1/Let me elaborate on this a bit.
Why is democracy/voting rights the top priority for Democrats?
Why is democracy/voting rights the top priority for Democrats?
2/Obviously it's in their own self-interest, since poor and young people need more help getting to the polls.
But ultimately, the reason to focus on democracy is to help the Republicans go sane again.
But ultimately, the reason to focus on democracy is to help the Republicans go sane again.
3/Right now, Republicans are dealing with America's demographic changeover - from 80% white to 50% white - in a very dysfunctional way.
4/Since the 90s, as Hispanics (and Asians) grew as a % of the U.S. population, one faction of the GOP wanted to court them.
A second faction wanted to keep the party a white ethnic party.
The second faction, sadly, won.
A second faction wanted to keep the party a white ethnic party.
The second faction, sadly, won.
5/Instead of toning down white identity politics to court Hispanics and Asians, the GOP decided to:
1) turn up the identity politics
2) deport as many nonwhite immigrants as possible
3) use voting restrictions and gerrymandering to win with a minority of votes.
1) turn up the identity politics
2) deport as many nonwhite immigrants as possible
3) use voting restrictions and gerrymandering to win with a minority of votes.
6/This strategy of racial resistance has worked great for the GOP in the 2010s, and they won't abandon it even if they lose one or two elections.
7/But if Dems strengthen democracy - if they chop off the third leg of the GOP resistance strategy - it will be impossible for the GOP to win elections with identity politics and base turnout alone.
8/Faced with the end of the road for identity politics and racial resistance, the GOP will be forced to reboot itself with a new ethos and a new message that appeals to Hispanic and Asian voters (black voters probably being out of reach for them no matter what).
9/The toning down of GOP white identity politics, and the end of attempts to racially engineer the electorate by mass deportation, means America would have two more-or-less sane political parties.
We'd basically be out of the woods as far as fascism is concerned.
We'd basically be out of the woods as far as fascism is concerned.
10/America can't thrive with one sane party and one insane party. And the only way the GOP goes sane is if they accede to the need to win over nonwhite voters.
Thus, voting rights are the only thing that can save us (and the GOP) in the long run.
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Thus, voting rights are the only thing that can save us (and the GOP) in the long run.
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