(Updated)
Harvard Prof. Levitsky, in this lecture⤵️explains that the U.S. is passing through a difficult transition.
Before the Civil Rights and women’s rights movements, power was concentrated in the hands of white men.
I’ve written about that here⤵️
MAGA means take America back to the time when white men ruled supreme and could grab whatever they wanted.
From Levitsky’s lecture:
In 1994, whites were 74% of the electorate
In 2014, they were 57%
By 2024, they’re expected to be under 50%
GOP numbers have gotten worse since last year.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018…
The Democratic Party—the party of urban intellectuals, minority communities, and women—has excellent medium and long term prospects.
The GOP, on the other hand, is in trouble.
From Levitsky: When an ethnic group loses dominant status, it can be extremely threatening.
Many feel like the country they grew up in is being taken away from them.
This definition is from Georgetown law Prof. David Pozen:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
The problem is that democracy requires compromise.
“My way or the highway” is autocracy.
Another example was McConnell's refusal to consider Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
In the words of Prof. Levitsky, “escalation rarely ends well.”
Levitsky compares our current political upheaval to an earthquake: We're feeling the shock of the transition, and the rattling of GOP hardball tactics.
Trump and pals despise the institutions that they feel are unfairly targeting them, so they're fine with destroying them.
For more on that, see @jasonintrator
here⤵️
Because the Democrats have excellent medium and long term prospects, it's in their best interests to preserve (not further stress) the institutions.
Answer: We then have to do the work to build them back up.
Moreover, consider this: If Democrats “fight like” Republicans, both parties look the same.
Bothsidesism takes over. People turn away from politics in disgust.
The easiest way to suppress voters is make them feel disgusted by both parties.
Anyone who watched the impeachment proceedings saw a big difference.
Levitsky recommends that Democrats use what Pozen calls Anti-Hardball Reform.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
Anti-hardball tactics “forestall or foreclose tit-for-tat cycles and lower the temperature. . .”
Pozen says some amount of hardball is tolerable, and in fact, may be used in the interests of countering extreme measures.
An example of Constitutional Hardball: Democrats come to power and add 3 new SCOTUS justices.
The problem is that this just invites retaliation: When the GOP comes to power, they’ll add 3 more.
It’s a good government rule that the Democrats would agree to if they were out of power and the GOP suggested it.
@WisDems
are doing a fabulous job with this. (They could use help!)
💠Use anti-hardball techniques to blunt GOP tactics
💠Work on the 2020 election with the goal of improving on the 2018 results, which would mean a landslide electoral defeat for the GOP
💠Begin the work of repairing the damage to our institutions.
Some genuinely want to save democracy. They feel angry—and simply have a different opinion about how to go about it.
I dare suggest that others are not actually interested in saving democracy.
Remember: The winner isn’t the side that hits hardest. The winner is the side that saves democracy.
end/ I may add comments
My blog also a search function and categories (which I keep saying I should reorganize)
When I had 200 followers, I answered all questions. Now I often don't see all the questions, but most is on my blog.
One of the GOP defenses is: "Obama did it" or "Hillary did it" or "all politicians do it."
First, it's not true.
Second, the defense is only used by unprincipled people. . .
When the GOP uses this defense, they're trying to create universal disgust toward all politicians as a way to permanently break democracy.
“Fascists always deny what they are and ascribe their own features and their own totalitarian politics to their enemies.” Prof. Frederico Finchelstein