The Republican Party is the biggest threat to American democracy today. It’s a radical, obstructionist faction that has become hostile to the most basic democratic norms.
How deep does the GOPs problem with democracy run? How did things get so bad? And is it likely to get worse?
How deep does the GOPs problem with democracy run? How did things get so bad? And is it likely to get worse?
At every level, from the elite down to rank-and-file voters, the Republican party is permeated with anti-democratic political attitudes & agendas. And the prospects for rescuing the Republican Party, at least in the short term, look grim indeed.
Today’s Republicans really hate Democrats & democracy.
Trump’s supporters have embraced anti-democratic ideas & are hostile to bedrock democratic principles. >90% GOP oppose making it easier for people to vote. The MAGA movement is a clear & present danger to American democracy.
Trump’s supporters have embraced anti-democratic ideas & are hostile to bedrock democratic principles. >90% GOP oppose making it easier for people to vote. The MAGA movement is a clear & present danger to American democracy.
The ultimate expression of anti-democratic politics is resorting to violence. Republicans are embracing violence. More than twice as many Republicans as Democrats — nearly two in five Republicans — said in a January poll that force could be justified against their opponents.
Democrats see Republicans in a dark light but more as political rivals than as enemies. Republicans see Democrats as their enemy.
When you believe the opposing party to be an enemy the costs of letting them win become too high &anti-democratic behavior starts to become thinkable.
When you believe the opposing party to be an enemy the costs of letting them win become too high &anti-democratic behavior starts to become thinkable.
GOPs dislike compromise. This hostility to give & take has 2 major ramifications for democracy. 1, it has rendered govt dysfunctional &ineffective. 2, it has pushed Dems in a more polarized direction. Repubs see Dems as hostile to conservative values & redouble their obstinacy.
Republicans are a global outlier ¬ in a good way. The GOP is an extreme outlier compared to mainstream conservative parties in other democracies like Canada’s CPC or Germany’s CDU. Verdict? Repubs are one of the most anti-democratic political parties in the developed world
The Republican turn against democracy begins with race. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act cemented Democrats as the party of racial equality. It explains why Republicans are increasingly willing to endorse anti-democratic political tactics and ideas.
Partisanship causes Repubs to justify anti-democratic behavior. A crucial finding from recent papers on anti-democratic sentiment is this—how decades of rising partisanship made an anti-democratic GOP possible. Extreme partisanship creates the conditions for democratic decline.
The GOP’s economic agenda is detested even compared to previously unpopular bills. This drives Republicans’ emphasis on culture wars & anti-Democratic identity politics which allows the party’s wealthy backers to get their tax cuts while the base gets the street fight they crave.
Some of the most substantial attacks on democracy happen at the state level. GOP statehouses got to control the post-2010 census redistricting process at House & state legislative level leading to extreme gerrymandering in GOP controlled states unlike anything in Democratic ones.
Conservative control SCOTUS enabled this state-level push. In 2013 the Court struck down the preclearance requirement to get permission from the Justice Dept on maps &other major changes to electoral law. In 2019 another Court ruling paved the way for more partisan gerrymandering
When Repubs won a Senate majority in 2014 McConnell found a new way to deny Obama victories by blocking his judicial appts. These actions were an expression of an attitude popular among GOP voters & leaders: that Democrats can never be legitimate & do not deserve to wield power.
The Trump presidency was a test of GOPs attitudes toward democracy. Time &again trump abused his authority in ways that would have been unthinkable under previous presidents. Time &again MOC’s, party leaders, right-wing media stars & voters looked the other way or cheered him on.
Leadership is still afraid of #TFG & the anti-democratic MAGA movement he commands. GOPs can’t win in a majoritarian system so while they still control most statehouses they’re gearing up for a new round of voter suppression bills & extreme gerrymandering in states like GA & TX.
It’s very hard to see how any of this gets better. It’s very easy to see how it gets worse.
vox.com/policy-and-pol…
#VoteBlueToSaveDemocracy
vox.com/policy-and-pol…
#VoteBlueToSaveDemocracy
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
