"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Blind faith in institutions is of an entirely different order than simple faith. Complacency and apathy are the viruses which can cripple and kill a democracy.
It's very simple - the GOP will stop at nothing to rig this election. Neither will Trump because he knows that he will go to jail and lose everything financially by losing this election.
The GOP, enablers like Barr, and the trifecta of plutocrats, racist xenophobes, and theocratic goons see themselves as the last bastion for saving "America" aka the white supremacist, autocratic, and dominionist social and political regime of "real" Americans that John Stoehr so eloquently reminds us about. That's why following established electoral and political rules are a nonstarter for them.
As the old Roman saying goes "Inter arma enim silent lēgēs" loosely translated as "in times of war, the law falls silent". They definitely see themselves at war with anyone and everyone who's outside their anointed tribe. Rules therefore are for idiots, fools, and losers in their minds. They aim to win and so breaking every rule, institution, norm, or law is good and necessary.
The issue is that we recognize what they're planning and gird ourselves for the coming battle. As far as I'm concerned, we are in the political equivalent of Stalingrad in 1943. We'll need to fight constantly in every social, political, and media arena if we expect to prevail. And yes, we should expect them to engage in physical street battles and terrorist activity because that's what they do anyway.
We have the moral and political advantage but frequently fail to embrace our power. We need to dedicate our hearts and minds to winning as many races as possible and not be cowed by whatever the media, courts, right-wing propagandists and thugs may do. Whenever Democrats show up, we ALWAYS win. Never forgot that and just do what we already know what needs to be done.
Thank you for this post...David Rothkopf devoted a podcast to the findings of the Transition Integrity Project. In addition to your excellent summary, it's worth noting that 1) every scenario 'gamed out' by the group resulted in violent street clashes, and 2) the House is doing nothing at all to prepare the country or to counter any anticipated outcomes. I'm at a loss...I think we have a very small opportunity to prevail in November, but Congressional Democratic leadership seems unable to actually lead. Every opportunity to force through election security has been squandered. Senator Blumenthal has taken to Twitter to warn about a new breed of Russian interference that is so dire, it's a 'break-the-glass' moment, but he's sworn to secrecy. Is he serious? It's the end of the world, but a promise is a promise. It's painful to support a party that values adherence to a classification rule over protection of its citizens.
I share your frustration but not your expectation of what the congressional Democrats are supposed to do. They don't have unlimited political or institutional power, so I don't believe that demanding they "do something" is as straightforward as it may seem.
I'm far more concerned with what we do as citizens to maximize our political opportunities by winning elections. Winning more elections with the objective of increasing the state-level and congressional Democrats' political power is essential. Then Blumenthal and others can reveal what's necessary.
I truly appreciate your perspective, and I agree that Democrats must focus on every local and state election, every judicial candidate, every prosecutor. That said, Democratic leadership left far too much on the table. The time for leverage to push election security was with the first stimulus bill, but they instead pushed forward with 3 bills, deferring continually to the subsequent bill. Now people are falling off an economic cliff and 90 days out, there are still no provisions to protect the election. Oversight hearings have been ineffective at best, uncoordinated, and grandstanding at worst. The inability to effectively message the gravity of our political, geopolitical, economic, and healthcare situation has opened the door to a plethora of conspiracy theories flooding social media platforms. None of the foregoing required a majority in the Senate, but it did require coordination and a willingness to face the hard truths about our country. Grassroots groups and Never-Trumpers have filled some of the messaging gaps, but turnout is the great unknown. As the pandemic continues to spread, perhaps more people will be forced to deal with the peril of the moment. It's a terrible way for the electorate to mobilize.
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Blind faith in institutions is of an entirely different order than simple faith. Complacency and apathy are the viruses which can cripple and kill a democracy.
Thanks John. Good thinking!
It's very simple - the GOP will stop at nothing to rig this election. Neither will Trump because he knows that he will go to jail and lose everything financially by losing this election.
The GOP, enablers like Barr, and the trifecta of plutocrats, racist xenophobes, and theocratic goons see themselves as the last bastion for saving "America" aka the white supremacist, autocratic, and dominionist social and political regime of "real" Americans that John Stoehr so eloquently reminds us about. That's why following established electoral and political rules are a nonstarter for them.
As the old Roman saying goes "Inter arma enim silent lēgēs" loosely translated as "in times of war, the law falls silent". They definitely see themselves at war with anyone and everyone who's outside their anointed tribe. Rules therefore are for idiots, fools, and losers in their minds. They aim to win and so breaking every rule, institution, norm, or law is good and necessary.
The issue is that we recognize what they're planning and gird ourselves for the coming battle. As far as I'm concerned, we are in the political equivalent of Stalingrad in 1943. We'll need to fight constantly in every social, political, and media arena if we expect to prevail. And yes, we should expect them to engage in physical street battles and terrorist activity because that's what they do anyway.
We have the moral and political advantage but frequently fail to embrace our power. We need to dedicate our hearts and minds to winning as many races as possible and not be cowed by whatever the media, courts, right-wing propagandists and thugs may do. Whenever Democrats show up, we ALWAYS win. Never forgot that and just do what we already know what needs to be done.
Thank you for this post...David Rothkopf devoted a podcast to the findings of the Transition Integrity Project. In addition to your excellent summary, it's worth noting that 1) every scenario 'gamed out' by the group resulted in violent street clashes, and 2) the House is doing nothing at all to prepare the country or to counter any anticipated outcomes. I'm at a loss...I think we have a very small opportunity to prevail in November, but Congressional Democratic leadership seems unable to actually lead. Every opportunity to force through election security has been squandered. Senator Blumenthal has taken to Twitter to warn about a new breed of Russian interference that is so dire, it's a 'break-the-glass' moment, but he's sworn to secrecy. Is he serious? It's the end of the world, but a promise is a promise. It's painful to support a party that values adherence to a classification rule over protection of its citizens.
I share your frustration but not your expectation of what the congressional Democrats are supposed to do. They don't have unlimited political or institutional power, so I don't believe that demanding they "do something" is as straightforward as it may seem.
I'm far more concerned with what we do as citizens to maximize our political opportunities by winning elections. Winning more elections with the objective of increasing the state-level and congressional Democrats' political power is essential. Then Blumenthal and others can reveal what's necessary.
I truly appreciate your perspective, and I agree that Democrats must focus on every local and state election, every judicial candidate, every prosecutor. That said, Democratic leadership left far too much on the table. The time for leverage to push election security was with the first stimulus bill, but they instead pushed forward with 3 bills, deferring continually to the subsequent bill. Now people are falling off an economic cliff and 90 days out, there are still no provisions to protect the election. Oversight hearings have been ineffective at best, uncoordinated, and grandstanding at worst. The inability to effectively message the gravity of our political, geopolitical, economic, and healthcare situation has opened the door to a plethora of conspiracy theories flooding social media platforms. None of the foregoing required a majority in the Senate, but it did require coordination and a willingness to face the hard truths about our country. Grassroots groups and Never-Trumpers have filled some of the messaging gaps, but turnout is the great unknown. As the pandemic continues to spread, perhaps more people will be forced to deal with the peril of the moment. It's a terrible way for the electorate to mobilize.