I read Chris Reeves’ chilling post, America's Most Dangerous Politician, Kris Kobach, moves to redefine Democracy, in stunned silence. I suggest you do the same. In response, I feel compelled to share some thoughts that have been gestating for a while and have continued to trouble me. I apologize if I come across as alarmist and inflamatory, but our house is on fire and the alarm needs to be raised. As always, I welcome your feedback on this vital issue.
Let me start by clearly stating that I think the Republican Party and the wealthy patrons bankrolling it are an existential threat to our democratic institutions and way of life. I include those patrons because I believe they are the ones ultimately calling the shots. Their goal is to use the political and economic systems to enhance their own wealth and power at everyone else’s expense. It’s clear to me that this assault on our electoral system is the next logical step in that scheme. If you have a sufficiently docile and compliant population, you can maintain the illusion of a democracy, as long as you have firm control of all the levers of power. The Republicans and their patrons are intent on replacing real democracy with a sham democracy where they pull all the strings and can freely loot the nation’s resources. Despots around the world have done this for years, from Zimbabwe to Belarus. Presidents for life appear to be a common theme, as do large cadres of loyal followers who share in the regime’s spoils and help enforce conformity and submission.
There are now nearly enough Republican controlled state legislatures to call a Constitutional Convention (see We’re surprisingly close to our first constitutional convention since 1787. Bad idea.). Currently, a 75% super majority is required to ratify changes to the Constitution. However, delegates are apparently free to change the ratification rules, which occurred at the 1787 Convention. If Republicans were able to jigger the rules in their favor (an art at which they seem to be very deft), they would be able to rewrite the constitution as they see fit, and we would be powerless to stop them. How does President for life Trump sound to you? Or, if Trump proves to be a not so Useful-Fool-in-Chief, they could make it easier to invoke the 25th Amendment and install Mike Pence in his place (a possibility even without Constitutional jiggering). If things seem bleak now, just imagine how much worse it could get. Margaret Atwood’s dystopian The Handmaid's Tale comes to mind, given the Republican obsession with controlling women’s bodies. Are you scared yet? If not, your not paying attention.
Make no mistake, Republicans and their masters have been patiently working on this for decades, slowly refining their tactics. Having transpired in broad daylight, it can hardly be considered a conspiracy, unless that includes hiding in plain sight. They now control all branches of the federal government, and are starting to move on the next piece of the puzzle, the electoral system. They are consolidating their power step by step, and will not stop until they have total domination. It’s a familiar drama that has been played out over and over throughout history, from Rome to Russia. The playbook is well established and proven effective through countless applications. It can happen here too, we are not immune, and the arc of the political drama currently playing itself out does not inspire confidence.
2018 will likely be our last best hope to stop this, if we’re very very lucky that is. If Republicans can gain control of enough state legislatures, they will likely be able to rewrite the Constitution, and the final piece of the puzzle will fall into place. This is real people, not some fever dream, but a real living nightmare facing us. The Democratic establishment (DNC, DCCC, DSCC, and party leaders) has been criminally negligent and thereby complicit in allowing Republicans to run the table. It’s now up to each of us to work together to fill the gap. It’s time to stop the fratricidal warfare and focus our energies on our real enemy. Are you prepared to fight together in solidarity to save our common birthright, and that of our children and grandchildren? The future of our democratic institutions and way of life hangs in the balance, and posterity will judge us by how we respond!
I would like to close with the words of a former Senator and President and a prominent citizen of Illinois, presented in the town of Springfield in 2007: “For that is our unyielding faith — that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it.”