I've been channeling my inner Prof. @dziblatt all this time when I've been saying democracy will survive if enough people want it to and are willing to do the work.
From @dziblatt: “Democracy requires constant mending"
Also from Ziblatt: "Protecting voting rights . . .
This was one of the Republican Party's most successful propaganda efforts. A way to help break government is to make people hate it. Reagan was a master at this bit of propaganda.
Hamilton understood that the way to give a government legitimacy was for it to help people.
Why did they want to "break" the federal government?
After the Civil Rights movement, the white supremacists, corporate interests, and white Evangelicals found themselves with a common goal: Dismantle the federal government.
Each had their own reasons.
White Evangelicals wanted the church to run people's lives.
White Supremacists resented the Supreme Court's decision to desegregate America and federal legislation that made that happen.
Corporations wanted to dismantle the New Deal and regulatory agencies.
When @LindseyGrahamSC said the Republican Party "can't grow" without Trump, he meant without these folks Republicans can't win election, and Trump is best at stirring them up and keeping them engaged with politics.
After the Civil Rights movement, the white supremacists and corporate interests formed an alliance. What they had in common was a desire to dismantle the federal government.
Corporate interests wanted to roll back the New Deal and regulatory agencies. . .
Stand by for a Twitter summary. But first, more ☕️.
2/ Before I continue, I had an insight reading some Twitter comments.
At least I understand why some people blame the Democratic leadership for the fact that the Republican Party is anti-democratic and actively trying to destroy democracy.
I'm seeing people say they feel frustrated by the slow workings of politics.
Politics in a democracy is deliberative. The checks and balances intended to create stability also create a slow process. Panic doesn't help.
In an autocracy, things can move swiftly, or even instantly
Profs. Ziblatt and Levitsky say that democracy is "grinding" work.
The problem is that people who say (and actually want) democracy insist that democratic leaders are weak and ineffectual when they are engaging in the work of democracy.