Issue: 66

It’s Up to Us: The Fate of American Democracy Is In Our Hands

The Dumpster has shown that not only is he unwilling to stand up to Putin to ensure there will be no further co-option and poisoning of our electoral process but that he is complicit and a key part of the plot. And Congress does nothing.

Steve Bannon and Lee Zeldin

Some in the GOP (like our very own Cong. Lee zelDONE who is supported by white supremacist Steve Bannon and right wing financier Robert Mercer) are hard-core Dumpster supporters and you wouldn’t expect  anything different from them.  Others have allowed themselves to be bullied and are paralyzed by fear of the political wrath of Dumpster’s base.  Others made a deal with the devil and are willing to subvert American Democracy if it suits their conservative agenda of stacking the Supreme Court with right wing activists to overturn Roe v Wade and scores of other progressive decisions over the past 50 years… If it ensures they get an executive signature on legislation that drives spikes through progressive reforms on health care, equal rights for women and the gay community, voting rights, and economic equity… If in return they get a “leader” who spews hatred that fuels and fires up their base at the expense of immigrants and people of color.

The GOP Congress has not only refused to ensure that the Justice Department be protected from overt obstruction, many have actively joined in the plot to subvert and derail the Russia investigation. Some have even dared say, who cares if Russia meddles in our elections if it continues to keep them in power.

The 2018 elections are upon us and the US Intelligence Community has warned that the Russian efforts to subvert the process are very much still alive. Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats has said “the lights are blinking red.” The president (of course) does nothing. The GOP Congress cowers in the dark refusing to act, probably because doing so will inevitably throw a bucket of cold water on their conservative orgasm.

So there’s really no choice. It is not hyperbole to say that the future of American Democracy is literally in our hands. What can and must we do to rescue the institution that has been our identity, the core of what it means to be an American? Where are the life boats for the system we have taken for granted that is now sending an SOS signal loud and clear?

Do we light up Congressional switchboards like we did to save the ACA?

Do we take to the streets by the millions to demonstrate our outrage and willingness to stand up and fight back?

Do we contribute whatever we can (and more)to Democratic candidates in the 2018 elections?

Do we organize like never before to get out the vote and swamp the ballot boxes so races are not even close and thus are much more difficult to alter?

The answers are easy:  Yes, Yes, Yes, and damn Yes…yet even with all of these measures,  we could fall short with a 2016 redux if we don’t act decisively and proactively to protect the electoral process. Here are a few things we need to do together as a nation:

Ignore attempts on social media to distract and attack the efforts to ensure free and fair elections.  This should be a bi-partisan gimme.  These are either Russian bots or uniformed citizens who have been duped. Do not go there.

Apply pressure at the state and local level to ensure that election results are not tampered with. Local officials are dependent on constituent support and would be less likely to be subverted if the eyes of the public are squarely fixed upon them.

Support and encourage the ACLU to proactively monitor polling places and election facilities to ward off interference. Help them (with economic support) bring law suits against local governments that refuse to help ensure a free and fair process.

Support and encourage the news media to conduct independent exit polling (especially in areas where close results are anticipated) as a means of guaging whether electronic interference is attempted.

Engage like never before. This is not a time to sit back and be a spectator. It’s not a time to feel overwhelmed and tune out. Despair is not an option.

We are facing an Presidential Administration that has shown its willingness to attack our democratic process and will apparently stop at nothing to preserve its power, including working with a foreign adversary’s intelligence agencies to manipulate electoral results.  It’s looking more and more like that will soon be proven but even if we only consider what transpired at the Dumpster and Putin’s recent meeting, it is nothing short of treason.

Once our electoral process is subverted there is no hope to preserve the liberties we hold so dearly. Stand up, fight back.  American Democracy depends on it.