this conspiracy theory from an email on 24 June 2023 regarding the events in Russia, “That’s because Biden has been bribed by the Chi Coms and has sold out USA in my opinion.” On 25 June he wrote, “NATO provoked Putin to attack Ukraine.” Remember, these are all well-educated folks that believe an insurrection didn’t happen on J6, Biden is not legitimate, and that Trump is being politically persecuted even though the crimes are obvious. Not hopeful.

Pertinent to this discussion is the CCN interview between Jake Tapper and Chris Christie on Sunday, 18 June. In 2016 Christie was one of the first GOP candidates to roll over and endorse Trump. Despite having known him for decades, and with Trump’s reputation as a dishonest businessman who notoriously failed to pay his legitimate bills the former governor still became an advocate. Now a fierce critic, Christie pointed out a critical shortfall in Trump’s management capabilities. On the stage in 2016 Trump promised he would bring only the very, very best people into his administration. Christie listed a series of them and how they were lauded on entry and excoriated on departure.

Of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arriving, he was described as “the embodiment of the American dream” but on leaving “he is dumb as a rock and lazy as hell.” For General “Mad Dog” Mattis, he initially stated he “was the best general we had, and the closest thing we had to Patton.” The departing comment was, “he was the most overrated general in history.” For Mick Mulvany, his Director of Management and Budget, and later White House chief of staff, arriving Trump called him “outstanding and brilliant” but on departure “a born loser.” And then chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, was called “a great American and great patriot.” On departure, Trump called Milley “pathetic and a fucking loser.”

The reality is that many of the appointees were well qualified. It was Trump who was the proven loser who Christie stated often acted like a “petulant child.” Remember, it was Attorney General Bill Barr who saved Trump’s ass when the Mueller Report was released by totally mischaracterizing the findings and held the report for weeks while his scenario was infused into public consciousness. Now critical of Trump, Barr is called, a “gutless pig,” and “lazy.” It is worth noting that Barr told Trump that the allegations of widespread voter fraud were specious. But that has not deterred Trump from continuing those claims and calling Barr a, "disgruntled former employee,” a "very weak person," "totally ineffective" and "very lazy."

Barr, with close personal knowledge of Trump, stated to Rolling Stone, "He's a very petty individual who will always put his interests ahead of the country's... but our country can't be a therapy session for a troubled man like this." He goes on to say, that, “Trump Is ‘Consummate Narcissist’ Who Will Put ‘His Own Ego’ Above Everything Else.” That is not a new position and one held by both family members and those working with him. Consider his niece, psychologist Dr. Mary Trump’s analytical book, Too Much and Never Enough How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man. The documentation of Donald Trump’s narcissism by her, and many others, is legion.

Still, tens of millions of supporters are impervious to facts as they create alternate realities. They have amnesia about the reality of Trump’s presidency. Among the lies they tell themselves is how great the economy was when Trump left office. In reality, unemployment now at 3.7 percent was at 6.3percent in January, 2021 and the federal debt under Trump had increased from $14.4 to $21.6 trillion and continues to climb.

Covid

Mystically they have false memories of Trump’s response to the Covid pandemic, one that resulted in the deaths of over a million Americans. Seemingly evaporated are his statements, such as “just like the flu,” “gone by Easter” (2020), and “in this country it is totally under control.” It wasn’t. This CNN interactive article shows the dozens of times Trump falsely claimed the virus “was going away.” That when, in fact, there were thousands of new cases each day. The graph ends at 31 October 2020 and already over 220,000 patients had died.

Yes, more people died from Covid after Biden took office, but the majority of them were Trump believers who failed to get vaccinated. Conservatively, there were nearly a quarter of a million preventable deaths of patients who didn’t believe the data and failed to get vaccinated. Most of those are on Trump, (and right-wing media) and their failure to encourage his supporters to protect themselves (and others). The unvaccinated, following false information, often on social media, frequently stated they feared the adverse effects of mRNA vaccines. Contrary to the right-wing hype from unreliable outlets, such as The Epoch Times, only three deaths were attributed to the vaccine with over 339,000,000 doses administered. That puts the probability of death from the vaccine at 1 in 113,000,000. That is far from the >6,000 deaths reported in some rightwing media sources.

Immigration:

There are numerous reasons for the south-north immigration that is taking place across the globe. One of those includes drastic changes in climate in many areas. As Inside Climate News accurately reported, “For decades, the GOP has consistently pushed back against warnings from the science community that human-caused global warming poses an existential threat to the planet.” Trump repeatedly even claimed that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by China. In office, he eviscerated the EPA, rolling back over a hundred regulations, blocked scientific reporting, and eventually stopping enforcement. Of course, it is ironical that the EPA was created under Richard Nixon, a Republican president. As many of us know, that Republican Party no longer exists.

Another critical issue impacting immigration is the failed War on Drugs. With emphasis placed on stopping distribution routes through the Caribbean, cartels took control and established routes over land. That resulted in destabilization of governments and societies throughout most of the countries in Central America. The tales of people fleeing cartel violence are legion, but fall on the insensitive deaf ears of GOP supporters.

Nearly all of us are immigrants. None of the so-called “explorers;” not Erik, Leif, Chris or any other following settlers, were invited to the American continents that were already populated and had been for millennia. Without consent of the indigenous inhabitants, since 1790 there have been a number of immigration laws and restrictions enacted. Of course, they started with allowing white people citizenship. It must be acknowledged that all of those claiming to be “legal immigrants” were in reality relying on self-imposed and arbitrary designations.

Of the approximately 330 million people in the US today, only about five million are classified as Native American or Alaskan Natives. Then, of course there are Pacific Islanders that make up a tiny fraction. That is about two percent of the total population and means 98 percent of us immigrated at some point in our ancestry. The notion of pulling up the ladder is not new and fear of “other others” permeates our social structures. Many, probably most, Americans today would actively deny entry to those coming for the identical reasons their forebearers did. Playing on those fears is a cornerstone of Republican politics. The false claims of “open borders” reverberates in Congress and across rightwing media outlets. They also fail to mention that illegal immigration rose under Trump when compared to 2016.

If the CNN program, “The Trek: A Migrant Trail to America,” about the dangers faced while transiting the Darien Gap were written as fiction, and without the known destination being the U.S., most Americans would cheer at the bravery and perseverance of the travelers. Overcoming adversity is a strong American value-unless, of course, that adversity means asking for admission into this country.

Then also consider the plight of those who assisted American forces in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom are still embroiled in bureaucratic measures and refused entry. They served at great risk to themselves and their families. Even after entry, there is no guarantee they will be allowed to stay.

The most frequent refrain from the GOP is inciting fear of criminals and drug smugglers. Who can forget candidate Trump’s shameful commentary on Mexicans of whom he stated, “They are sending drug dealers, murders and rapists.” While that ludicrous statement was made in 2015, GOP leaders continue to make the same arguments today and some even want to initiate a war with Mexico. Representative James Comer, a GOP leader, lamented that Trump did not bomb Mexico.

Abortion

Abortion rights are among the most contentious issues in American politics. The public is often bombarded with false information. As the New York Times accurately reported, “President Trump revived on Saturday night what is fast becoming a standard, and inaccurate, refrain about doctors ‘executing babies.’” Rightwing social media also posted the false narrative that New York passed a law that allowed termination up to 28 days after birth. Yes, there are voters who believe this nonsense.

Inflation:

Inflation is a sensitive and very real issue. Importantly, it is global and was exacerbated by both Covid and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The supply chain problems created by Covid were decades in the making and beyond the influence of any American politician.

Republican Leader, Steve Scalise in April noted, “It's a very fragile time for the American people. They're looking at inflation that's going through the roof, decades high, paying more for everything.” That, while in reality the inflation rate was decreasing and hardly his notion of going through the roof. Still prices are problematic for many. Republicans and rightwing media are doing all they can to make voters feel bad about a relative stable and robust economy.

Crime:

Republicans have long been the “law and order” party – except when they are the criminals. A GOP talking point has been rising crime rates, especially in cities with Democratic mayors. While that is a fear tactic that works with their base, it is simply false. Reality is that violent crime is higher in red states than blue states. In fact, eight of the top ten states with the highest murder rates are considered to be red states. One of the two remaining states, Georgia, had only a very narrow blue majority but geographically lies close to the southern band of Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, and South Carolina.

When it comes to gun violence, a PEW study found that “Chicago's Cook County ranks 79th for firearm homicide rates, and Philadelphia County ranks 38th. The five boroughs that comprise New York City rank between 360th and 521st for firearm homicide rates: and Los Angeles County ranks 316th.” The is a better correlation between gun ownership and violent gun crime than voting preferences. In reality, it is rural America, the ones mostly voting Republican, that have the higher gun crimes problem. That you would never discern from GOP politicians or rightwing media. As the very conservative Wall Street Journal recently noted, “Murder rates soar in rural America.”

While well below the crime rates of the 1970.s and 1980’s, problems do remain. After 1992, overall crime in America declined significantly. “The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that the rate of violent crimes per 1,000 Americans age 12 and older plummeted from 80 in 1993 to just 23 in 2018.” Yes, there have been a few spikes, but nothing close to the high-water marks. That is not what the GOP want voters to believe.

As with immigration, what is needed is comprehensive reform. The U.S. has over two million people in prison, a far higher percentage than any other developed country. That is after a 16 percent decrease based on releases during the Covid pandemic. Racial and economic status disparities aside, the refrain from the GOP is we should be locking up more people. Of course, they reiterate the “defund the police” narrative which almost no one supports. How is it that the vast majority of the countries in the developed world can have significantly lower incarceration rates and not collapse from violent crime?

Education:

There is an all-out assault on education in America, often led by Republican governors like DeSantis. With GOP encouragement, violent encounters between parents and school boards have been taking place across the country. They have intimidated board members, and interrupted proceedings, often with bogus claims.

A most frequent issues is the teaching of what they believe to be critical race theory (CRT) even though the vast majority have no idea what it (CRT) is. Developed as a legal construct taught in law school, CRT addressed systemic racial inequities that emerged throughout American history. While the facts are undeniable, many people are willfully-ignorant and do not want to hear about the past nor have it influence their children. In recent years a number of states have actually banned the teaching of CRT in K-12 (where it was never taught to begin with). In a most extreme case, a education board in Florida rejected 54 math books on grounds they taught CRT. Math is CRT?

To be clear, most of the Republicans railing against CRT have no idea what the topic is, nor could they define it. Under DeSantis, Florida has passed several highly-restrictive laws regarding education. Vague in nature, teachers and administrators alike have become fearful of the consequences of getting something wrong. The point of these laws is intimidation for the teachers and creation of red-meat issues for the under-educated voters. Some laws even include the potential for incarceration of teachers if they violate the nearly nondescript wording.

It gets worse, much worse but time and space curtails the discussion. In Florida, for example, under the “Don’t say gay” law, teachers have been openly accused of “grooming” students for homosexual pedophiles. Notably gender-identity politics have become a touchstone for the GOP. Creating fear and attacking the weak or defenseless is their common practice.

Rightwing Media

The GOP agenda could not be accomplished without their dedicated propaganda networks, Fox News and the other rightwing spinoffs like Newsmax, and OAN. The overt lies they spread infest the minds of millions. To their credit they fired Alex McCaskill, the producer who posted a banner calling President Biden a “wannabe dictator.” But then they also fired Abby Grossberg for telling the truth. Forsaking democracy, Rupert and Lachlan honor only their personal monetary interests. Were that not the case, Hannity, Ingraham, and certainly Bartiromo would be gone. Consider that on 25 June, Maria accused President Biden and the U.S. State Department of orchestrating the Prigozhin insurrection in Russia. Yes, confronting Putin had nothing to do with it, but rather the story was generated to keep a domestic story off the air. Remember, many millions of people follow that nonsense and believe them.

And then there is social media. In 2021 a PEW poll found that more than half of the people indicated often got their news from social media. Enough said!

Democrats:

Democrats are not immune from illogical thinking. Of concern at the moment should be those supporting Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) as a viable candidate to challenge President Biden. Polls show he has substantial support (well over ten percent) among millions of registered Democrats. Most of them appear to be oblivious to his anti-science position on vaccines.

Having the Kennedy name appears to be his main qualification. However, he has promoted the completely debunked theory that vaccines cause autism. While we can empathize with him, RFK has a speech disorder that would seriously inhibit his ability to communicate orally.

The Bullfrog:

This article is both too long and too short. mea culpa. There are many more points that could be extrapolated on. Last week I was listening to a true American hero, Admiral William McRaven. make a presentation. He recounted a story from his most recent book, Wisdom of the Bullfrog (which I have and highly recommend). The incident was at a hanger in Honolulu, when a young SEAL broke ranks and fixed a microphone. When asked about it the SEAL responded, “Sir, something had to be done and no one else was doing it. So I thought it was up to me.” (page 74) That inspired me to write this piece as somebody needed to do it. Hope others do too.

To answer the question raised in the title, I am not hopeful. The saving grace may be the younger generation who seem to have more moral consciousness than those who have allowed, even fostered, the current degradation of American democracy. We can only hope the cohort that is choosing to incarnate at this time remember their mission and have the skills necessary to right the ship of state.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/27/2178000/-Can-American-Democracy-survive-its-electorate

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