“An existential threat to democracy,” “Jim Crow 2.0,” “election subversion” — we’ve heard those dramatic claims and accusations for nearly a decade, growing ever more shrill as the next election approaches.
Well, we had an actual existential threat to democracy on Saturday, July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a 20-year-old tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in this year’s presidential election.
Amazingly, we still do not have any official explanation of the young man’s motive. Was he motivated by the incessant drumbeat from progressive Democrats and, in fact, from President Joe Biden, that Trump represents a threat to democracy? Was he spurred on by Biden saying Trump should be “put in a bullseye?” Was he influenced by a constant refrain of “democracy is at risk” and “Trump must be stopped?”
The president was by no means alone in this hyperbole. The same words, thoughts, ideas and doomsday pronouncements were issued by other progressive Democrats and, with increasing frequency, by what is commonly called the mainstream media. And they were not limited to attacking Trump but were liberally applied to any of the 50% of Americans who did not ascribe to the political and policy orthodoxy of the current administration.
After the assassination attempt failed, there were immediate calls from Biden, other politicians and pundits to “tone down the rhetoric,” mingled with continued accusations of extreme speech from Republicans. That lasted almost two whole days before it became “tone down the rhetoric — but Trump and MAGA are evil, extreme and must be stopped.”
Take a breath. Trump was president of the United States for four years. Democracy survived just fine — flourished in fact. None of the outrageous authoritarian, fascist and racist prognostications came true. In general, everyone was better off. Black and Hispanic unemployment hit record lows, income went up and America became greater than she had been.
But if Trump is not a “threat to democracy,” what is?
Political violence — and in this instance, attempting to gun down a political opponent or fostering an atmosphere that encourages it. Lawfare — weaponizing the legal system to handicap or imprison your political opponent.
But looking at it on a much more personal level, anything that compromises or cancels out your vote with an illegal vote is a threat to democracy.
Allowing non-citizens and illegal aliens to register to vote is a threat to democracy.
Allowing unsupervised drop boxes ripe for ballot stuffing is a threat to democracy.
Improperly maintained, out-of-date and inaccurate voter rolls are a threat to democracy.
Failure to require commonsense voter ID is a threat to democracy.
Unsecure, unverifiable mail-in and absentee ballots are a threat to democracy.
Automatic voter registration is a threat to democracy.
Private funding of local election offices (Zuckerbucks) is a threat to democracy.
Any election administration procedure or practice that contributes to an environment prone to voter fraud, abuse and mismanagement is a threat to democracy.
It should be easy to vote and even harder to cheat in our elections. All voters should be confident that their votes matter, that they will be counted fairly and openly in elections that are secure and transparent, and that they can be comfortable with the election outcomes whether their preferred candidates succeed at the polls or not.
Anything less is an existential threat to democracy.
Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America
