... Democracy is grinding work. Whereas family businesses and army squadrons may be ruled by fiat, democracies require negotiation, compromise, and concessions. Set backs are inevitable, victories always partial. Presidential initiatives may die in congress or be blocked by courts. All politicians are frustrated by these constraints, but democratic ones know they must accept them. They are able to weather the constant barrage of criticism. But for outsiders, particularly those of a demagogic bent, democratic politics is often intolerably frustrating. For them, checks and balances feel like a straitjacket. Like [Peruvian] President [Alberto] Fujimori, who couldn't stomach the idea of having lunch with senate leaders every time he wanted to pass legislation, would-be authoritarians have little patience with the day-to-day politics of democracy. And like Fujimori, they want to break free.
How do elected authoritarians shatter the democratic institutions that are supposed to constrain them? Some do it in one fell swoop. But more often the assault on democracy begins slowly. For many citizens, it may, at first, be imperceptible. After all, elections continue to be held. Opposition politicians still sit in congress. Independent newspapers still circulate. The erosion of democracy takes place piecemeal, often in baby steps. Each individual step seems minor--none appears [on their own] to truly threaten democracy. Indeed, government moves to subvert democracy frequently enjoy a veneer of legality: they are approved by parliament or ruled constitutional by the supreme court. Many of them are adopted under the guise of pursuing some legitimate--even laudable--public objective, such as combating corruption, "cleaning up" elections, improving the quality of democracy or enhancing national security.
To better understand how elected autocrats subtly undermine institutions, it's helpful to imagine a soccer game. To consolidate power, would-be authoritarians must capture the referees, sideline at least some of the other side's star players [like Al Franken, or in the 2016 campaign, Bernie Sanders and then Hillary Clinton], and rewrite the rules of the game to lock in their advantage, in effect tilting the playing field against their opponents.
Rewriting the rules of the game as in voter suppression, denying application for asylum for thousands fleeing oppression in other countries, stoking racial divisiveness, political violence and more.
There is one particular, very high-profile officeholder who personifies authoritarian dystopia in America today. And he is backed by a political party that doesn't seem to want democratic institutions to continue at all in our country. Those names don't even need to be spelled out anymore. You know who they are.
And if you've been paying attention to the news and current affairs, you know at least some of the details. At News and Guts, attorney Stephen J. Harper details some of the facts,
Start with these undisputed facts: A foreign adversary launched a sophisticated attack aimed at helping Donald Trump win the presidency. His campaign welcomed the help and he won. His chosen deputy attorney general then appointed a special counsel to investigate the attack. Repeatedly and often successfully, Trump tried to undermine that investigation.
That’s not a narrative of innocence. It’s the narrative of obstruction that seeks to hinder proof of potential underlying crimes. So not only is Trump’s claim of “no obstruction” false, but his previous actions also further undermine ongoing claims of “no collusion” and “total exoneration.”For starters,
The obstruction volume of Mueller’s report opens with “The Campaign’s response to reports about Russian support for Trump,” which summarizes the Trump team’s repeated lies about its interactions with Russia. Ten categories of evidence then document Trump’s efforts to interfere with investigations into those contacts.
“Conduct involving FBI Director Comey and Michael Flynn”: The FBI caught Trump’s national security adviser lying about his Russia contacts and he resigned. Trump then pressured Comey to “let Flynn go.”It goes on.
In order to keep our Democracy from death, we must excise this person from the Oval Office.
Or, in the words of Lindsey from South Carolina,
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