Democracy's Enemy is in the White House

Our democracy has always been under attack by our enemies, usually nationalistic totalitarian regimes who saw democracy as a direct threat to their authoritarian power. On the other hand, our democracy has always been flawed and we are still struggling to get it right. We have been making progress. Blacks, women, and eighteen-year-olds now have the right to vote, but our country and our politicians still conspire to create obstacles to exercising that right.                                  

We have been getting closer to true democracy. And then 2016 happened. The majority of the voters chose one candidate, but because of an antiquated, pro-slavery provision in the Constitution, the Electoral College, the second-place finisher became the President of the United States. People around the world scratched their heads saying, "And they call that democracy? So much for the will of the people."

The winner of that election would later be impeached for soliciting foreign governments to interfere in our elections on his behalf. US agencies also determined that Russians had previously interfered in the 2016 election on his behalf. In August 2020, US intelligence informs us that Putin and Russia are again trying to influence the elections in Trump's favor and it's possible that the impeached President could be elected by a minority of the voters as happened five times in our history. Vox populi?

And now, what has the impeached Donald Trump wrought? A not so subtle attack on American democracy. In no particular order, He has:

- shut down the US Census a month early thereby preventing the poorest and least able from being counted

- appointed a political crony as Postmaster General who is ousting the professionals and in the midst of a pandemic is slowing down mail service in an attempt to undercut the vote-by-mail efforts. (Of course, Trump approves of vote-by-mail in Florida after he learned it was to his advantage there.)

- campaigned from the White House in spite of the fact it is a violation of the Hatch Act. (GOP senators ignore this abuse because they don't want to create a tweetstorm directed at them.)

- suggested posting the military at polling stations - a tactic of third-world despots.

- forced the Treasury Department to place his name on all the stimulus checks. And now, right before the election has a letter with his signature inserted in all Government Food Aid boxes. Both violations of the Hatch Act by a man who is campaigning on a law-and-order platform. 

- suggested that the November election be delayed. Since he has no power to change the election, perhaps this was just another attempt to change the news cycle from Russia offering bounties for US servicemen. Also, at the same time, Trump was suggesting moving our elections, the White House was accusing Hong Kong of "undermining the democratic process" by postponing elections.

- made it clear that he and the GOP will do everything in their power (and maybe beyond their power) to suppress the vote. People around the world see an American president admitting that he wants to keep citizens from voting and wonder whether "American Democracy" is really a democracy.

- weeks before the election the President curtailed the Director of National Intelligence's report to Congress on foreign election interference. Apparently, he doesn't want Congress to know what Putin is doing to get hem reelected.

- attempted to discredit the Presidential Election in advance. One would think the incumbent President would be encouraging people to vote and doing everything in his power to protect and strengthen the sanctity of the voting process. Not our President. Fearing he will lose, he is already calling into question its validity. In fact, he has refused to say that he will accept the will of the voters. Democracy be damned.

- suggested to his followers that they vote twice, once by absentee ballot and then in person. Intentionally voting twice is a felony.

_  a deep admiration of dictators and authoritarian (anti-democratic) regimes. Not to mention, as one of his former wives informed us, he kept a copy of  Mein Kampf on his bedside table.

In addition in Ohio, the GOP Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, is limiting ballot drop boxes to one per county regardless of population size. A direct attack on true democracy. One drop box in Paulding county (small population) and one drop box in Cuyahoga county (large population) limits access for urban black voters and is not fair in anyone's book.  Ohio is just one example, most states with Republican legislatures are trying to suppress the vote. 

History has taught us that democracy is quite fragile. There are always those, usually an authoritarian-minded nationalistic minority, who want to destroy it. Rather than compete in the marketplace of ideas and philosophies, they want to cease power by any means possible. Rather than engaging in democratic debate, they want to create distractions. Rather than lead, they want to dictate.

Required for democracy to work.

Sadly, we are at that stage in which democracy is under attack; and even more sadly, the attack is being marshaled by a man who took an oath to defend the US Constitution.

The solution to this sad state of affairs is for all those eligible to register to vote and then vote on November 3rd in spite of the obstacles erected by Trump and his GOP  comrades. Vote early, vote by mail, vote absentee, or vote at the polls on election day and be prepared for long lines, and if they say you can't vote, request a provisional ballot. Our democracy depends on you.