The Democrats put Trump in office the first time...and they’re going to do it again.
Democrats will never win by ad nauseam resistance against the status quo. You win by standing ‘for’ something. What do Democrats stand for? De facto open borders and free health insurance for illegal aliens? Student loan forgiveness hoisted onto the backs of taxpayers? Appeasement and capitulation vis a vis Iran? M4A and the demise of private healthcare coverage? Slavery reparations?
Not a winning combo...
37
As bad as our current state is, I would implore Charles not to give up hope. We have been through far worse. Think of the monstrous injustices of slavery and Jim Crow, of the KKK marauding through the South during Reconstruction, of the Homestead Strike and the brutal suppression of labor unions, of the Depression, of dogs and fire hoses and men with truncheons fighting to preserve segregation, of the gross abuses of power by J. Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon, of the deeply divisive war in Vietnam. If we can overcome those things, we can overcome this.
1
Republicans have been aiming to make a liberal vote equal only 3/5 of a conservative vote for years.
That's how they can ignore the popular vote and appoint who they want through the Electoral College dominated by low voter Red States, diminishing Blue State voters.
Problem is, Trump, who they thought would be a controllable puppet, is turning out to be Frankenstein's monster.
Now the GOP is stuck, as are we, with Trump as king.
The election this year is likely our last chance to right this wrong.
Vote Democratic this year.
Every election, every office, every seat.
A large turnout is our best course of action.
Vote.
11
One must wonder what a discerning military veteran must feel , who volunteered to serve their country thinking they were defending concepts and ideals that are being destroyed in our time and , it seems , never existed .
3
This guy’s review of history and current events is typical of the myopia of the hard-Left voices at the NYT. His current events review leaves out the whole Russia hoax perpetrated on the US people by high-ranking individuals at the FBI and DoJ—which claimed for two years that Trump and his family were involved in crimes against the American people and system. There is no mention about the findings of the Mueller Report that finds that “not one American was found to have colluded with Russians to subvert the 2016 Election”. NOT ONE PERSON! Yet, this guy’s screed goes on and on about how guilt Trump is of being Trump . There is no mention of what was going on in the Urkaine under the watch of Joe Bidden. No mention of the role of Biden’s son in the corrupt Burisma company—and the denial of significant military aid unless a Ukrainian prosecutor who was focusing on Burisma was removed—taking the heat off of him and his son. How is what went on before Trump entered politics in any way Trump’s fault? And just how is it a crime to investigate the possible corruption of previous Administrations.
As to this guy’s focusing on voter restrictions leads into a discussion of what a “democracy” is would take books to discuss. Reader comments too short to even start refuting his ramblings.
9
I'm not ready to throw in the towel on the American experiment. Many of the power brokers and influencers are aging out. People have time stamps. It is not folly to believe that fundamental change can come after mortality has its vote. in the near future, vote like your life depended on the people that become elected, because it does.
3
'The ship of American democracy has been torpedoed by Campaign Cash' --- as another comment said. That should be Charles’s focus, instead of a general lament.
Ship of democracy?
In 1941 Roosevelt sent Churchill a clip of a Longfellow poem to encourage Britain in the war against Germany:
“Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!”
( “The Building of the Ship,” 1849)
Well, in 2020, we’re all hanging, breathless.
The famous Titanic ocean liner, and American Democracy were both reputed to be unsinkable. The Titanic hit an iceberg and went down, shocking the world.
The lethal iceberg sinking US democracy? Big Money donors, legalized to steer our politics in the direction of their profit & power, but weakening citizen influence on our govt.
Our columnists should focus on that iceberg. Why does our media avoid Citizens United's effect---the big story? We watch the destructive ripple effects cutting through the nation—in health care, education, jobs, pay, infrastructure, global warming, and election security.
There's wide voter support for repealing the Court's ruling. Nothing more directly affects our democracy's health. It's We the People vs the special interests. What did our colonies overthrow King George and his aristos for?
6
Installment #8,754 of the sore loser manifesto that began with Paul Krugman's election night tweets in 2016.
If Hillary Clinton had bothered to visit Michigan a couple times during a campaign that saw her spend TWICE as much as Donald Trump, she'd probably be president -- elected the way the Constitution mandates.
Had that happened, about half of Americans -- those not living in the elitist zipcodes of Manhattan, the DC suburbs, West LA -- would have felt disenfranchised by having someone they considered anathema to their values as president.
But we wouldn't be reading a constant stream of these types of infantile overreactions about "Lost America" in the New York Times. Maybe we'd be hearing them on Fox News or talk radio.
All that is lost in America is the dignity and grace to accept defeat then work through the proper mechanisms to change things via elections. Instead we have had a three-year push to invalidate the 2016 election by progressives, aided and abetted by the establishment media.
That'll tightly be disposed of by the senate in a few days. Then, if you want a different America, vote for it. Whatever happens in November a lot of people will be unhappy.Whoever that is, I hope they don't cry and whine and make ludicrous statements about how the country is lost because they didn't get their way.
4
Charles Blow writes:
"Everything from who can vote, how they vote, who influences that vote, who is elected by that vote and who is accountable having been voted in, is broken."
The obvious question then for many people which has been expressed in our dismal voter turnouts is, why vote?
This country is indeed broken from many sides. Division has never been so clear, so real. The only thing the present administration will have done, whether you think it is positive or negative is to open people's eyes on the system itself. When some say that Washington is broken, they mean the people who rule us from Washington DC. If you stand on the left side of the scale, you blame this president and the GOP. If you stand on the right side of the scale, you blame Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff. I sit on the left side of the scale and I do blame the Orange Toad and his band of merry men as I call them quite a bit. But there is something deeper in the problem: it is not so much the people but the system of governance which is at fault. What we have now in the WH is a symptom of a more profound problem. The Founding Fathers certainly never imagined literally where we would be in 2020. But they actually did not give the people a true voice. The three branches government they established is actually failing us. Who is going to trust a Congress that cowardly defends a criminal president? Who is going to trust a Supreme Court that sides with an autocrat instead of the people? We are told to vote to change what we don't like. What if that does not work because a foreign entity meddles in our election and our votes don't count. What if the autocrat doesn't concede his loss? Are we ever going to be safe again? Is America the place where an immigrant like me cannot dream any more?
3
Will "Biden did it first!" represented by megabucks shysters carry the day? Observe how erratic their narratives are too, just like their client's.
1
Yes, we've lost "the idea" of America. Because we've lost the Enlightenment Era ideals that produced it.
The people who founded our country were a product of their era, which was a time when people were starting to believe that through science and reason, mankind could escape the rule of tyrants and monarchs and usher in a new era of progress, equality, tolerance, and crucially, separation of church and state.
Trumpism is nothing if not an outright rejection of those ideals. This is an administration that has held that the president's power has no constitutional limits. Trump and his followers are openly contemptuous of science, and to them "the truth" is whatever Trump says it is, evidence be damned. He has openly favored one religion while openly discriminating against others, just as he has openly scorned democratic allies while courting favor with totalitarian despots.
And 40% of the public thinks that's just great. Which, thanks to the Electoral College and geographical representation in the Senate, not to mention the complacency of the rest of us, is enough to dominate the federal government.
RIP, USA. You had a good run.
7
In one important way over the last 60 years, voting has been over rated as to its importance. You see, Congress started to borrow for more and more of the legislation it passed that needed funding, and failed to tax for all of it. That is how you get wars,(the Vietnam War 20 years from 1955-1975), and the 20 years in the middle east that is still currently going on, (2002-) that should of never happened in the first place, or at least not lasted that long, the build up of the cold war, and promised entitlements, that have enough funding for the long haul. Then, there is the over 70,000 pages of the IRS Tax Code, by lobbyists, lawyers, and the staff of Congressional members where there are tax deductions, tax credits, etc. for every individual, including children, colleges, corporations, farmers, foreign entities, etc. many times over. A government that has little fiscal aptitude to pay for the legislation that it passes, has, in my opinion, already lost the Democracy part. Until, all Americans realize their part in wanting everything free, including the wealthy who pay little or nothing in taxes, to me, I lost confidence in Congress about the same time I was over DT, over 28 years ago. Borrowed money creates poor decisions, both domestic, and foreign, and partisan politics.
3
America is resilient, and will ultimately rebound from this governmental and political nightmare.
The forces of darkness lasts but so long--and demographic changes will hasten the day when hope is again a feature of the American landscape.
Some voter registration or restriction issues are clearly made to try to make it harder for some groups to vote. But is it really a burden to expect people to have some kind of ID with a picture on it? We’re not talking police state stuff here, we’re talking a society where we can show who we are. Are there really secular western democratic countries where you don’t need ANY ID to participate in society, especially elections?
We are the oldest and largest democracy in the history of the world. We have no prior examples of what happens to a democracy such as ours. We are the example. Lacking any other precedent, like old stars going supernova, perhaps this is how it ends.I predict three separate countries by 2050- Pacifica, Atlantica, and whatever the middle of the country wants to call itself.
2
To Charles Blow: Please discuss antidotes.
The road back starts with reversing Citizens United to free us from big money dominance. It's a 2020 campaign issue, favored by voter majorities & many politicians--of both parties. Plz discuss!
Start public financing of elections with pre -set amounts of money available to both parties for basic campaign expenses.
Restore strict limits on private donations that the Court, in Citizens United, pretended were against 1st Amend Free Speech. Our Court amplified the influence of megadonors, & muffled the average citizens
Stop paid campaign ads inundating, manipulating voters.
Per Wiki, many countries ban paid election ads on media, to prevent special interests from dominating their politics. (btw-- they've had universal health care for generations, that we can't get).
Mega donor financed elections is the story of our era. Yet it’s effect is almost avoided in our news media. Is public financing ‘too left’ wing in our distorted definitions?
We need federal laws against voter suppression for all states. Re open the many polling places that were closed, that made it even harder to vote for many people.
Let only independent commissions, not parties, draw voting districts, like other democracies.
Vote on a holiday, not a work day, like other democracies, liberating millions to vote. We have one of the lowest turnouts among countries.
Show respect for citizens, so we don't look like hypocrites to the world.
7
America has always waxed and waned. Today it seems more dramatic because we can hear about it immediately and hear many voices -- with their own agendas -- constantly.
The US has seen the original sin of slavery, civil war, the Trail of Tears, Great Depression, Teapot Dome scandal, the Gilded Age, the assassination of presidents, the Red Scare, wars just and unjust, Cold War and hot wars, prejudice beyond belief, Arab Oil Embargo, Stagflation, KKK, loss of middle class, German-American Bund, climate change and many many things I've left out.
All past challenges, disasters and pain. . For every one of the items listed above we've had hard fought victories. Many we're still suffering. We're still here. Democracy is a living thing, not a set it and forget it. We'll get past today.
1
Charles, Trump's impeachment acquittal will be the result and responsibility of a Republican majority in the Senate, not a sign of congressional failure. American voters understand that today's Republicans have no defense against the coming minority-dominant population changes, the literal end of white rule in this nation built on that rule, nor their defense of a self-serving president who puts himself above that of the nation. Our national defense, and return to the path forward, is simply Trump's removal from office, by impeachment or the vote.
5
If my parents generation could summon the courage to land on Omaha Beach surely we can focus on fighting this sliding into real trouble. We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, whining and finger pointing. Get to work at the ballot box first.
3
But it is the ballot box which has been seriously compromised.
1
Yep, we're finished as a country. Overwhelmed by our 'free enterprise system', with money being the only thing that matters. It's amazing that it lasted 200 years. Good to be old...
6
Vanishing like a vapor indeed, Mr. Blow, well said. While our government does feel like it's crumbling around us and we are losing what we've held dear, it's enlightening to learn that it may always been more of an ideal than a reality.
After recently finishing reading the book "Hamilton", I've been made more and more aware of how, though we've always believed in and worked to live up to our principles, we rarely arrive on target. Even in the days of our founders, greed, jealousy, hypocrisy, misogyny, hatred and fear abounded, and are nothing new to our current times.
But I am also reminded of Lincoln's appeal that we strive to allow "our better angels" to win. So that is our really only hope for the future if we as a nation want to survive.
6
"There's a light in the depths of your darkness,... Let it shine"
-Dan Folgelberg ("There's a place in the world for a gambler)
There's a light in the depths of our darkness.
Look at what Bernie's campaign is doing: no big money, overall decency and a return to FDR's social contract.
Listen to his speeches about us coming together to help each other.
He offers a return to FDR's social contract.
Give that perspective a chance.
FDR fixed the great depression, defeated global fascism and set the world on course for its greatest golden age in history, (from 1945 to 1972) resulting in a man landing on the moon.
If you give FDR the chance, he will do it again. This time with Bernie (instead of Truman) being the agent that delivers his social contract.
Decency/ethics/value/morality, are middle class characteristics: the rich don't need them and the poor can't afford them. (all of this is covered, by the way, in "It's a Wonderful Life" - a primer on American civics)
Give it a chance.
It's better than being without hope.
2
@Tim Kane: The speech hasn't evolved since I first heard it. Bernie is a fossil. Public sectors of mixed economies evolved to deliver projects and services of ostensible benefit of the public paid for by taxing the public. That is socialism, and those who control public policy usually get more of the benefits and sometimes pay less of the taxes.
@Steve Bolger
Look at graph#2 at bit.ly/EPI-study
From 1945 to 72 the median (meaning everyone's) wage went up in lockstep w/ GNP (100%). After 72 GNP went up another 150% but the median wage remained flat.
Pre 72 = demand side bias econ policy bias
Post 81 = supply side bias econ policy bias.
Demand = wages.
Supply = wage suppression, thus the flat wage.
From 1973-1980 were were in demand side saturation (meaning more of demand side bias policies couldn't create growth "stagflation")
After 1998 we hit supply side saturation (slowflation/low ROI/investment bubbles)
(Low ROI in the aggregate is caused by relatively low demand & causes investment bubbles whenever a small sector of the economy does offer good ROI, like new tech which always brings with it latent demand, and so investors flood the sector creating the bubble. The dot com bubble plus lowflation signaled we are in supply side saturation and 20 years late on returning to demand).
The flat median wage means that, since some workers wages have gone up, the vast majority of workers have endured 48+years of declining expectations, spawning opioid crisis, protofascism & Trump.
Bernie is merely a return to mixed econ system & demand side economics that FDR left us.
The 27 yrs after FDR were history's greatest golden age culminating in a man landing on the moon.
Big Govt at its worst is not worse than Big$Corp which by law are expected to function like a psychopath.
3
@Steve Bolger
And yet by most measures people in a social democracy are more successful, happier, healthier and better educated.
There's a strong minority of Americans, many in power, that simply don't want everybody to have a bite of the apple because they want it all. Is that a successful democracy?
5
Americans cling to many myths. One is that we live in a democracy.
Sure, there are regular elections that choose many of the officials who make the laws and govern our society. But in other ways, American government is profoundly undemocratic.
We are governed by a president who lost the popular vote by three million votes. Twice in the last 16 years, the candidate who lost the popular vote was nonetheless selected as president because of the Electoral College. There is no other democratic country in the world where that can happen.
Nor does any other democracy have an institution like the U.S. Senate. Because every state, regardless of its size, gets two senators, the Senate is hugely unrepresentative of the country. California, with 39.5 million people, has the same number of senators as Wyoming, with a population of 579,315. A slight majority of Americans live in just nine states. They have 18 votes in the Senate, while the minority holds 82 seats.
Partisan gerrymanders and the Electoral College make a mockery of the notion that the United States is or ever was a functioning democracy.
The system is so utterly broken and corrupted it cannot be repaired.
Corruption was built into the system from the start., yet the people are so fractured, divided and programmed that we are collectively defenseless against the evil forces dominating our government.
The notion that it was better before Trump got elected is ridiculous.
10
@Chris: Ostensibly, we all consent to be governed under this system because people who died 200 years ago went for the deal.
2
@ Steve Bolger
I didn’t sign up for it and never got to vote on it either.
All else equal, modest multiparty democracies (with three to seven parties) perform better than two-party democracies.
Democrats would probably split into two parties: The Social Democrats, representing the very progressive left, and the New Democrats, representing the center-left. Republicans would probably split into three: a center-right Reform Conservative Party (think Marco Rubio), a consistently conservative Christian Republican Party (think Cruz), and a populist-nationalist America First Party (think Trump). Maybe a small Libertarian Party would win some seats. As with most other advanced democracies, coalition government would prevail. Politics would grow more complex. But some complexity is a virtue in politics. It forces citizens and politicians to think harder, to be less certain.
Elections would be competitive everywhere because every vote would now matter. Increased competition would boost turnout because campaigns mobilize more voters when elections are competitive. And with more parties, more voters would feel represented. This is why turnout is consistently higher in proportional democracies. Gerrymandering would disappear since it only works with single-member districts and predictable two-party voting patterns (the main reason why it is a uniquely American problem).
Since that isn’t likely to happen in the US any time soon, I suggest moving to a truly civilized country like Germany.
5
In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled
Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em
And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin'
And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished
And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence
Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now's the time for your tears
The America we loved died thee times, each time murdered by Mitch McConnell.
The first was the night of President Obama's inauguration when McConnell decided with fellow Republicans to sabotage Obama's every initiative for no other reason than spite.
The second was the torpedoing of Merrick Garland's confirmation.
The third is Trump's impeachment trial, witnesses be damned.
When you purposely undermine our very system of government, and get away with it, it's indeed clear the idea of America is lost.
17
Like Charles Blow ever understood the idea of America....
2
It is both heartening and discouraging to read this essay. Mr. Blow delineates clearly how we headed in the direction of becoming a plutocracy instead of a democracy.
It is heartening to hear the truth, but discouraging because I am not sure the oligarchs haven't won, and that indeed, democracy is vanishing like vapor. The country is divided, because like the old dictum, a house divided is a house conquered. In other words, the country's partisan divide is no accident.
There are only a couple of Democratic candidates really willing to take on the big money, but big money is pouring a great deal of its resources into assuring the status quo will remain.
They say great empires crumble from within, and certainly the politics of divisiveness are creating the the soil needed to plant dysfunction and chaos.
Our government was once held to strict account by its citizens who compelled the courts to uphold the laws of the land, but now money holds more clout than the citizens or the law. Moreover, he hubris that accompanies the acquisition of great wealth all too often has little respect for ethics, ethics or values, and certainly not for the law.
2
It's terrifying that we allow so much money in our politics. Why does anyone think that they wouldn't influence politicians' decisions?
1
Interesting during the impeachment trial to see how small the Senate, occupied by all its members, is. Scary that the 53 Senators who hold sway represent something like 15 million fewer voters than the 47 Senators who are continuously over-ruled. Read recently that we're fast approaching the point where 70 percent of the senators will represent only 30 percent of the population.
Scary too to think about how many people were represented by each member of the House at the time the government was formed and how many are represented by each Representative today. Yes, we're a republic not a democracy. Still...
America's representative government is a work in progress that's overdue for serious reform. We need clear, honest appraisal, not mythologizing and illusion.
Funny (not) when impeachment managers read Hamilton's description of the worst executive that the new government might enable. Trump to a 'T.'
3
America in the 21st.century:
A divided nation (under God?)
With freedom and justice, but not for all.
2
@masai hall: The respect and public subsidies accorded to preachers of beliefs beyond reach of substantiation is unconstitutional because such beliefs put people out of reach of reason.
2
When a President is essence above the law, then there is a fatal flaw in the Constitution. We need a constitutional convention for the 21st century.
2
why bother to vote or participate in any way? I don't have $1Mil to give to a Super-PAC, and I don't live in New Hampshire or Iowa.
1
With the electoral system being as it is, it was NEVER "one person, one vote." Otherwise we'd have had Al Gore and Hillary Clinton as presidents, not Bush junior and the current occupant of the White House.
5
Should the US dissolve into 50 or so independent, unequal fiefdoms it would be decades sorting out the consequences. Decades that it and we don't have. I'd rather see revived coral reefs then "Border Wars" on History TV.
I'm starting to think that Armageddon will be brought on not by some Anti-Christ in Palestine but a deranged grifter in Washington, surrounded by his tremulous cabal of fawning fallen angels.
I think a special mention should be made of Antonin Scalia and Citizen's United's contribution to legitimizing graft and corruption on a massive industrial scale. It's now the rule book, the constitution is now the operator's manual and who reads that?
6
Please stop promoting dividing the country. Russia would love a partitioned country. I absolutely question the source of some of the comments promoting dividing this country.
Mr. Blow. What a depressing article and picture. Unnecessary and unproductive.
Scary times demand strong responses; not throwing in the towel.
Organized a march? Written a congressman? Donated to strategic campaigns? Talked to other people about resistance strategy?
Six uncles fought in a war. One did not come back. Husband fought in a war. I have been politically active since the 60's.
I am not giving up.
"Through the rockets red glare..."
2
The best article ever written on this topic was written by my High School classmate Alexander (Alex) Keyssar, "The Electoral College Flunks." The piece was published in the March 26, 2005 issue of The New York Review of Books. Here is the link to the article:
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2005/03/24/the-electoral-college-flunks/
1
It is difficult for some including Blow to accept that their candidate did not win. There must be something wrong with the system, they assert. Blow does not realize that this is how democracy works. Your candidate may not win and you should accept that reality without temper tantrum.
2
My feelings exactly. Sad to say but the tooth paste is out of the tube and not going back.
1
Are we so superior to Russia that's dominated by a dictator, leading citizens to believe Putin protects them from a hostile West? Russia never had democracy.
But our famous democracy has its own unbalanced information war. Our ‘independent’ media conglomerates profit from & are influenced by wealthy mega donors who pay for campaign ads-- our biggest elections expense. They define what's center/right/left.
We get constant messages -- that our federal govt, doesn't represent or protect us, but is a threat to our freedoms & individual liberty.
That it’s corporate interests that protect us from big govt interference in our freedoms. Thus, many Americans support their exploiters.
Are we a democracy? Like Russia, the US has oligarchs & state media-- GOP FOX media -- in daily contact with our elected president, amplifying his daily lies across the US. And putting the rest of the media on the defensive with charges of ‘left wing’.
Let's not just defend against Russian interference, but against domestic interference in our elections, weakening us like a viurs--GOP voter suppression, gerrymandering. Our electoral college distorts our elections.
We get propaganda from the voice of special interests amplified in politics. We the People are muffled. Studies show average voters hardly influence elected officials. We can't compete.
See cspan video--the 10th Anniversary of Citizens United. This is the domestic threat to our democracy.
We need a column or 2 to discuss that.
1
Since the 2016 election, I have been mourning the loss of what never really was. I have come to realize since then that I was naive (privileged) enough to believe that we actually lived in an imperfect and somewhat corrupt democracy, but a democracy nonetheless. Now I feel as though our current polarization, fueled by trolls and dark money, is part of a cultural war, between those who believe in equal rights and an equal voice for all, and those who want to maintain the status quo--a country for wealthy white men. I agree with Mr. Blow: we have only had this nascent democracy for fifty years or so, which is why it is proving to be so fragile.
5
Mr Blow:
I do not believe in giving up on doing the right thing. This is not pollyanna-ish this is purely pragmatic. Correcting an individual wrong is hard, correcting a multifaceted wrong effecting millions of people is harder. Harder does not mean impossible.
Work on one facet at a time. That is the way a rough stone is turned into a desirable gem. Tackle a problem like Gerrymandering. Many states have recognized that redistricting fairness requires separating the process from the control of incumbent political interests. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redistricting_commission
there are ways to improve the situation. Use your writing skills to put forth positive ideas and support their implementation into policy in areas of the country that are the least fair and representative. America as an idea is not dead as long as one citizen embraces the belief that equality and justice are worth fighting for.
1
A nation “of the people, by the people, and for the people” is perishing from this earth.
And only the people can stop it.
Vote out of office every Republican everywhere, while you still can vote. Hopefully, it is not already too late.
3
Not only is our democracy vanishing like a vapor but so is life on this planet due to unacknowledged and unmitigated climate change, and police apparatus are crushing our right to privacy with Orwellian facial technologies. It seems to fit the times we live in, many problems to solve. But the vanquishment of our vote is a fight worth fighting.
2
"The Senate is poised to deliver another blow to voter confidence in our system."
I seriously do not think that the Senate, poised to acquit Donald Trump, is poised to deliver such a blow to American's confidence in the system.
Americans have already lost confidence in the system.
Seriously, does anyone really think that the outcome of this impeachment hearing has ever been in doubt? Haven't we Americans known all along that Mitch McConnell and his Republican majority would vote to acquit Trump no matter what the charges and no matter what the evidence revealed.
This entire process has been a total waste of time. Neither side of an increasingly polarized electorate has any faith in the system.
The elected representatives of the people have made a mockery of what "American ideals" existed.
2
@George: This US is governed by a clique who promised to get God to stop punishing the US.
Dear NYT:
The cynicism and hatred exhibited by Mr. Blow for our founding American principles and political system is growing increasingly tedious to those of us with a more positive and nuanced view.
Yes, America's founders were hypocrites in asserting all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights, when slaves still were being held in bondage in Southern states, and many Americans - including women - lacked important civil and political rights.
But this does not erase the truths expressed, nor discount the blood and tears so many Americans have shed in trying to make these truths real and attainable for all.
We Americans are generally good people, with deep flaws, but looking to do better.
Mr. Blow sees only the ugliness and hatred around him. He can only imagine failure and victimhood, not transcendance, for people who look like him.
He rants against a mythical white "oppressor" who most of us cannot see in the mirror. This is not because we are all blinded by our own racism. (Some are.)
The "white oppressor" is an intersectional generalization, a construct glued together from race resentment, from scraps of class warfare ideology.
Most Americans are decent, hard-working people who are just looking for a level playing field.
8
After all, “Make America Great Again” is a campaign theme that rather openly hearkened to the TV world we boomers grew up with. Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver, and others implicitly celebrated the ideals of an almost entirely white, surburban based, moderately affluent America, an America that was flush with pride from having survived and bested the twin evils of Nazism and Japanese aggression in the Pacific. It was an America that only saw itself in white privilege, and in a way that did not even acknowledge non-white Americans. It was Boomer World. But we’re old now. The world we (and Trump, and a lot of his supporters) grew up in has widened, becoming much more complex, cosmopolitan, and, crucially, non-white. That is the world of the future. What we are witnessing with Trump and his impeachment is the last gasps of the Baby Boomer generation.
What seemed a better life in Boomer times, was an America flush with high wage, low skills jobs rebuilding a world ravaged by war. High wage jobs now require high skills: those flush times are gone, and it is easy to blame that on “others.” Plus it turns out those low wage laborers we heedlessly imported to do the dirty work have turned out to be more capable than we thought.
OK Boomers, our time has passed. No one is going to be replaced, but we will soon fade. America has an opportunity to grow up, convert white privilege to competence and skill, and make a fairer, better country.
Republicans have sold their country to the devil. They are backing a corrupt president and a corrupt administration. They are doubling down on disease.
What is happening in America today, is exactly what the Russians worked so hard to accomplish for the many years of the Cold War.
How can it be an accident that Putin is so consistently getting his wildest wishes granted by the Trump Administration?
The simplest answer is almost always the right one.
5
So in other words, our constitution has become an 18th Century anachronism that needs to be re-written for 21st Century realities. Yet it's Democrats who seem to be most resistant to the idea of doing so. Perhaps that's because the party is run by lawyers for whom the broken system actually works quite well. Why are we shocked that a constitution designed for a pre-industrial society composed of yeoman farmers, small mercantilists and a southern plantation economy really doesn't work in the age of Google? Justice Roberts reminded us that U.S. Senate is the "world's greatest deliberative body" - I almost choked. It's an inherently anti-democratic body composed of a bunch of fossil plutocrats who typically speechify to an empty chamber for the benefit of the 15 people who watch C-Span - and it's been like that for decades. The German Bundestag, which enjoys widespread respect and support among the German people, has far more claim to that illustrious title. Maybe it's time to stop dancing around the elephant in the living room - it's the constitution, stupid!
2
Voter suppression is not new, at least in the South. What's appalling is that the Supreme Court trashed the Voting Rights Act, encouraging states (including mine) to cut access to the polls. The newly Republican Florida Supreme Court has managed to hobble a new state constitutional amendment guaranteeing felons the right to vote. That matters, because an astonishingly large portion of Florida's adults are felons and our last Republican governor, Rick Scott, shut down the customary procedure for them to regain their voting privileges. I predict Trump will carry the state by about 1.5% come November.
A larger problem is the apportionment of the Senate. The founders knew that Delaware and Rhode Island would forever be tiny (and probably hoped they'd eventually merge into Pennsylvania and Massachusetts), but likely feared that one or both might remain outside the Union and cause all sorts of mischief (as Delaware does anyway as a convenient place to incorporate a business). But they would never have expected super-states like California to emerge, grossly underrepresented in a Senate that was intended to look after state interests and that, until after the Civil War, had remarkably distinguished members.
By 1900, at least one seat, in Montana, had been openly bought from corrupt state legislators. The Senate was reformed at that time by popular elections. There seems no practicable reform now.
1
I wish I didn't share the same thoughts as I see our country go from 'We're Number One' to 'Leave us alone.' We probably need to develop a parliamentary form of a coalition government where a third-party candidate doesn't necessarily become a spoiler, but a part of a solution. The right-wing evangelical influence that rose in this country in direct proportion to the Muslim extremism that they thought was going to transform our judicial system into an American version of Sharia law. So we now have our own home-grown extremism, growing from Southern Evangelicals into a solid White Supremacy movement -- it wasn't that long ago that the Bible was the main document of reference in the Scopes evolution trials and the inability for us to release ourselves from the biblical myth, leading to requests for respecting diversity to be interpreted as a 'war on Christmas.' We can HOPE that the senate comes to their senses. I hope Canada hasn't been quietly building a wall to keep out the influx of refugees from what is left of this country.
We voters have lost all confidence in our American democracy. Our Manifest Destiny, growing our country's size from 1812-1860, is over. When an American president who well deserves impeachment and removal from office is our maleficient leader in domestic and foreign policy we can see the handwriting on the wall. Democracy in our sprawling and huge country of 50 Disunited States has been judged and found wanting.
Our system of government isn't working. It has faltered and failed and we can see it crumbling today in the US Senate's Impeachment Trial of President Donald Trump. If Trump is acquitted and not removed with just cause from office, those who have witnessed his divisive depredations and corruption of the Executive Branch will have no recourse beyond voting against Trump this year.
Voting against Mr. Trump in November won't work because the Electoral College, not the popular vote, elected Trump in 2016. Our government is corrupt beyond redemption now. So the Union North lost confidence in the Confederate South in 1960 and we fought our brothers in Civil War. Will Americans fight their brothers again this century? We've lost our confidence in Democracy and don't know how to find it again.
The image of America in our childhood imaginations, and the image of America that was taught to us in our primary and secondary educations, and even the image of America we explored in college and career and family life, was always and ever an aspirational goal tantalizingly just beyond our reach. That hasn't stopped us from reaching though, and it shouldn't stop us as we move forward from this time of reckoning when our comfortable certainties of Americas present status and future hopes have been dashed to pieces. Trump and his Republican cronies have cynically attempted to destroy our sense of agency in America's future. The truth is, only we can do that, by selling out on our dreams. Now is the time to reimagine our future and redouble our efforts to steer our nation in a direction that embraces its best dreams and possibilities.
It seems like the time is ripe for states to request a Constitutional Convention, which could address many of the issues that Charles Blow identifies. It could codify issues of money in campaigns, revisit issues of voting rights in the 21st century (including restoring post-parole felony rights) and make clear that all offices are accountable to honest information. It could also revisit issues with the 2nd Amendment, clarifying the actual purpose of the amendment and allowing some common-sense limitations. And perhaps most importantly, it could provide some disincentive to those, like now, who fail to adhere to the basic structures laid out in The Constitution.
As Blow points out, the document that guides us no longer hold the clarity we need. Despite that, I believe the framers of The Constitution designed a system of governance that intended and succeeded for almost 200 years in putting The People first above government by creating a structure to enforce it. Personally I find it whiny and lazy to think that we can't, more than 240 years later, add some wisdom to the framer's document, to restore the original intention for the modern age, and to prepare us for the next 200 years.
@Philz: Language has been so deliberately corrupted by pernicious interests that honest renegotiation of the Constitution is extremely unlikely. Under the present regime, people don't even agree on what "an establishment of religion" means.
@Steve Bolger: to quote the old adage, "it's been to try and fail than not to have tried at all". We live in an age of hand-wringing and acceptance of a fate that was never intended for this country. Sadly it is a similar story to most government structures over the last thousands of years... but to simply say nothing can be done seems more futile than at the very least, trying.
The SNL Impeachment parody is actually playing out in the senate: GOPers saying they want a fair trial, while wholly discounting the body of evidence from the House ( which they say isn't enough or compelling), and allowing no further evidence such as direct witness testimony from star GOP conservatives such as John Bolton who were either in the room or on the phone? It is a theatre of the absurd, while the defense absurdly tries to argue that impeachment for abuse of power or obstruction is never warranted, and the people should vote on the matter rather than duly elected congressmen and Senators.
If that is the case, the constitution needs some serious re-writes to call for interim special elections then.
America is a laughing stock entertainment generator, produced by the Senate GOP- the party of "in white and rich we trust", while representative democracy and justice gets trampled in one event on their floor.
Votes cannot compete with money or corporate "free speech" enshrined by Citizen's United. Our legislators abide to the will of the oligarchs who fund their campaigns and fatten their pockets. They are in cahoots with our corporate media and in many instances owned by the same people.
The electoral collage did what it was designed to do. It gave more power to racist southern and rural states than populous areas and it appointed a president who was rejected by voters.
The Senate, led by Mitch McConnell failed us by not allowing our president, Barack Obama to appoint a Supreme Court justice. And we failed as a country-- by not responding to this.
And now we face massive voter suppression at a time when voting is our own recourse to getting a fascist president out of power.
Meanwhile the Democratic Party has its own problems with corruption. Did I read correctly that the DNC is broke?
1
it doesn't matter. right wing extremists, formerly known as republicans, have taken the united states in broad daylight. worse they committed their crime with the tacit approval of a society with the attention span of a toddler.
Just for the record, there's actually no evidence that individual Americans were manipulated by Russian misinformation. There's simply no way of knowing, nor will we ever know. But feel free to speculate.
4
USA is work in progress. Furthermore, "In fact, it may never have existed in that way at all" relegates such an assertion about something "lost" toward even more preposterous statement. Whatever doesn't exist can't be lost according to my machine logic.
https://www.npr.org/2013/11/11/244527860/forget-the-50-states-u-s-is-really-11-nations-says-author. That is a good idea in case of contingencies to organize them into 11 provinces within the same country.
A concise and poignant article - all our idea and ideal which are America's to loose, in particular the sympathizer's of this administration at this moment in our history.
I'm just happy to be living in the country of Massachusetts.
1
Despite the naysayers the U.S. still has the best system. Let Mr. Blow live and work in the Middle East or in a so-called Islamic democracy to feel the difference.
5
Not lost, Mr. Blow. Just in limbo until January 20, 2021.
1
Chuck. As usual, you are lost. America is very alive and well.
It’s the land of opportunity for all- always was and always will be. The cream will rise to the top, as it should. It’s pretty simple actually.
Unfortunately, people such as yourself will always poo poo the USA.
2
@mike..”the cream will always rise to the top”.... you mean like the amoral unethical liar and cheat con man who has risen to the top office in the land?... you mean THAT cream? taste the cream, hope you still have a gag reflex
2
Well at least they are thick and rich. (hat tip to Becket)
I agree with Mr. Blow.
The door is closing on us. It’s been closing for years. But only now as the last glimmer of light slivers it’s way past me do I truly understand.
2
As an adult, I have developed an educated skepticism. I don't think I ever thought we were "a functioning democracy responsible and responsive to its citizens who are entitled to vote and whose votes are equal" ... and I agree that we are not.
I do, however, still believe in the IDEA and the pursuit of the ideal.
2
America, as an idea, as a representative democracy with the power ultimately vested in the people and accountable to the people, is vanishing like a vapor.
One correction Charles. Vanished.
There is only one path out from where we have found ourselves. In November, we will either be mourning a death, or committing ourselves to finishing what our founding fathers started. What perhaps no one is acknowledging is that there is no longer a middle ground. And make no mistake, plenty of very powerful, very rich, and very influential people are praying for a funeral.
5
@Alex Amen. There is one death cult known as the republican party, propped up by literally a handful of plutocrats. The remaining members of the human race either defeat them soundly at the ballot box in reflection of the percentage of support for almost all issues, or they don't, and we have a funeral for the country, our children ever understanding how in the world one pursues happiness, and our planet and human life on it.
Charles I see the pessimism in your op-ed and agree that the America is far from a one person one vote system and less of a democracy of the people. However it is the only system we have and we have to work within it. The Senate is the least representative of our "people" part of the legislature. By having 2 senators for each state, irrespective of their population, it is more a land mass representative than a people representative. However staying out, or avoiding the system is not a solution. I hope that everyone votes and everyone is motivated to vote.
4
I have chosen to accept the outcome of whatever passes as an election come this November, even though I have strong preference for new leadership.
The deterioration of this country, for the majority of its citizens, has been a work in progress for at least 40 years and the total control by money is nearly complete.
Isn’t this as it should be in a nation that values wealth over health in nearly every choice made?
Incumbent or challenger - whomever is President will take orders from our true ruler, money.
5
Sorry Blow, but the country has been much farther divided in the past.
Take the 1960's for example.
Do you recall the Vietnam Years, begun by Democrat Kennedy and enhanced by Democrat Johnson who sent a quarter of a million troops to Vietnam under the bogus Domino Theory only to cause the deaths of 57,000 American troops.
Nationwide anti-War demonstrations and protests
Marches on Washington by millions of angry voters
57,000 body bags and funerals
All brought to you by Democrats
The media's biggest issue: Trump doesn't roll over and play dead. He fights back and he invariably wins.
And he hasn't sent 57,000 troops to their deaths like the Democrats did.
3
@The Premier Comandante
Do your homework better. It is not all on the Democrats. Eisenhower was heavily involved with the French war in Vietnam passing the issue to JFK. Nixon from 1969-1974 was estimated responsible for 21,000 + American lives and .5 to 1.5 million Vietnamese. Add Nixon's bombings in Laos and Cambodia deaths in those countries totaled another 250,000 to 500,000.
See https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/32897
They figure Bush in Iraq was worse in terms of casualties.
I actively protested the war against both LBJ and Nixon. Think of it as an American problem and shame.
and not one of those deaths after January 1968
The Revolution will not be televised,
But will be available on Pay-Per-View
and be on streaming services one week later.
3
If the Senate acquits, then it really is time to Drain The Swamp of all the reptilian brains living there.
Vote them out and get Senators who will honor their oath to our Constitution.
Vote out the boss of the American crime family so he, and his family, can be prosecuted for their bank, loan, and possible tax fraud crimes.
Basta!
5
It became clear to the GOP long ago that demographics were their enemy and the only way to maintain their viability as a party was to fight against the idea of "one person - one vote." Their first and most important task was to get a partisan conservative majority on the US Supreme Court that would overturn the Voting Rights Act and strike down campaign finance laws, which the Roberts Court has obediently accomplished. If the idea of America is dead, the smoking gun is in the hands of Roberts & Co.
6
I sit up here in Canada and worry. We are a little smug. Our income inequality is less, our Public Education system really works. People rich or poor can get a very good education. Social mobility is a strong possibility. We do not offer poor Ghetto educations, I could go on.
Our economies are so intertwined that 'as goes the USA, so goes Canada.' I worry for our futures.
I am reading Jill Lepore's book "These Truths" which is a great review of US history. She brings out the full intent of the founders that Impeachment was to go far beyond breaking the law and into political fairness and justice.
The opposite argument from Donald and Mitch. How can they be so totally against any principal of democracy and yet be in the positions they are in? Something - many things are seriously wrong.
Your democracy is on a rapid downward spiral. Fight to restore that which you are loosing precipitously.
Get out and MARCH fight for your democratic rights. Your women have shown you what has to be done. It will be long and hard and filled with frustration.
Get rid of the electoral college. Give Washington DC and Puerto Rico democratic rights. All citizens must have the same rights. The USA is NOT the home of democracy. I suppose it never was. You just all convinced yourselves that it was. There are many more Democratic countries around today than just the USA and many do better.
Not the most democratic but still the most important.
Save us all, Canada is watching and hoping
7
@Doug Weldon "I sit up here in Canada and worry. We are a little smug." With respect to Canada's achievements. I note you left out that Canada has had a points-based immigration system since 1967. It also rejected almost all people with health issues (including, famously, the child of a university professor who had epilepsy) until, I believe, last year. (Exception: Canada's refugee admissions, which have increased recently: I greatly commend this). My point? Cherry-picking a country's population -- and Canada has many immigrants -- for the best-educated, youngest, healthiest, and those already fluent in English will presumably affect test scores and other achievements. That's the whole point, yes? I, too, believe the US must improve in countless areas; you won't get arguments from me there. But I'm not sure I'm ready to put my thumb on the immigration scale, the way Canada has, in case that's part of what you're "watching and hoping for."
1
There is still hope—-liberal states can break away, secede, and build their own futures together. America never was one country and never will be.
2
Well said. A political system that held up the common good and the idea of human equality as the guiding stars for improving life within our society was a grand scheme. Now we see that the idea has devolved into the rule of “me first” and “more is better”. It won’t work. It will turn back the clock, as Mr. Blow suggests, threatening the end of the American Experiment.
4
There is one man who has brought us here, and he can, at least, salvage what we have left. That man is John Roberts. With his "Citizens United" vote, he unleashed the rampant corruption. IF he uses his power to call witnesses to the removal hearing, he can at least stop the unfolding disaster which is "President" Donald J.Trump's regime. Even the pusillanimous GOP Senators would be hard-pressed to acquit in the face of the now furiously suppressed evidence. "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country ?" I'd settle for the supremely mediocre Mr. Roberts having an attack of decency - belated, but desperately needed.
9
This is what a "democratic coup" looks like.
Don't forget:
Slavery was legal
Apartheid was legal
Colonialism was legal
The Holocaust was legal
And now it appears that ALL of Trump's actions are legal.
Legality is power, not justice.
4
Its sad to read editorials like this, and the commentaries that follow. I never knew we, as a nation, were such cowards. Mr. Blow is a pessimist and will find fault in all that is not viewed in his sense of reality, much like the commentators in here, and much like your opponents on the other side see the the world in their sense of reality and criticize all that is not to their liking.
But alas, lets complain. Lets burn the system down. Lets rebuild our society and nation in ways we, the enlightened see it, and all will be resolved.
Your pessimism should be your fuel for action, yet you let it fuel your anger. Most people in this commentary seem to revel in their simple solutions to complex problems.
An acquittal means that the system isn't broken. It means it needs to be realized as what it is. An imperfect system by imperfect people. It will always be imperfect, but it is never static.
For your mental state, perhaps you may want to cheer up.
3
Sadly I agree, but honestly...I think it's always been this way. It's just more blatant now.
4
Well, at least we lasted 25 years longer than the Reds! Yay!
1
All I will say is the 18-30 year old voting block is the largest. Larger than the Baby Boomers. They are statically very liberal and nonjudgemental. To me they represent the best of our country. I have hope knowing they are very outspoken and ready to participate. Todays GOP and our president represent to me the last dying gasp of white male privilege.
8
@LaLa
yeah, but will they vote?
5
Equality is nothing more than an algebraic concept; with limited applications in reality. In this day and age every citizen should get their one vote. But a national test measuring your knowledge on a variety of issues: economy, foreign policy, environment, etc should earn you up to 2 more votes as an educated voter. Then if you serve in the armed forces, where some moron can send you to an arbitrary war; you should get another 2 votes. Then maybe have other measures of contributions to society or economy that give you extra votes.
1
You can't lose something you never intended to live by in the first place. American's need to stop looking at this nation through rose color glasses or through a 'crooked mirror', take your pick.
2
Jesus weeps.
Precisely! And succinctly put.
This is why the obstruction of Congress charge is so much more important than the underlying crime of abuse of power. It's bad to have a President so dismissive of the rule of law that he uses public money to extort foreign interference in his own re-election campaign. But its arguable that Trump was just being Trump, and that he was voted into office by a majority of electoral college votes that expected him to behave this way. I, for one, was completely UNsurprised that he did what he did. Yes, he's corrupt. People voted FOR a corrupt, unfit President. Arguably, we got what the voters asked for.
But the flat refusal to comply with investigatory demands in the course of an impeachment inquiry is FAR FAR worse. If Trump gets away with it, he is an autocrat, a monarch above the law. The U.S. is over. There's no reason to expect him to leave office, ever.
The Republican Party seems, as David Frum predicted, to have decided to abandon democracy rather than accept the possibility of political defeat. Will anyone step back from the brink? It doesn't look like it.
7
Voting in America is a right reserved to citizens. Requiring citizens to prove absolutely that they are in fact Americans is a small price to pay to insure that the voting system is not compromised in any way. Anyone who cannot provide proof positive of their identity does not deserve to vote. All you need to do is to read the New York Times article published this past weekend that revealed the many people in multiple states who have been dead for years, yet have had their names used to cast ballots by impostors.
3
Mr. Blow is absolutely wrong.
The idea is not lost when he can write about it, when Congress is conducting a trial, when there are at least 50% of the population who believe in the Constitution and our system of governance.
Catchy headline is one thing, to actually believe in this nonsense is no different than the anti-government garbage pushed by the GOP.
Every system needs a stress test and an inoculation. This is exactly one of those times.
When Trump manages to amend the Constitution to let him hold onto office for life, then I will agree that the idea is lost to the majority, but still tightly held by the minority.
C'mon Mr. Blow, you are better than the GOP.
2
"Angel of Doom" prognosticates again! Charles highlights many deep flaws here, which by all means need fixing. And our government / presidency is in total crisis mode, no doubt. But I can't help getting the sense that he has an awful lot of immovable chips on his shoulder. Nevertheless, I remain a loyal reader of Charles's columns, as there is always something of good value and good research to his reportage.
1
If Trump is appointed by Putin again, that's the end of America as a global superpower.
3
"Follow the Leader."
For my 2 cents. If it's acceptable for the leader of our nation to intimidate, name call, lie, cheat and to be corrupt then it's OK for the rest of us to do the same. My suggestion for every American is "When in Rome, do what the Romans do."
This means that it is acceptable to cheat on your taxes, cheat on your school tests, lie to the government, employers, coworkers, lovers, spouses. If you have a vehicle collision, blame it on the other driver if you were at fault. Have no mercy. If you desire to move up in your job, sabotage the employee's job that you want. It's OK. The President of the United States has set the stage for how you should act.
Extort. Lie. Run your opposition into the ground to silence them. Have no mercy, have no conscience.
3
US Democracy has been dying for 50+ yrs, starting with the JFK assassination. A progressive POTUS who challenged the status quo, the corrupt J.Edgar Hoover-dominated FBI, the self-serving military-industrial complex (that his Republican predecessor warned us about), the mafia & racial segregation, etc. And he had the audacity to talk about national health care- the scary "Socialized Medicine," while also raising the min. wage. No wonder he was taken out by a coalition of many of the groups now running the US into the ground. Right-wing reactionary billionaires, the chieftains of the military industrial complex, white supremacists, the mafia, etc. His slaying was followed by so many acts by our "leadership" that were at odds with the people's will--LBJ's Vietnam escalation, Nixon's Cambodia & Watergate, Reagan's Iran-Contra & military buildup (resulting in massive deficits & cuts to human services), the stealing of the 2000 Election, giving us the Iraq disaster & more massive deficits, plus the Great Recession. And now Trump's hubris with North Korea & dictators throughout the world. Not to mention the greatest deficit ever. And an anxious, polarized country. But, alas, it works Beautifully for the aforementioned right wing reactionaries & the 1%--particularly the 1/10th of 1%--who are better off than ever! Only term limits, public financing of elections & barring retired Congressmen from becoming lobbyists can begin to repair our very broken system. Don't hold your breath.
5
This country has never been a representative democracy, unless of course you are a white male. While the Constitution may have been cutting edge in its day, after 230 years, with all three branches of the Federal Government dominated by white men, its obvious, the Constitution's promise is lost.
4
So much information. Mr Blow elegantly concludes, tiny paragraph by tiny paragraph each containing arrows from diverse arenas bullseye. Elegant and painful. Over.
1
People, people, people.
In 1787, Ben Franklin saw this coming, and we have been here many times:
“Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”
With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
IF YOU CAN KEEP IT!
The time for complaining is long past. The time for hand-wringing is long past.
IF YOU CAN KEEP IT!
What are you, yes you, going to do, right now, today, to KEEP IT?
Quit complaining, and KEEP IT.
-C
1
For once (and probably only this once), I do not agree with Mr. Blow. America's demise has been predicted thousands of times, but we're made of tough stuff -- the Framers invented a mechanism that might bend, but it proven hard to break (except for the Civil War, which ultimately resulted in a "new birth of freedom," as Lincoln said). There have been scarier times, collectively, more recently, including Nazi rallies packing Madison Square Garden in 1939, complete with swastikas and American Storm Troopers in full uniform. American history is (a slow) one of change, expansion of inclusion, and survival. As Thurgood Marshall once said, "The measure of a country’s greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis." We'll make it.
1
@JTS
I am afraid this time around and for the first time in history it not just about disagreement, but, about an administration, the President and over 40% of the electorate who are OK with lying, disobeying the rule of law and the constitution, dismantling of the sacred institutions that protect ALL Americans and of course, accepting corruption at the highest levels.
I am afraid. with these kind of divisions within America, "hope and optimism" is just not going to be enough.
1
Thank you Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff for being our last line of defense.
5
With Fox News at this very moment on their website, 1:56pm EST, January 27, their lead story is:
"FOLLOW LIVE: Clinton-era figure takes floor to defend Trump at trial".
I guess they never heard of John Bolton.
Truly Fox News is not news, its propaganda.
1
Please, please, please: for all of you who say the dream of America is no more, move away. Renounce your citizenship, tear up your US passport, and move elsewhere, anywhere but here. People outside the country are waiting to come into this country and will gladly take your spots. Mr. Blow, back up your big words and just move away, anywhere but here in the USA.
4
@JP
"People waiting to come in"? It seems the actual statistics aren't in line with what you believe. For the first time in decades, in 2019, immigration to the U. S. was substantially down in numbers.
@JP
Nah. We would rather fight for the rights of all citizens and against the corruption of the Republican party.
1
Because Trump is blocking them. There is no limit to how many want to come here.
One fix only: vote, agitate, be civically engaged--you know, like a citizen.
These are the symptoms of a gangrenous body politic--the infection only intensified with Citizens v United; we were already so terribly apathetic. Perhaps coming here, to the brink, will reignite a fiery passion and awaken the urgency of those who would like to live a free, peaceful life, free from predation...or Mr. Blow is right and we are soon to decay into the rot that has already well advanced.
Your choice. For me, I will vote, agitate, and get engaged--my kids deserve a better future than this idiocy.
1
Yesterday I made a comment on Senator Blackburn’s page to express my dismay at her attacks on the loyalty and patriotism of a serving Army Officer. Disagree with LTC Vindman if you want, dispute his account, provide counterpoints, by why level such serious charges as disloyalty? My goal was to get people to question the Senator’s rhetoric smearing a combat veteran. I failed, but it gave me a sense of the white hot anger the Senator is unintentionally (?) stoking in the country.
A number of people told me LTC Vindman was guilty of treason. I had a man claiming to be a 72 year old Vietnam War veteran make the point that the Purple Heart is meaningless because “real heroes don’t get shot”. The sheer ignorance in such a comment is breathtaking. As if a Soldier has any choice in where an enemy’s bullets or mortar rounds land, or where a roadside bomb detonates. The heroism is not in suffering the wound. The heroism is in placing yourself in a position of mortal danger in the first place. The heroism lies in choosing to serve when you could just as easily not do so. That’s why he is a hero and not the sunshine patriots of facebook who think it’s cute, funny, or edgy to mock the Purple Heart. A few even used neo-Nazi rhetoric to imply that Vindman was a traitor because his family is Jewish. Dual loyalty smears are all over the comments on Senator Blackburn’s page. Pretty disgusting stuff that should turn off anyone with basic human decency.
2
@Robert A look at some of the stuff posted by his enemies on Adam Schiff's f/b page should clear up your illusions about human decency. The Schiff-haters are the most despicable degenerates I've ever seen. Norman Rockwell's America never existed - but THIS America is a fever-dream.
1
@JHBoyle
I prefer to believe most Americans are still good hard working people that have good faith disagreements on politics. That’s why I craft my appeals to them based on an assumed common decency. I’d rather think the passions of the moment have caused us to temporarily lose sight of reason (in the same way a fever can cause hallucinations), than to believe we never had decency to begin with.
I’ve seen memes in my newsfeed this week from friends that have posted pictures of a noose along with captions claiming members of congress are guilty of treason. Needless to say, those are absolutely disgusting... Treason has a specific definition under US Criminal Code (18 US Code 2381): “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000.” But rather than think all hope is lost, I prefer to reach out to them and attempt (mostly unsuccessfully) to speak to their conscience. Someday the passions of the moment will pass and those memes will not reflect great credit on anyone. We are better than this.
Let’s all hope that regardless of who we support in politics, our national discourse improves after 2020 is behind us. It must improve if we as a nation are to survive and recover our moral standing in the world.
Well yes, but:
I’m still going to vote.
Maybe it’s not even worth it anymore, like in Russia, but I’m still gonna vote.
I will vote til the day I die.
2
"The founders of this country never intended for everyone to vote, and they didn’t even include a right to vote in the Constitution. Instead they let voting default to the states"
The feudal system seems to have snuck across the waters and buried itself in the Constitution. c.f. Barons of old (the superpacs, corporations, wealthy donors of now) buying what benefits them: laws, amendment to laws, policy, changes in policy, deciding who has voting rights.
Sure people have more agency these days and can use it by voting, by speaking up, by challenging the status quo. But states still decide who is allowed to vote based on prejudice, personal political benefit and which way the wind is blowing.
So, how about an amendment to the Constitution : voting rights for every citizen over 18, some say 16, with no restrictions. But would 38 states, the number needed to amend the Constitution, back this up; support the ideals they pay lip service to, or finally admit by not supporting it on whatever specious grounds, because they can only be specious, that they prefer a managed democracy to manage what benefits them.
Note: Even the Equal Rights Amendment (equal rights to all Americans regardless of sex) still doesn't have the vote of 38 states, it has been languishing in Congress since 1923.
Equality is still a tough sell for those who are non-property-owning, non-white males.
1
Thank you for making it clear, early in your article, that one of the greatest contradictions of our democratic history is that our Constitution never included a right to vote.
My own street level polling revealed that 495 out of 500 people did not understand that we have never had a constitutional right to vote.
Barack Obama mentioned that need in a speech during his second term.
Bernie Sanders mentioned that need in a speech in January, 2016.
Elizabeth Warren has mentioned that need, including in the closing remarks in her recent interview with the editorial board of the Times.
However, there is almost total silence in response to what needs to be a great awareness of how our states have always been constitutionally entitled to manipulate voting in a great number of ways (Article I, Section 4: "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof. ...").
A simple discussion about our need for a constitutional right to vote is a most simple way to bring together those with a common interest in sustaining our fundamental democracy, and building from that.
That discussion would make the interests of the majority of Republican politicians clear and bright: The less people who vote, the better it is for Republicans.
1
We discovered, revealed, and/or chose who we really are and would be when we gave up on Reconstruction. Those supporting Trump and ignoring the evidence are the spiritual children of all the white voters, both Southern and non-Southern, who decided that white Southerners were the best and fairest judges of what should be done with or to the former slaves. The way of handling reality that gave this result is now firmly embedded in our body politic and poised to take over -- just one more election to win.
1
Mr. Blow makes a compelling argument that America has never successfully transitioned from the constitution's 17th century version of democracy, where the vote is restricted to the patriarchy, to a modern, inclusive electorate. But rather than a cry of despair, his words should be a call to action.
“Everything” related to the universal franchise might be broken, but there still remains a majority in the voting-eligible population who want modern democracy to prevail. This sham trial in the senate must awaken middle America to the peril of authoritarianism and galvanize the citizenry to summon a blue wave in November that sweeps away the corruption in the executive and legislative branches.
The new government will have a mandate to reform the Constitution with amendments that include abolition of the electoral college; the establishment of voting rights under federal, not state, jurisdiction; and redistribution of senate seats based on population, among other things.
Rather than give in to despair, right-thinking Americans must channel their anger into change before the electoral system is completely dismantled. The coming election could be our last chance.
1
Absolutely disagree with this fatalistic pessimism. First we help Democrats win the House, Senate and Presidency, then we set about fixing the mess. One step at a time. Right now the big push is to get Democrats registered and to the polls. Just do it!
3
As Mr. Blow makes clear (and I, myself, have been commenting for days, on blogs and news sites): A vote to acquit Mr. Trump, given all the known evidence, is a vote to end the republic as we know it.
The GOP would like to have us believe such a vote would simply be a defensive measure against the claim that impeachment is unwarranted. Objectively, the evidence shows this is not the case. Because of this, and the nature of a presidential impeachment and trial in the Senate, an acquittal of Mr. Trump based on the evidence will set a precedent for all future occupants of the Oval Office:
1) there is no longer any conceivable offense committed by a President that is impeachable.
2) effective and independent oversight of the Executive branch by Congress is finished, absent a Presidential desire to cooperate, unilaterally ceding congressional presumptions of a "co-equal branch" of government into the dustbin of history.
The Ukraine-Zelensky affair, involving congressional legislation dispensing funds, but stopped by the Presidential order (without congressional notification), also usurps the constitutionally-explicit Article I, Sec 9, cl 7 authority on Treasury expenditures.
Both put together, create an Executive legal precedent that makes the office unbound from virtually any laws or subpoenas by any state or branch of government. Essentially, it creates a president with the unchecked power of a King.
Based on this, the GOP should be finished at the ballot box in 2020.
2
I know the whole deal about states rights, however, frankly whether they be federal primaries or federal elections in general, the idea that individual states can control the electoral process is ludicrous and just puts in place a potential for the corruption of the whole process.
It would seem much more logical, especially during these times, that during a federal election, a central body be set up, bypassing the states, to standardize the voting process throughout the country. As with pretty much every other western industrialized democracy that I am aware of, this is the case. Why does America keep fighting these losing battles?
2
@Deus
The US is not a unitary republic. Our states aren't mere outposts for the federal government, they are sovereign governments unto themselves. This means the burden of organizing a political process falls on each state, so long as it wishes to remain a sovereign state.
1
@Joel
In Canada, as is the case with states rights in the U.S., provincial rights are enshrined in our constitution not too dissimilar to America's, however, that does not take away from the most important element of a citizens right to exercise their right to the democratic process in the confidence that voting is as safe and fair as possible and during any federal election that should be paramount and not an infringement on states or provincial rights.
It would seem now in many states in America, safe and fair elections at ANY level, let alone federal, are anything BUT, safe and fair which, in reality, no longer makes America qualify as a democracy.
2
Didn’t the SCOTUS selection of President in 2000 put any question of the nature of government in the US to rest once and for all?
4
This is what happens when we all fall asleep in a democracy. It is the same in my country. Educating oneself and actively working to keep the system healthy is required. We have let too many people of disreputable character inhabit our governing bodies. We have allowed faceless individuals and shadowy funding groups to hi jack the management of our society with greed and the desire for profit and power.
The longer this situation is allowed to prosper, the more difficult and longer it will take to take to return any semblance of democracy to its rightful owners.
Republican in state governments have admitted they want to restrict basically all groups that tend to vote Democratic from voting.
And they claim its not racist, but simply about partisan advantage, as if denying the vote is somehow OK if its not racist.
So, why don't their all of campaign ads admit that they really don't believe in all Americans having a say?
Because that's what they and a lot of their supporters really believe.
2
Blow touches on it but it really comes down to no one cares what Trump does because everyone in the top 10% are making money hand over fist. My personal net worth is up over 20% last year. I've called brokerages who can't get great returns on my portfolios and pulled money to put elsewhere.
We were told our company is going full steam ahead on all major investments this year because the economy is insane. Argue if Trump did it or not, but he's so pro-business that is a relief to the business class. Sanders or Warren would result in constricted business investment. Period.
So, if Democrats think the ruling class in this county are going to let Ukraine stop the train, they're sorely mistaken. The average voter is not engaged in this scandal as much as the pundit class would love to believe, so it largely sounds like a resounding 'who cares' outside of urban areas and the beltway.
We absolutely must abolish gerrymandering and the electoral process.
We must make voting easy and safe
Abolish Citizens United
Term limits and terms with minimum pay and no direct profiteering for 10 years
This is just for starters....
Sadly I don’t see it happening.....
2
Conservatives in general and the GOP in particular have always been resistant to liberal democracy, free and fair elections, and social progress. The USA is now, or may have already passed, the inflection point where it’s republic is salvageable. The USA has also become, for much of the rest or the world, not an a deal or idea, but a place to sell product. Most of the worlds liberal democracies are head and shoulders above the USA in what is good in the world.
About the only thing the USA now has is an economy. It offers no leadership in anything of import.
4
Control what you can control. As an individual citizen that means voting in elections and voting with your pocketbook.
It is that simple. Consider your options carefully and try not to get discouraged when things don't support your worldview. Stay POSITIVE!
We can all contribute, big and small, to the society we wish to live in as citizens.
We should go to ranked-choice voting for all elections. This prevents candidates from winning by appealing to a less than majority base. We have to get compromise back into the system.
1
Our system "of the people, by the people, and for the people" may be, in theory at least, one of the better attempts at giving power to the people, but even early on the potential for abuse was considered. Rather than a pure democracy they devised, as Ben Franklin noted, "a republic, if you can keep it." For this reason the Electoral College was also created, though ironically it allowed the election of a demagogic personality whom the Founders tried to prevent from being elected due to a runaway popular vote.
Several sources are at the root of all the ills that plague the system that the Founders could not anticipate: career politicians, how campaigns are financed with their exorbitant cost in the modern era, and the repeal of the fairness doctrine that required the media to present both sides of an issue, not devolve into one-view-only propaganda silos. Add social media and disinformation campaigns from those who have a vested interest in disruption, and we've the perfect storm for malaise and general apathy. Add Mr. Blow's noted observations of how those in power are gaming the system to maintain the status quo, or make things even worse, and yes, we're in a tough spot.
When the visions of the country are getting as radically different as they were circa 1859, one has to wonder for the future. At the least we need to vote, more, we should contact our representatives and demand more and better, from them and ourselves. The alternative is not a good one.
3
Anybody still looking to find the person of the same race, ethnic background, religion and gender to represent them is not worthy of a functioning democracy.
It's essential to get have faith in the system, and look the historical evolution of the democratic institutions in the U.S.
2
“The struggle to create a nation and world of economic and social justice and environmental sanity is not an easy one. The struggle to try and create a more peaceful world will be extremely difficult. But this I know: despair is not an option if we care about our kids and grandchildren. Giving up is not an option if we want to prevent irreparable harm to our planet.” — Senator Bernard Sanders
Bernie 2020
3
This year my husband and I have had to endure the deaths of family and friends- we're at that age. But the one death I never thought I'd see is the death of our democracy. I have to agree with many of the commenters here that we need to replace what we have with something new. Maybe Bernie has a chance after all.
7
I’m over 80, born before WWII. I have lived through tremendous changes in this country without losing my conviction that we would become better, more humane, more decent as a result of time and understanding.
Now I realize that forces are in play that can’t be managed. We will become more divided and unequal, as power and money are controlled by fewer and fewer hands. “Good” is being corrupted and I fear my grandchildren will be endangered in a poisoned world.
I will miss the United States where I grew up.
1
"In the beginning, generally speaking, property-owning white men were the only people allowed to vote."
Though property ownership is no longer a prerequisite to voting, the right to vote is still tied to land ownership. While not in most places a statutory requirement, as a practical matter, in order to register to vote a citizen must document a fixed address. To do so, they must either own land, or pay rent to a landlord who does.
1
"The Senate will be saying that corruption is an acceptable feature of the executive branch." NO. The Republican Senators will be saying that. They will also be saying that itis acceptable for Senators to be corrupted by the President. This is NOT an American problem. It is problem of a Republican Party that has become a conspiracy against the general welfare.
6
@Forrest Chisman
I would say that a conspiracy against the countries general welfare is an American problem.
Having created a republic, Jesus and the founders were concerned about protecting it from people like the current occupant. Basically, they were afraid of today’s much talked about populism, the danger of electing what was elected in 16. Governing was too important to be left to the people. From House to Senate to White House, the people were distanced from the process. Somewhere, out there, there are a bunch of powdered wigs leaning over the constitution trying to figure out where they went wrong.
Yes, Charles! And the only viable re-direct for this nation, the only potential actual solution, is a constitutional amendment calling for full public funding of all campaigns. Period.
No "money is speech," no "corporations are people" rationales for letting the haves buy elections and then co-opt legislation they essentially write to govern themselves while the have nots get legislated out of even being allowed to vote.
Such a constitutional amendment should include:
• Voter registration mandatory at age 18 and for life, no exceptions. One person, one vote. Even if you've committed a felony, it's still your country, and shaming a person out of a right to vote does nothing to foster rehabilitation either.
• A mandate that public airwave licenses require free campaign airtime. Doesn't it gall somebody that TV networks jack up the cost of campaign ads to the point that our democracy is floundering in quid pro quos resulting from toxic money by the billions while they "laugh all the way to the bank" at democracy's expense?
• No private money going to fund inaugurals or other such events; all public funding.
Corruption, gridlock, the dismantling of democracy - none of those are curable by term limits, Mr. Steyer, or by getting rid of more filibustering, Sen. Warren (isn't it obvious the death of the filibuster has given us the most unqualified judges and justices in history?). It's getting money out of politics that is the only way back to even relative sanity.
80
@William LeGro A small fine for qualified citizens who don't vote would utterly change the political calculus in the country. Australia regularly has turnout rates in the 90s. With that knowledge, a huge amount of the cost of elections disappears. The media companies won't like it. And its not going to happen here. But its nice to dream about an alternative to the slow-motion suicide of the US.
6
@William LeGro
Absolutely, however, as you write your comments, the NYT and other large media are cringing because if public financing of elections is implemented, they will watch BILLIONS in campaign ad revenue "sail off into the sunset".
1
@William LeGro : Also national curricula in history, geography, world cultures, and the natural sciences.
It's appalling that many people (especially Trump fans) have no idea how the world--especially the governmental aspect of it-- works, what is happening outside the worlds of pop culture and pro sports, or how to tell scientific fact from conspiracy theories.
They talk of taxes as if government officials just take the tax money and hide it in their mattresses. They don't know which level of government is responsible for which functions. They can't find even major countries on a map. They believe scientific hoaxes that shouldn't fool a third grader (at least not the third graders in the college town elementary school I attended). They don't know that there are many kinds of Muslims, the vast of majority of whom are more likely to be the victims of radical groups than they are to be members of radical groups.
They are empty vessels for the right-wing propagandists to pour lies and distortions into.
2
You have said a mouthful young man and very well put.
Some of your best writing too. You drove the lance so deep you might have killed the beast; wish it were so. If it is a prophetic message that is borne free perhaps it will be your most memorable piece as it's sadly likely to come to be realized.
The great truth here is that the last ditch in the war on color and classes has been reached and we're tumbling into it to have it out. Those overlooking the ditch are in control.
A Revolution needs secrecy, anonymity, disguise, and silence. Since those conditions do not exist today, unity in cause is almost impossible.
The vulnerability of all communicatiuon modes to intercept and attack by malevolent forces could mean that the 2020 elections are a foregone conclusion as we enter the shrouded mysterious phase of Death of Deomcracy mourning. That dark age of mourning great loss is over the horizon, looming and most of us can feel it but still misinterpret it's source.
Democracy as an idea maybe not so much. But Democracy as a vision worth fighting for not just for me here now in the moment but for our children's children and all mankind. If we are a nation, then how are we united? What are the foundational percepts that we are built on?
America has always been corrupt but what our public posture has shown is we have high goals of fairness, dedication to truth, inclusiveness, and human understanding of suffering, sharing, and kindness.
Final check 11/3.
1
I don't believe the United States is salvageable anymore. Not only is the nation too divided, our Constitution and system of government are simply inadequate to the challenges of modern democracy.
I arrived at this conclusion years ago, even before Trump was elected. The gridlock and dysfunction in our Congress, the steady loss of legitimacy of our partisan courts, the increasing need to govern the nation by executive fiat, the failure of our electoral system to fairly represent the entire population, anachronisms like the Commerce Clause and Second Amendment that present insurmountable obstacles to good government—all of these things revealed fundamental flaws in our system that did not seem repairable without a complete rewrite of the Constitution. The election of Trump and the subsequent failure of all checks and balances and the abandonment of all political responsibility by the governing Republican Party only confirmed my worst fears. The United States is done. It's time to abandon it.
But it is not time to despair. Recognition that our current nation no longer works is the first step toward creating something new and better. There is no use in trying to save the US. We need a completely new system of government. But this is impossible as long as we try to create something new together as one nation. We are simply too divided for that. A more fruitful path is to divide into several nations and go our separate ways. This is our only hope. Let's get to work.
259
@617to416, lol. This sounds like what Putin might like.
We're not going to divide the country up. That issue was decided in the Civil War.
We need reforms, but I would hardly call us a failed nation. We're an imperfect democratic republic that needs to move toward greater democracy.
58
@SandraH.
The Soviet Union eventually allowed self determination by its citizens. Even at the cost of breakaway regions declaring independence and joining a hostile military alliance.
Yet a peaceful breakup is impossible in the land of freedom?
16
@SandraH.
Yes, but how do you move in the direction of greater democracy when the existing system and the division in the country both prevent it?
Do you really believe that any of the current red states will ever give up the electoral college or their disproportionate representation in the Senate?
Americans are suffering from mass delusion. Like a nation of climate change deniers they continue to believe that the system is working despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
55
In my heart of hearts, I can't escape the feeling that the America I thought I knew is dead, and like Mr. Blow, have begun to wonder if it ever existed at all. America has seen hard times before, but a steady hand always rose to take the helm and steer the ship back on course. Lincoln rose to the occasion. Nixon was rightfully impeached. Today, there is no such steady hand, and the fabric America is unraveling at a dizzying pace. The ship of democracy has been torpedoed by Campaign Cash and "social" media.
In my heart of hearts, I can't shake the feeling that what we are witnessing is not just the end of America, but the end of this civilization. I can't shake the feeling that our children will have desperately difficult lives and that my "golden" years might be equally filled with strife. What my great grandparents and grandparents worked so hard to built, my parents are greedily destroying. What's made so many baby boomers so bitter, so angry, I don't pretend to know. There is no generation on earth that was ever given so much with so little effort as they were, and yet they are still intent on making sure that their children and grandchildren struggle for the things that they took for granted. In my heart of heart, I have lost hope that I will live to see things get better.
307
@ADubs -- In general I agree with you but it makes no sense to blame it on the Boomers. That's just another wedge issue meant to divide the 99.9 percent. Blame it on the Billionaires.
67
@ADubs
Not all boomers are a problem. I am a 75-year-old Democrat who used to believe in our country, but it has failed so many of my school chums. Some are GOP fans, and others believe in But for the Grace of God go I. I have no answer when asked why. I weep for my country also and my school chums. Most are not millionaires, all were hard-working, some were veterans, others not. Some were college graduates, others got married right out of high school and went to college or not as adults. Please do not put us all into the same category. We like you are individuals striving to live in a country that is rapidly changing.
40
A good antidote to despair is action. Your sense of hopelessness is understandable but it doesn’t warrant doing nothing. Volunteer on a campaign you believe in. Go door to door in a get out the vote effort. Make calls from a phone bank. This is a time for all hands on deck.
24
The system of checks and balances isn't completely destroyed, Charles. Trump WAS impeached, successfully. Unfortunately, the system is only as good as the integrity of the people in charge. The Senate and House Republicans have zero integrity. That isn't something the Founders envisioned. Or maybe they did, who knows? The point is, there isn't any system of government on in human existence that is completely foolproof. We're not there as a species yet...who knows if we'll ever be?
Your points about voting are valid BUT it is also true that people do not show up to vote in the numbers that they should. They just don't. By and large, the citizens in the United States take the precious right to vote utterly for granted.
2
@PubliusMaximus bill Clinton and Johnson were
impeached Impeachment is an accusation it not proof
of crime. Every president who has been impeach has been acquitted and so will Trump.
@wargarden What's your point? I know what impeachment is. It's an indictment. I never said it was proof of a crime.
What I did say though was that the Senate and House Republicans have ZERO integrity, which is a stone cold fact. If they did, they would conduct a fair trial, and a fair trial means witnesses.
Trump is transparently guilty, anyway. He's confessed to the crime multiple times, in public. He's only going to be acquitted because the Republicans don't care about the fact that he committed a crime. In fact, if they had any integrity at all THEY would be the ones to impeach him. Not the other way around, but of course, as usual, the Democrats have to clean up the mess that the Republicans made.
That's fine. Go ahead and acquit him. The Republicans are going to be shredded in the next election. Count on it.
Roughly 42% of Americans believe that it's okay to discriminate against anyone they deem unworthy to be American or to have rights guaranteed in our Constitution. That 42% of Americans nearly control a sufficient number of Electoral Votes to re-elect Donald Trump.
They're fine with 1% of Americans, or worse, 0.1% of Americans controlling all of our government, down to the City, County and State level.
But our "Founding Fathers" essentially represented similar prejudice, even allowing Blacks to remain slaves and indentured servants to continue to exist.
The U.S. has never been a "democracy." There never was "the" idea of America. There have been ideas of a truly Democratic America, and hopefully there will continue to be.
But that is a work in progress that is right now being turned back to 1928.
4
Thank you for detailing the appalling trajectory of voter suppression. There are numerous groups now working to protect the vote: groups that vet voting machines, that help poor people pay for the new photo IDs required in some places, that fight against gerrymandering and dark money, that help purged voters re-register, that help people physically get to the polls, that study computer cyber-hacking. Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something, so let's clear some time in our schedules and some room in our budgets. Concerted action is the antidote to despair.
294
Yes, and Tennessee reacted last year to a massive voter registration drive in Memphis (Democratic), by passing a law threatening groups who register voters with huge fines. The Republican legislature claimed that there were errors in the majority of the registrations, and they were invalid. There’s really no bottom.
29
@Peggy Datz
Leonard Cohen:
"Democracy is coming to the USA" (1992)
This prophetic "Democracy" song suggests to me that perhaps the US is finally at a turning point, ready for a new democracy.
I wonder if you, Charles Blow, or someone else at the Times, would comment on the possibility of a democracy wave this year.
(See Lee Drutman, on a new democracy, NY Times, Nov.25, 2019)
Please comment:
"Democracy is coming to the USA"
2
"Follow the Leader."
For my 2 cents. If it's acceptable for the leader of our nation to intimidate, name call, lie, cheat and to be corrupt then it's OK for the rest of us to do the same. My suggestion for every American is "When in Rome, do what the Romans do."
This means that it is acceptable to cheat on your taxes, cheat on your school tests, lie to the government, employers, coworkers, lovers, spouses. If you have a vehicle collision, blame it on the other driver if you were at fault. Have no mercy. If you desire to move up in your job, sabotage the employee's job that you want. It's OK. The President of the United States has set the stage for how you should act.
Extort. Lie. Run your opposition into the ground to silence them. Have no mercy, have no conscience.
3
Oh, and don’t forget, you can ignore subpoena’s.
2
America is not a perfect democracy. For an example of that, study ants as they live in their anthills. Our expectations of America can never be fulfilled. She is bound to fail measured by democratic standards only God could abide by.
1
And yet President Obama still won in 2008 and 2012. I think we need to find a way to take back the Presidency and the Senate by again appealing to a broader base. Unfortunately it seems that in response to Trump’s extremes, Democrats are narrowing their appeals. I think we need to remember that Democrats lost the election in 2016 when every indication was that they should win.
3
@Christian
When almost HALF the country is living from paycheck to paycheck and Bernie Sanders(without any super pacs or lobbyists money) is collecting the most donations of any candidate from the most amount of people in America, I would submit he has hardly narrowed his appeal and the polls, however, suspect, confirm what he is doing and saying about the current state of America and, however difficult it may be, what has to be done going forward.
I would also submit, anyone that constantly preaches the "stus quo, pragmatic" approach to all of these problems fully ignores what happened in the Presidential election of 2016 and why Trump got elected in the first place.
This time around, for many, the "lesser of two evils" is no longer an option.
2
This article is written in the passive voice. It gives an impression that there was no agency involved in the current debasement of the Republic.
In fact, since the end of the second world war there has been a movement dedicated to undermining the rule of law for the benefit of those to whom a representative democracy is anathema.
This would include all those who have infected the Republican party with the notion that in politics, winning is everything and those in the freedom caucus who have come into government pledged never to compromise.
These profoundly anti democratic notions have been spread by men like Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, Rupert Murdoch, the Koch brothers, members of the heritage foundation, editors of the National Review, John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Mr. Barr and Senator McConnell to name only a few.
They have done this in the service of a corrupt oligarchy intent on skewing the rules governing our economic life to their own benefit.
The result has been a Republican party undone by demagoguery and whose members must now cravenly acquiesce to the oafish lawlessness of a patently corrupt President or forfeit their jobs.
This didn't just happen to us. It was done to us.
781
@Andrew Smallwood Close Andrew, close. This state of our country wasn't the result of the actions of others - the "to" in your last sentence - it's the result of our own neglect and attentiveness.
So it wasn't done "to" us, rather it was done "by" us.
24
@Mauichuck Not by me. I have been appalled by all those mentioned above and I still believe that essentially gov't is a force for good and that there is a difference between the parties.
42
Did you forget about the Clintons???
4
As one who voted for Stacey Abrams I witnessed the height of voter suppression. Brian Kemp refused to recuse himself even though he was a candidate and overseer of the voting process. Subsequently he did all that he could to squelch the black vote in Georgia. One voter site in Atlanta had 3 voting machines for over 3000 voters in a predominantly black area. Kemp purged the voter roles of thousands of Georgians with an economic and ethnic status that would indicate they might be inclined to vote Democrat. There is little doubt that in a fair election Stacey Abrams would be the current governor of Georgia.
The Supreme Court opened the door to corruption with Citizens United. Trump opened the door with "Russia if you're listening" (one of many 'jokes' the president has told). Twitter and Facebook opened the door to large scale dissemination of false information.....perhaps a better description is the sharing of 'false facts'. Mr. Blow, you are correct- the idea of America is being lost behind what we can only hope is an eclipse.
The root of all these problems lies predominantly in the ever widening swath between the haves and have nots. The top 1% have bought the truth and replaced it with FOX News and Donald Trump. The remedy for all this is supposed to be a noncorrupt Senate and free and informed electorate. Currently both are in short supply.
I have paid taxes for 40 years in what I thought was the country would provide a beacon of light for the world. I was wrong.
827
@Joe Culpepper
Eloquent - and heart-wrenchingly tragic.
49
@Joe Culpepper
It isn't the country I thought it was either.
But it's still worth fighting for.
27
@Joe Culpepper maybe we are being too pessimistic. The country has faced terrible times - self-inflicted - before and rebounded. I have seen some in my 73 years on the planet and understand some form history. Think of slavery, Civil War, the Gilded Age, suppression of women's rights, the economic collapse at the end of the 19th Century and the Great Depression last century, two World Wars, suppression of civil rights this century, Nixon and the Viet Nam war.
I deal with individuals and small businesses across our country. Most know where we are is wrong and needs change.
Even with the electoral college and voter suppression IF WE WANT we have the votes to turn out the GOP from the Senate and the Presidency. Then, if we can correct the awful ruin of our social system and environment driven by the 1%, we have a chance.
Get everyone you know and many you don't to vote Dem and then let's hold this party's feet to the fire.
51
Recently, the Economist produced a study indicating there are only 25 pure democracies in the world. Canada is one of these countries; the US isn't.
4
Once again, this whole concept of America and its political system of having just TWO parties further confirms who and what the Republican Party stands for, which, other than money, influence and power, NOTHING and clearly, they will do everything they can to keep it that way even if it means dismantling democracy in the process. The other disturbing elements to all of this is that that in America there is a rather significant number of Oligarchs whom as long as they get their tax cuts, de-regulation and continued influence over the government, don't really care who is in power even if it is someone who constantly lies and demeans the office of the President.
Then again, it is ultimately the voter and since this President and his cronies STILL maintain an approval rating in the FORTIES, regardless who is in power, the deep(and growing)divisions will always be present and realistically, America has to to take a long hard look at itself in the mirror and decide whether or not a country can, under those conditions, actually sustain itself and progress into the future without the union eventually coming apart at the seams.
Ultimately, in my opinion, the only way forward would be an almost complete socio-economic change to the way government and society is run in America and it would mean taking the power out of the hands of those that desire, to maintain the "status quo" in America and putting it back in the hands of the people.
2
I agree, with certain limitations, with your belief that voter restrictions are subverting the system. I do not see any problem with insisting that voters prove that they are eligible to vote in a particular district, or to vote at all, but along with this requirement for the voter goes a requirement for the State to provide such identification freely.
As to the "big money from corporations and candidates themselves", however, unless they are offering to pay voters to vote in a particular way this is a matter of personal responsibility. If Jill Stein had access to unlimited funding, there is no way I would have been convinced to vote for her as her policies are anathema to me. A candidate can run all the ads he or she wants, but they will not convince me to go against my beliefs in the ballot box. I vote on the candidate's positions, policies, and past performance; and cash does not affect any of those.
Lastly, impeachment of a president may have been a matter of principal at some time in the past, although I doubt it. In today's world of party loyalty on both sides, it is simply a matter of who has the votes in each house of Congress. No matter what was said during the "trial" in the Senate, I suspect that no Senator would have changed his or her mind about how to vote from their position before the proceedings began. The Democrats know he is guilty, and nothing is going to change their mind. The Republicans know he is innocent, and nothing said will change that viewpoint
As a European by residency, a Scotsman by birth I feel so depressed by the fact that I find this article to be an accurate reflection of the situation.
I fear the end of democracy, as was originally envisioned, will soon be upon us.
This I feel is due to the fact that there are insufficient numbers of human beings capable of responsibly discharging their civil duty. The people to vote and politicians to SERVE
As America leads so goes many other democratically inclined societies. Is there any chance of redemption? I doubt it unless and until we all do our duty.
2
While Charles M. Blow and others like him around here give up on America, guess it's up to the rest of us to get on with the difficult work at hand and start repairing it.
4
@JohnBarleycorn. I wish that were true. Once the Senate says it is ok to stiff the Congress, including the Senate!, how long will it take to get that genie back into the bottle? As Adam Schiff said the other day, if there is no Article 2, there will never be an Article 1 again. The Executive will decide if he/she is innocent or guilty. And the Republicans are willing to do that. Unbelievable. And this is not new. It's been coming for a while.
It's absolutely incredible to me that at least 63 million Americans don't care about the Constitution and the beautiful structure it laid out. Who do I blame and not forgive? All of the people who voted for a known liar. I thought there were patriots among the 63 million, and many of them probably will tell you that they are patriots. What do they think now that they have sunk the country?
2
We don't require proof of ID here in Washington to vote. It's astonishingly easy. After you pick up your ballot, you fill it out, wherever you want to do it, and then hand it over with no one watching you.
We vote by mail, you see, and you're vetted when you register. And then you're vetted by your ballot and other methods which are not generally public. Your signature is part of it, but a lot goes on that isn't made public.
We don't believe in some right-wing fantasy of "voter fraud" because actual voter fraud is infinitesimal--it's nearly uncountable the number is so small.
Ballots are gathered either by US Mail or by secure ballot collection boxes, and transported to the county election offices, where they are registered, opened, and counted, all in public. We can track the process of our ballot online.
Using voter ID is a way to tell citizens that we don't trust them.
In Washington state, we empower citizens to vote. We aren't afraid of the voice of the people.
4
Any idea that America is a representative democracy simply ignores the obvious facts. A senator from South Dakota represents 800k...a senator from California represents 40 million???
The senate then appoints federal and Supreme Court judges for life??
The Electoral College totally favors rural states. Republicans do everything they can to suppress voters of color. In Ohio in 2004, it was typically a 5 hour line to vote in heavily Democratic districts and a 30 minute wait in heavily GOP districts simply by how the voting machines were distributed.
6
@spinoza ...yes we worry about Russian interference in our elections. What about domestic?
We need immediate federal laws to restore all the closed polling places, to use paper ballots, supervised by officials for fairness. Stop voter suppression with federal rules applying to all states.
Have independent commissions, not parties, draw districts --as they do in other democracies.
Reverse Citizens United and start public financing of elections with limits on private donations. Make this equal for both parties. That would restore the voice of the citizens now muffled, and change our political landscape.
Where is this discussion in our columns and media talk?
Easy to lament, but columnists could also push solutions.
1
I knew this was coming in 2016, but still I weep reading this confirmation of the end of the american colony.It will be messy for a while but in the end it will be a good thing. I look to the Indigenous People of the Americas for hope and leadership.
1
We have had a plutocratic oligarchy for decades and the result is what we have now. The current system mocks the word democracy. Blow is spot on.
5
You can tell how far we've fallen when you look at the arguments we're having. I mean, Trump or NOT Trump? Really?
1
America, the idea, certainly is not lost; it's functioning exactly as it was designed: rich white people on top, with a judicial system that coddles the real villains but keeps the poor under tight control.
The police don't keep the peace- they monitor the 99% to make sure they never, ever take advantage of the values that we pretend to have.
It's high time we acknowledged this.
4
The Republican Party has always been corrupt and anti-democratic, especially when the Dixie-crats joined that party. They hid behind the flag, family, and religion, boasting of their defence of morality and decency.
Trump has stripped that cover away, and we see with clearer eyes the rot and poison that has always been at the core of their ideology. Conservative, true fiscal conservatives, should reject and condemn them.
1
There will always be a chunk of the electorate that supports a politician like Trump. These are typically low education, low information voters. Fine.
What depresses me about our current political climate, is that there are a significant number of educated voters supporting him too.
Case in point is my friend in Pennsylvania, a potential swing voter in a swing state! He's 50ish and has a law degree from a prestigious university. He doesn't particularly like Trump, but detests Democrats with a passion! He doesn't believe a single word from Schiff.
How is it that smart people, who should know better, are defending Trump?!?
4
@Bruce
Not only low information voters, I am afraid. The reality is as long as The Oligarchs get their tax breaks, de-regulation and ability to control the government agenda which ultimately strictly serves their interests, they are MORE than willing to turn a blind eye to the corrupt, lying, lawbreaker currently sitting in the WH and they spend hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying to make sure those around him think and act the same way.
1
It is the success of Ruport Murdoch’s Fox news propaganda machine. 40 years of brainwashing.
1
Sadly Mr. Blow is absolutely right. America has always had a lot going for it in terms of geography, history and just plain old good fortune. It is now all being systematically squandered.
3
Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress treat Democrats like an alien invasionary force that has come to destroy the nation.
Of course, it's only another political party, like their own.
But, if the nation they leave behind after their acquittal vote is an example of their governing philosophy, they deserve to be vanquished.
2
“There is an illusion about America, a myth about America to which we are clinging which has nothing to do with the lives we lead and I don't believe that anybody in this country who has really thought about it or really almost anybody who has been brought up against it--and almost all of us have one way or another--this collision between one's image of oneself and what one actually is is always very painful and there are two things you can do about it, you can meet the collision head-on and try and become what you really are or you can retreat and try to remain what you thought you were, which is a fantasy, in which you will certainly perish.” — James Baldwin
2
As long as there are patriots like Adam Schiff, there is some hope.
5
Since the defeat of Goldwater in 1964 the oligarchs have been working to turn the U.S. into their fiefdom. And we have let them.
Had the same people showed up to vote for democrats in 2010 who showed up to vote for Obama we would have none of this. Had voters showed up to vote for Clinton we would not have t rump. So this is really up to US.
If We the People decide that trumpistan is not who we are we will vote republicans out of office from top to bottom.
If we sit on our hands and don't vote we get what we deserve.
1
The US power structure does stack the deck in such a way as to systematically disenfranchise people of color and the poor, while bolstering hegemony. It's true from gerrymandering and the electoral college to the lobbyist run legislative branch, the business friendly SCOTUS, and Citizen's United. A large enough minority of Americans have been influenced into believing that something of a benevolent plutocracy is ultimately beneficial to them and therefore preferable. The rest of us are held hostage. I'm afraid that it appears to be getting worse, rather than better.
MLK Jr. day created the occasion for me to think upon his "I Have a Dream" speech, and what he would have thought if he returned today. Between the culture of constant war, the disparity between the haves and have nots, where people of color still find themselves within this hegemony, and a dog-whistle culture trying to "MAGA" by returning it to the pre-Civil Rights version of America, I think he'd be incensed.
56
This column could have been written at any time in the past fifty years; certainly gaining steam with the election of Ronald Regan. If this represents the American "left", if these opinions are considered 'progressive', then we are indeed lost.
I'm a fairly liberal person, left, if you like, though hardly a dangerous revolutionary. But my last three comments, plus many, many, more in the past year, have been censored by this "liberal" newspaper with its "liberal" columnists, and 'balanced' editorial board. That's not the way to upset the status quo.
You quote campaign figures from the 60's but fail to reconcile that with the fact the Times has reaped a windfall since the election of Donald Trump, as have the media across the board.
As Gore Vidal “There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party … and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat.”
2
I wish you had left out the false narrative that Russia had some significant influence on the 2016 election. There is very little evidence for that; it has become an absurd meme. I dare you to point out how people were influenced by the Russians.
For example: "CBS News tates that so far Google has identified some $4,700 worth of ads thought to be connected with and bought by the Russian government or people working on behalf of the Russians. And you can confirm that here in the words of the Google executive here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTCSbw3W4EI
Just how much "influence" of the 2016 elections do you think a measly $4,700 can have on an election when billions were spent by American political parties and supporting organizations? That data: $6.5 billion was spent on the total election and $2.4 on the presidential election!
Please stop this baloney about Russian "interference" in our elections. It is CIA baloney and Military Industrial Complex baloney and baloney all around.
3
@Frank just google "The Internet Research Agency" or read any of the dozens of articles on the NYT site that document the facts concerning foreign influence via social media. Please stop with the willful ignorance and incredulity at the internet's influence.
2
America was always an idea with more show than substance. The myth of the floundering fathers, of the manifest destiny, while the reality was off exterminating natives, slavery, the KKK and, after WWII fomenting and creating violence worldwide every few years on a scale never seen before. finally, since Reagan, America is eating itself. Godspeed!
2
@MDuPont: When Reagan nixed Metric Conversion, the dam broke on exportation of factories from the US. The whole rest of the world is on the Metric System.
You said it, Charles Blow, you said it. And this is just the beginning. The beginning of the end.
6
I was 16 when JFK was murdered. I was in college when MLK and RFK were murdered. I was in Officers Training School at Lackland AFB when, in my home state, Ohio National Guardsmen murdered four students at Kent State. The governor of Ohio was a Republican. The president who had just ordered the bombing of Cambodia was Republican Richard Nixon. Four Republican presidents and two stolen elections later, our president is a Republican punk named Donald John Trump. The Republican Party is a disease. Never give up the fight against this cancer.
8
Mr. Blow presents a clear cut case why it is high time to revamp the US Constitution.
1
Repub senators are not stupid. I think they know their acquittal vote is a very big nail in America's coffin. I think they also know they will be very much disliked by the vast majority of this country. But they also know there will be no one left to blame them in the history books because they are systematically making this planet uninhabitable. Why not get all they can now.
4
Thank you, Charles Blow. Spot on.
3
As Michelle Alexander pointed out in The New Jim Crow, the election of Obama came with foreboding. Mr. Blow is not revealing anything new here. We all knew there would be a price to pay if the evolved fraction of Americans elected a black man to the presidency.
The unevolved fraction has been present continually since I was born, decades ago. It never reduces in size, waves Bibles while chanting "kill, kill...." and extolls the Constitution while regretting that religion isn't running the country.
For that fraction, representative democracy always has been the enemy. Always. Empowering the common people is an affront to their religion. And now, they have an opportunistic sociopath who is teaching them the latest lesson in how to get what they want.
How many centuries are you willing to wait, for this failure of a nation to get over slavery?
2
We Hispanics don't seem to have any trouble getting valid ID.
It is hilarious that you need a valid ID to buy weed, but not to vote.
3
A government of the people, by the people, and for the people over time evolved into a government of the corporation, by the corporation and for the corporation and is now in the lamentable process of being turned into a government of the monarchy, by the monarchy and for the monarchy.
George and Martha, Ike and Mamie, Harry and Bess have been replaced with Harry and Meagan.
1
The question, of course, is whether the situation is recoverable.
Donald Trump will go away eventually, but the culture that elected him (and his enablers, men like Senators Cornyn, Cruz, Graham, McConnell and others) will remain.
We need a new national mythos -- unless the conservative's "America first" ("me first" writ large) is it.
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
5
Yes gutting citizen’s united and destroying the racist electoral college so it is truly one person one vote would have yielded a gore and an HRC presidency as the people decided, not a corrupt bush family and hanging chads and a totally corrupt rump election with Russia's help.
We need to take back the senate the presidency and keep the house. Americans vote like your lives depend on it because they do!!!! Thank you Mr. Blow.
4
Our fascist foreign policy over the last sixty years has found its way home. People of conscious in the USA recognize this.
Now what to do? Hit the streets? Good luck. Kill each other in another civil war? Not fun. Put our annual tithe to the federal government via the IRS in escrow until we get some semblance of an operational democracy back? Appealing idea, impractical in execution. Require every eligible voter to vote? There's an idea.
4
It is insulting and demeaning to black and brown Americans to suggest that they -- and they alone (not whites or asians, or any other group) can't get a photo ID and can't manage to register, or show up to vote at the allotted times.
You know very well, Mr. Blow, there ARE NO "restrictive laws" today -- nor since the 50s -- that keep any American citizen of any race, creed, color, ethnicity or religion from registering and voting.
4
@Concerned Citizen
Simplistic maybe?
How about, race, health, age and a means of transportation? There are many millions of voters in this category.
@Concerned Citizen:
No, for example -- felony disenfranchisement is an extremely restrictive law, which applies mostly in states where currently or recently the GOP held sway... and in Florida, for example, getting your franchise back was at the unquestionable whim of the governor and a couple of his hand-picked cronies. Provided you could get to Talahassee the few times they did it each year and grovel in person.
...and then the people of Florida voted by almost 70-30 to get rid of FD -- so of course the GOP turned around and dreamed up a poll tax to nip that in the bud.
But the thing which is so insidious about these laws is that, true, there is no law that says "this race/wealth bracket/neighborhood of person can't vote." Instead, there are laws, policies, etc. which target -- with "surgical precision," you might say -- people who are less likely to vote GOP, and attacks on attempts to register "the wrong people" to vote.
So black people are more likely to be convicted of felonies then others, so FD affects them more.
So (in Texas) a concealed-carry permit is a passable ID for voting, but a college ID is not.
So polling stations are closed in areas populated by those not likely to vote GOP.
So ACORN is destroyed with lies.
So voter registration drives in Georgia are investigated.
So voters with names frequently given to Black and Hispanic people are purged from rolls in the name of "voter fraud."
I could go on...
1
I think the US, and the world in itself is like the Star Wars Senate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNDpEzCBLYA
Luckily there is only a Single person in True Peace.
The old stupid idea that people of color, the old, the young , etc. cannot be so abused as to provide a piece of ID to vote is ridiculous. I am asked every time I vote in Virginia to produce my drivers license. This is not a MAJOR hurdle for someone who wants to vote. The government will provide you with an ID if you don't drive. If you can't produce ANYTHING to identify yourself you shouldn't be allowed to vote. With this right come certain responsibilities. This author would like everyone to just walk in and vote. Some people are just too stupid or lazy to vote and they are voting by abstention. Get over it!
5
@William Grey And it’s currently a Democratic State. Democrats have proven that they can make their voices heard in a state that requires ID to vote.
1
Hey, New York Times --- You need to do a piece on voter suppression since so many of your readers are unaware that many elderly in rural areas have no birth certificate; that voter registration and polling locations have been closed in the hundreds; that folks must drive - assuming they have transportation - two or three counties away to register during a two-hour window one day a week in the middle of the work day; that polling places have been strategically closed so it is impossible to vote unless you skip work that day so you can make the long drive to your polling place; that you are now required to provide so many documents in some places that you can no longer get registered even if you used to be; that in some places your name is removed from the voter rolls just because someone "thinks" you moved even if you have never missed an election OR because your name is similar to someone's in another state; that in some places it is now illegal for church or senior center buses to drive non-driving elderly to the polls ... and that these voter suppression techniques and others like them are targeted specifically to minority communities. Jim Crow is alive and well. But it looks like your readers - or at least, many commenting on this story - are totally unaware of it, and pretty arrogant in their ignorance. Probably because of too much Faux News propaganda, and not enough real world information.
1
Citizens have a way to communicate their opinions in addition to voting. Contact your senators! They are your representatives. It is every citizen's right and duty, and something that may be done easily and frequently.
https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
2
Charles, the House has already delivered a blow to voter confidence in our system and the Senate has followed suit.
Every year since Reagan we've gone further down the road toward oligarchy, corporatocracy (the takeover of the government through lobbying and thus the short-term pursuit of profits at the expense of everything else), the erosion of public education, and finally toward unbridled demagoguery. Trump is only the final, most egregious stage of our disease. He needed help, though, and McConnell was on hand to provide it, together with a complicit media, whose bottom lines forced them to be, first and last, purveyors of their sponsors' goods, ie., entertainers. Like global warming itself, there was a snowball effect: right-wing administrations appointed right-wing judges with corporatist leanings, with insensitivities to the imbalance of money in questions of justice. The right wing was committed to self-perpetuation through devious means unforseen by the founders--partisan suppression of the vote by all means necessary. Even if the People finally wake up, the power to do anything will have been taken away from them. Charles Blow is sadly, totally on target here.
7
"Now, Senate Republicans stand poised to cement in precedent, by way of an acquittal that the president ... is in fact above the law."
That doesn't have to be the result if the Senate - whether or not it ultimately acquits PT and whether or not it finds the facts to be as Democrats or Republicans would have it do - were to define, necessarily with a view to all future presidential removal proceedings, high crimes and misdemeanors.
That definition won't do anything to assuage Mr Blow's conclusion as to the effects of an acquittal. But it would presumably clarify greatly the starting point for future removal proceedings.
Yes, the effect of the suggested definition may not help in PT's case - not because the definition will lack utility - but because of differences as to its correct application in PT's case and, of course, the Republican majority. Or because, on the best assumptions, it will be limited to future presidential removals.
But few on either side appear to expect PT will be removed and, therefore, seem prepared to move on, if rancorously or even cessionistically.
Still, why not try to make consideration of impeachment less burdensome in the future? It's a huge and intimidating task now.
For the USA to become a truly democratic republic a number of changes would have to be made: Electoral College would have to be abolished with president selected by popular vote; all eligible voters must be allowed to vote, with the federal government assuming control from the states to insure consistent voting laws; realigning the Senate so that representation is more fair for the large population states states; and lastly, tighter restriction on money in politics, though if the first three are put in place this may not be quite as crucial.
6
@Caded This would be the most anti-democratic option available. By this logic we could have an effective democracy that encompasses the entire world. The reality though is that democracy isn’t merely about voting and vote totals. It’s about votes having meaning. Its about having a say in government. That’s why our government is divided into multiple states and then even more into municipalities. Everyone has representation in the government through their elected officials at the district level and their senators at the state level.
@Caded - Alas, that makes too much sense and our corporate overlords will never permit it.
@John
The problem with your argument is that with essentially a "two party duopoly" controlling the entire process, the infestation of huge sums of money at ALL levels of government, including the courts, undermines the entire system making it more "undemocratic".
It is not just government at the federal levels that the average voter believe is rigged.
Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
1
@Greg D. That’s essentially what this opinion piece is pushing for. If the author thinks that national politics are divisive now, just wait until Democrats get their way and concentrate more power to the federal government. Not all Democratic states are on the same page. Not only would the gulf between urban and rural grow, but also that of progressive and moderate. We should not desire to be more like China.
Trump and his enablers , sycophants and toadies claim he did nothing wrong. Last week the GAO said he broke the law.
How do you defend the indefensible ? Easy if you're a Republican.
7
@JL
The GAO said President Obama violated federal law 7 times. How do Democrats defend the indefensible?
@MLH
So corruption justifies MORE corruption?
If that is the case, obviously, democracy in America disappeared a long time ago.
America as an idea is still worth fighting for, even if it is only incrementally "better" than many other countries. We will take to the streets in 2020 if necessary to preserve a democracy and enhance the rights of all peoples in the United States. We won't let this dictator and traitor in the White House usurp our country.
4
@Gary Are you sure Gary? I am no so sure.
1
This political system as we know it is in default. The elected officials don't care with what they do but just care on being elected to continue there lack of getting the work of the peoples done.
Where has INTEGRITY gone. Money corrupts all. Politicians corrupt all. Liars corrupt all.
What to do? Fire them all.
3
"did everything in his power to conceal" vs released transcript of phone call in question. Just one example of the bias. Frankly I usually avoid the NYT as it's prioritization of Orange Man Bad over balanced and objective news is plain to see, boring and counter productive.
2
@T Godshalk that's patently false - the transcript contained glaring omissions
5
@T Godshalk - WHAT "transcript?" It was a memo of "recollections." Here, read it yourself. Don't forget the part at the bottom explaining that it is NOT a verbatim transcript: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-the-full-transcript-of-trumps-call-with-ukraines-prime-minister
1
@T Godshalk
Well, the actual recording is in that top-secret encrypted audio vault, as is the complete transcript.
What they released is *not* a complete record of the call and thus not a transcript. Word is that they told him not to release even this, he did it anyway, and as incomplete as it is clearly shows him conditioning aid on a sham investigation.
Then he went into lockdown. No witnesses. No documents. "absolute immunity," which doesn't exist. All the while professing innocence.
We're being systematically and rapidly sold down the river by a small knot of Republican Congress critters with their corrupt, inept and incompetent revenge-oriented leader who stole the presidency with the help of a foreign power who has always been a threat to democracy and whose plan to bring democracy down the world is being thoroughly assisted and aided by their complete and thorough corruption. This bunch and their voting base are the smallest power base this country has seen in a very long time with no interest in anyone but their shrinking party made up of the dumbest, most ill informed Fox watchers that exist. We are losing our once great country. To Trump. I'm sick.
4
If Trump is re-elected along with the GOP gang of liars and thieves in the Congress, an ignorant criminal will be let loose, unfettered upon the land. The White House will be Putin's home away from home.
When the history of the end of American democracy is written, this will be near the beginning if Trump is re-elected.
5
Really, Mr. Blow? Which "America" are you referring to?
And why else would The New York Times endorse Warren?
The four major DC-based think tanks that Team Warren draws from share one thing in common: aggressive support for sanctions and military interventions from Syria to Korea to Venezuela.
Perhaps the most hawkish among these think tanks is the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). CNAS’ top donors include leading weapons manufacturers, NATO, the U.S. and European governments, and titans of the fossil fuel industry. Until early last year, the think tank was directed by Victoria Nuland, a key architect of the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine and wife of neoconservative Robert Kagan.
4
The Electoral College has been undermining our democracy during the entire two plus centuries of our countries' existence, finally giving exorbitant power to a foul-mouthed idiot in 2016. It's horrifying that we can't get rid of a president who was not properly elected to the office in the first place.
8
@Charlesbalpha Trump was elected in the same manner as every other President in American history.
Tell David Brooks. He is a firm believer that there is no class warfare, except that conjured by liberals.
4
And, unless the voters respond differently on November 3rd, our children and grandchildren will grow up in Amerika.
2
The Republican party’s recognition that it sits on the brink of extinction, repeatedly pushes its leadership to embrace scorched earth retrogressive politics. Trump is merely the discordant voice of fear that is rife within the party’s ranks. He is their blunt tool.
A well respected conservative colleague of yours, just revealed to NYT readers that he would choose Trump over Warren or Sanders. This, after all that we know about an apparently troubled, reckless President. His column was decidedly more elegant, but not entirely dissimilar to the type of fear mongering that we saw exhibited during Obama’s tenure. Why would such a man, on the pages of this august newspaper, promote a point of view that the election of either of those Presidential aspirants could result in the collapse of American capitalism as we know it.
Voters must demonstrate that they deserve democracy, by intelligently rejecting such sophistry. Millennials especially, must turn out, to handily evict the decrepitude that now passes for honorable leadership in Washington DC, on both sides.
Some media types erroneously repeat, that no one pays attention, or cares about what goes on in Washington DC, even when an undemocratic electoral college rewarded Trump with the presidency anyway, and after Democrats roundly defeated Republicans at the mid-term elections. Millennials must vote in large numbers, by actively replacing the pejorative “ok boomer” with bye-bye Trump. That would be woke.
5
Bernie is real America and so is the us he speaks of. The wanting, needing, the desperate life and death battle for all to thrive, all of us,not just a few . That is America. And how blessed we are, us to have him with his lantern bright.
7
Republicans care so little for our country that they still want an ill prepared and ill informed sociopath to control our government. The damage he and they are daily inflicting on all areas of our nation may never be repaired.
I now can imagine the helplessness of those living under dictatorships.
He may not use a gun to' kill someone on Fifth Avenue' with impunity, but daily someone dies because of his ego and willfulness. Shame on those who support him.
10
Here we go...you lost me at, “But, there remain efforts to restrict access to the ballot, particularly for black and brown people in this country.”
2
First reaction, with apologies to Yogi Berra: the volume level of political discourse in this country has risen so loud that no one can hear anything. (Yogi was a wise man.)
Second reaction: there is a reason that right-wing Republicans have coined the term "defeatocrats" for the Democratic Party. It is their uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They did it in 2016 by anointing Hillary Clinton. Now in an counter move with their overpopulated field squabbling among themselves, as well as some throwing up their hands in frustration at what seems apparent in the senate, that term seems tragically appropriate again. But nothing was ever won by giving up hope. Repeat this to yourself: "Don't give up before the miracle happens." Now, let's unite and make it happen!
2
It is only lost if you give up hope. Good things require work. It is work to get people to the polls but it can be done. Look at what Stacy Abrams has accomplished.
It is time for massive organizing and for more women to get into politics.
Kick the old white men out of office.
4
Voting rights - corruption, fracture, manipulation, vanishing. Do we care?
We are doomed... It’s been a good run America but it’s over....
3
When the President of the United States can without fear of reprisal freely beseech foreign countries, arguably all of them our enemies, to have their intelligence agencies interfere with our elections, because his party obstructs all consequences, the term "democracy" becomes rather a joke. But that's what Trump and his slippery, slimy swamp creatures wanted all along, isn't it? They're certainly having a good laugh.
5
Mr. Blow, you warned us. From Day one of this Regime, your Voice has been a clarion call, yelling “ Beware “. You were mocked, ridiculed and accused of Bias and hate mongering.
I am sorry you were abused. Some of us believed you, and watched events unfolding at both a glacial pace AND at lightning speed. You were a Prophet, and absolutely correct.
The America I knew, and still love, is gone. We are all ruled by a misbegotten Cult of GOP hucksters. They care about only Two things: Power and Money. Trump is their Frontman, the court jester, the entertainment. They are the long Con, He is the Pickpocket that snares you at the Airport or Museum.
We have ONE chance to stop this travesty and ongoing Crisis.
NOVEMBER. VOTE THEM ALL OUT.
12
A burning question: How can a person (for example, Herr Trump) who knows nothing about the Constitution swear an oath to honor and uphold it? How can this be acceptable? Does it make a joke of oaths--and the Bible--for that matter?
4
If I never hear, "That's not who we are as a nation" again, it will be too soon. Most of the garbage I see in our politics that people seemingly abhor and renounce on the various social media is EXACTLY who we are as a nation.
3
Not to mention that two of the last three presidents won office by receiving less votes than the loser.
3
Objectively the US is now the least democratic of all the first world nations. What a decline since 1776.
3
@John Stroughair Less Democratic? Many nations are Parliamentary where no one has a direct vote for Prime Minister, who is essentially the same as an American President.
@John
However, you failed to finish the idea. The Prime Minister, like any other candidate, has to run for office and win in his own district, hence, the voter ultimately decides one way or the other. If he or she doesn't win, they won't be Prime Minister for very long.
Mr. Blow, for three years and counting, the perpetual purveyor of negativity and gloom once again passes sentence, blaming judge and jury in his quest for a one-party state fueled by hatred. The Democrat Party, led by megalomaniacs Pelosi and Schiff, with Charles Blow in lockstep, threatening for three years, even prior to a President taking office, have pulled back their string and served up their final salvo, with the U.S Constitution and Presidency as target. Once the arrow has been released it will never return to the bow. Fortuitously, the tip, in attempting to pierce democracy and overturn an election has ricocheted, piercing a rainbow and splaying a myriad of colors, multi-hued and brilliant, coalescing in harmony, projecting merely what is, unaffected by the toxic apocalyptic vision of Mr. Blow and his Democrat handlers. The world will go on, but the Democrat Party will collapse and fragment.
2
@Grant I hate to say this but what the heck are you talking, metaphors? you have no substantive information, why is the democratic party going to fragment and collapse like the republican party is and has? Have the democrats passed laws that are substantially racist and make voting next to impossible for many Americans? saying the democratic party is going to fragment and collapse is a non sequitur, proof please.
1
What we are suffering right now is a tyranny of a minority.
8
@Jim There is no tyranny of the minority. The federal government does not prevent Democratic states from enacting most everything in the Democrats policy proposals at a state level.
You are a patriot in all the good ways: accepting and aware of our flaws but not idle in your desire to change them.
Clinton had sex with a subordinate right at his White House desk and then committed perjury, but they didn't remove him from office. Wasn't that, therefore, also a statement "that the checks and balances built into the Constitution are fatally flawed and unworkable... that corruption is an acceptable feature of the executive branch," and a "devastating blow to electoral confidence and to trust in government"? Or does that not apply when the guy's on your side?
2
Many of us voters regard Trump’s phone call as just business as usual in DC. Logrolling, backroom deals, hypocrisy—all typical of our government. We read Schumer’s complaints about Merrill Garland’s nomination being held up by Republicans in an election year...then look back and see the record of Democrats doing the same thing. We read Schumer’s complaints about the need to call witnesses in the impeachment trial, then see his record as a Representative voting against witnesses in Clinton’s impeachment process. They’re all hypocrites. R and D both.
3
the problem with democracy has proven to be the demos .. all legislative positions should be filled by random draft
This is temporary, and it is simply the end result of the 1964 presidential race, wherein Republican candidate Barry Goldwater won only Arizona, and 5 states of the Deep South.
This was notable primarily because the South had been solidly Democratic for 100 years, since the end of the Civil War. The Dixiecrats were really the same Slave State Conservatives, Neo-Confederates, who started the Civil War, assassinated president Lincoln and used the KKK, lynching, segregation, miscegenation laws and poll taxes to keep their fellow American citizens from exercising their voting rights.
It's time to recognize the hate and anger of Salve State Conservatives and call them out for what they represent - descendants of the traitors of the Civil War Confederacy.
1
Isn't the use of the word "base" to describe DJT's followers just perfect - especially when we refer to his Senators, AG, etc.!
1
Sickening scenario: imagining trump’s removal meaning more Nuremberg style hate rallies leading to an increasing popular vote loss but an electoral college increase re-electing trump.
1
These are the final years of the Republic. The forces of ignorance and autocracy sweeping the nation will soon destroy it.
Get your family out while you can.
God help us all.
2
In the 7th century when the Arabs began conquering large swaths of land in the mideast, initially at least, their empire centered in Baghdad was to a large measure quire liberal. There was a remarkable level of freedom of expression and science was encouraged and funded by the wealth the conquering Arabs had acquired from the peoples they had defeated, for example from the Persians.
But soon the religious clerics , the mullahs took over and using Islam as a weapon ensured that the Mideast would never be secular and democratic.
What we are seeing today in the United States of America are the taking over of the institutions by AMERICAN MULLAHS, led by the likes of Hannity, Limbaugh, the evangelicals. Trump is only a tool in their hands.
And, oh yes, I forgot to mention the Red states that have ensured that the poor will never get to vote.
3
For better, and worse, morality is defined by the people. By us. This Senate, in the hands of Conservative White Men in the swankiest and most selective "Club" in the world, is but a reflection of the narrow minded, reactionarJiy ngoists who influence continues to dominate US politics. Perhaps these attitudes have always been with us: In the segregated Churches, in the Xenophobic hatred of people of color, and in the mocking, disparaging commentary of Alt Right. Just look at InfoWars.
My point? This Senate will blindly, happily and with complete sanctimonious, blithe dispassion acquit this President of his heinous crimes, and do so with a mendacious sincerity that should sicken even the most cynical of us, but, sadly, will not.
2
I believe the constitution reads “we the people...”
Not “we the senate”
it’s only lost if we the people accept the senates action
2
@dlhicks Senators represent the citizens of their states. They are duels elected officials of we the people.
Sorry Charles, your argument is just more hyperbole with a good serving of racial bias. It's the United STATES of America, and the constitution was designed with that in mind. The voting system duly protects the rights of individuals and states, it's just that some progressives like yourself don't like the candidates it elects.
3
@Dr B he said that, that's the problem, states can have have erected boulders for people of color to vote to continue their hateful reign, that is not racist on his part, but your retort certainly is.
2
@KT B Why is it that Democrats first go to is to attack others first Amendment rights to free speech and expression? If you disagree with someone’s opinion then you just use the blanket of bigotry to avoid actual debate and discussion.
Nixon and Ford were the last Republicans with any honor. When I was a kid watching the Watergate hearings, there was a sense that everyone, Democrats and Republicans were seeking justice to protect the country. And when Nixon resigned, there was a distinct smell of honor everywhere.... a man who could have fought interminably to retain his position of power gave up that power for the good of his country. Nixon was a patriot even in disgrace. Ford was a faithful and good dog and tried to lick the wounds of the country.
Move forward to Trump-lite Reagan who started this whole supply side, Sandanista, Iran-contra, Oliver north, NRA nightmare. Oh, yeah.. TEA PARTY!!!! This is where the Republicans strayed from being patriots and defined Americanism as fealty to the rich and powerful which under Trump has become soviet style mafia loyalty. Kiss Trump's ring.
I still do believe Americans will turn back their selfishness to return the charlatan king to his post presidential imprisonment not long after his house of cards collapses.
Lexington & Concord in November
1
Those numbers. When you think of the children hungry in America, the homeless, our failing schools, and imagine what that money could do.....
3
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but America’s savior might just be John Bolton. Senators, let him testify against Trump and then send him to The Hague (for his war crimes against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan).
3
Thank you for your eloquent voice of these issues.
5
I wish you could see the good in America versus only the bad. You’re “training” your readers to think of this country as bad when the reality is that it leads the world on most moral and ethical issues. Not all is perfect, but we move faster to the good and attempt to correct our flaws better than any other nation does. Your columns consistently spread a message to young people that is very injurious to our future and causes them to be shameful of their country.
Note: I’m not naive and I know your role at the Times is to be an antagonist. However, you should stop and think about whether playing this role is your best contribution to this world.
1
@Sergei Evanovich Agree that emotional and rational balance is essential to thinking and speaking. And no question, there are ongoing (and usually not reported because they are boring or not striking enough) daily moments of altruistic, compassionate, and very smart actions by Americans taking place.
For me, there is some seriously flawed behaviors that don't align with the espoused values Americans like to flaunt. It is troubling to see the me vs you thing, and deep divisions of inequality as some sort of normal.
It is nice to speak of integrity and values, but wow, let's also be honest about our methods and speak truth to history. Not favorable, not favorable on many levels!
2
@Sergei Evanovich We have to acknowledge the evil in our society before we can get rid of it. Mr. Blow is indeed "training" his readers to identify the propaganda of those who have pledged their allegiance to the satanic earthly power that our Savior refused.
@Sergei Evanovich We have to acknowledge the evil in our society before we can get rid of it. Mr. Blow is indeed "training" his readers to identify the propaganda of those who have pledged their allegiance to the satanic earthly power that our Savior refused.
Trump is a symptom of our broken system and the powerful forces that supress equality and criminalize diversity. Obama's election enraged many and exposed our racist underbelly. That being said, we must never give in and give up on our country. We must stand together and fight this battle for the sake of our children.
8
@Danny LOLOL Sorry but the dim Dems' policies are the ONLY reason for the symptoms of a broken system!! Talk about corruption, paying people NOT to work, obstructing border security (even though they voted for it 10 years ago), feathering one's own nest, etc., etc., etc.! ps - Learn the definition of racism.
2
Thank you, GOP. They voted to blowup the country, and succeeded. MAGA America is so Happy!.
1
This is what I believe will likely happen over the next 3-4 year. Some witnesses will testify and some docs will be produced as part of the impeachment trial. The evidence, when viewed objectively, is damning, but the Senate will refuse to convict. Switch now to the 2020 election: President Trump loses the election by 1.5 points, and the Senate turns Democratic, thereby effectively muting any protests about an unfair election. During the first 2 years, a Democratic House, Senate, and Presidency pass historic legislation, addressing, among other things, medical insurance, common sense gun control, laws relating to finance and consumer protection, election laws, and substantive laws relating to the climate. About 36 months into the new presidency, a market correction ensues, in which the market drops 15%, based on liquidity problems in the "repo" markets. Credit freezes throughout the industrial world, businesses shutter, and (official) unemployment reaches 10% among all classes of employment. (When everyone is counted in the employment numbers, experts reveal that unemployment is actually 14%.) Then, we will see whether our institutions are capable of handling all of this stress.
1
The system is rigged! Why does it even matter if us little people vote?
@Anita
Yes, I agree to some extent. But try to look at this way. We still have the "legal right" to vote in our elections until Trump's posse in the Senate run by his gang leader Moscow Mitch finally achieves their goal to turn America into a one party ruled nation by a crime boss. If you stay at home and don't vote, you've voted. You vote to give away your right to vote, even if it may not achieve the results you want. You are doing just exactly what Trump and McConnell hope you'll do other than vote for Trump.
@Anita
I vote because it's my civic duty to vote. And I vote out of self-interest. I am a retired, married gay man and I vote for Democrats, who will respect my marriage, protect Social Security and strengthen Medicare. I also believe that Democrats will uphold the Constitution, provide for the common defense with strong alliances, and promote the general welfare with health care for all, excellence in education, rebuilding our infrastructure, balancing our budget and generating tax revenue equitably. In other words, good governance.
The election of the President is "rigged" because of the small-state bias of the Electoral College, and elections are rigged at the state level through gerrymandering and voter suppression. That's why it is incumbent on citizens to vote in local and state elections. We won't get good governance from the Republican party, which has morphed into a criminal enterprise. If you want good governance, vote for Democrats at every level.
Every social system is and will forever be rigged in favor of the rich and powerful. But I also believe that Democrats have made our country better, from the New Deal to the Great Society to the Obama administration. They made mistakes, but they got us through the Great Depression and the Great Recession; they enacted Civil Rights and Voting Rights; they established Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. And more. Your vote matters.
1
Leave the identity politics at the door. It's all about the money they get and the groups who they can identify who vote for them. If Black Americans predominantly voted for Republicans, they'd be all about them. Or taken for granted, as they kinda are now by Democrats. If poorer Whites mostly voted for Democrats you'd never see a Republican within 50 feet of a plaid flannel shirt. MLK got plenty of static when he was working for the rights of Black Folk. But when he made it about the quality of employment for everyone, then it was a step too far. I see the racial thing as a distraction and a divider. Whatever keeps the powerful in the seat of power is what they are after.
3
I agree with Mr. Blow. I think the situation is that dire. But I disagree that the GOP are saying corruption is acceptable in general. I think they are saying its acceptable for Republicans. Woe betide a Democrat who did any of what 45 does - you'd hear the other mouth of Lindsey Graham, McConnell, Blount, Rand Paul and the rest of the GOP henchman. They'd be baying for heads, all aquiver with moral indignation and self-righteousness, as they do if and when a Democrat transgresses. The whole lot of them are just sickening.
4
America the great? That narrative is dead. With the largest percentage of population in prison, declining life span, voter disenfranchisement and blatant corruption, we are an empire in decline.
When you stand for nothing, when you have no values, when everything is a transaction, you’re no longer a leader.
4
As the republicans ignore our system of checks and balances, they don't seem to realize that a corrupt fascist theocracy will destroy this country.
They can't see that as America goes down, that they're going down, too.
Let's not count on the next election, since the fix is being worked on to have Trump "win", (cheat).
The time to oust Trump is NOW.
2
It turns out that America has been a pretty unAmerican place for a pretty long time now....about 400 years and counting.
Most Americans would like a more perfect union, but you can always count on America's radical right to hold back progress, modernity, voting rights, female sovereignty and scientific truth and stick to the Founding Fathers one-white-male-Christian-one-vote prejudiced principles.
The sick irony is that the nation's biggest phony flag wavers seem to be the folks who can't stand equality with 'others'...because when you're accustomed to white male Christian privilege, of course, equality feels like oppression.
This is the Republican party of the last fifty years, a well-organized assault machine against representative government and all levers of democracy in deference to corporate overlords who disproportionately place their greedy bets with right-wing Machiavellis who happily rig the vote through every possible means necessary while waging a masterfully destructive 'divide and conquer' political strategy featuring the demagoging of religion, race, guns, 'freedom' and the flag.
The ugly fact of the Republican matter is that today's Republicans are perfectly comfortable rejecting democracy, rejecting free and fair elections, rejecting representative government, rejecting the will of the people and rejecting the common good in deference to oligarchy and neo-feudalism.
For Republicans, the American idea is to cheat, lie and steal elections.
Nice GOPeople.
5
Getting everybody to vote may not be the answer. Here in Australia, voting is compulsory, no hurdles, and yet people keep voting the cynical right wing nuts back into office. For young and old alike, recent immigrants or natives, the short-term financial advantage, real or perceived, trumps the long-term improvement of local or global society.
Be careful what you wish for, it could get worse.
1
As the last superpower on the planet descends into corruption the majority of humanity must demand this country be broken up. They threaten everyone. They are bombing countries and imposing sanctions on countries solely to steal their resources .
If every Democrat who could vote did vote, we would beat the Republicans every time.
1
Lost? That's one man's opinion. To me, the Country works.
1
Back in the 1940s the Immigration system asked Kurt Goedel, the world's expert on logic and a refugee from the Nazis, whether the Constitution had flaws that would allow a dictatorship to arise in the US. They didn't really want to know; it was s trick question to test whether Goedel had "dangerous ideas". Fortunately Goedel was rescued by Albert Einstein, who vouched for him.
The US has always blinded itself to flaws in the system ( the Electoral College, a party boss in the Senate) until they hit us.
The mythology of The United States would end with an acquittal and subsequent reelection of Trump
In fact, it may never have existed in that way at all." May?
My word, the next paragraph makes it clear that it has indeed never ever ever ever existed that way.
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
- Langston Hughes
1
The idea indeed is lost. The American Experiment is on life support for one simple reason: greed. The Reagan Restoration unleashed the dogs of greed and grift, demagogued racist and religious strife, and undermined good government. All for a buck for the plutocrats and kleptocrats.
And the Reagan Restoration was enabled and maintained by neoliberal "Democrats" in addition to the GOP up through the present day. Trumpism is just a cruder Reaganism. Reagan had better handlers and PR, but wasn't all that different in effect.
2
Unfortunately Mr. Blow you are correct. Trump is the end result of a systematic unraveling of the the balance bewteen the three branches of government. Trump because of his extreme narcissistic behavior has accomplished what the entitled felt they were always due. He has accomplished what the religious right wanted. In sum he is a gift to them that keeps on giving. No matter how this impeachment turns out at least 40 % of the country will believe that thier "folk hero, as you have so quite correctly called him, has been slimed by the "deep state" etc. Trump does one thing very well in that he grabs the narrative & runs with it. He defines the issue drowning out any reasonable discourse & rebutal. Of course he has his henchman to help whether it be the cabal at Fox News, Rudy, Mitch or Barr. Edmund Burke stated that "the only thing for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing". Alas there are very few good Republican men & women left in DC. Not one Republican will stand up and say enough! The election in 2020 will be the crossing of the Rubicon. If the Democrats win undoing even a % of Trumpian fascism will be at best difficult. Restoring voting rights? After Mitch packed the federal courts with extreme judges I doubt it. If Trump is re-elected it will be time to fly our flag upside down for good. I shudder then to imagine what our country will be in 2025 after a Trump second term if he would even leave office after that.
1
Thank you. I would sharpen the analysis, saying since the Reagan administration, the US has moved increasingly to a crypto-fascist state (war on drugs=war on urban black and brown people, the explosion of surveillance tech, school-to-prison pipeline, etc). With Trump, the "crypto" is being destroyed and we are surely sliding into full-on fascism--one party, one unchecked leader with the power of nuclear destruction.
"In the 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy ..."
There's the case for strict voter ID laws.
I heartily agree with Mr. Blow. But I am optimistic, actually, that today's failures, which are so obvious, will fuel new efforts to fix the system. I truly believe in America's innovative spirit. We can see the problem and most people in this country are well-intentioned, law-abiding and convinced of the importance of rule of law, and, above all, love democracy. I think we will rise up to find solutions. It will probably be messy and possibly violent (one hopes not), but the framers of the Constitution did it in their age and we can - and must - in ours. We cannot allow our country to just go down the toilet. Everyone needs to get involved - do whatever it takes to insert yourself into the discussions in your community, push for democracy, point out the violations of public trust and fight for campaign finance reform. Think positively and offer coherent, sensible arguments that do not press partisan buttons. We can do it.
Oh, nonsense. Half the nation considers this impeachment as political theater. The only thing that’s “lost” is the 2016 election for the other half. So vote in November.
Sander - Cortez will right the ship.
1
America, the idea, cannot be lost or destroyed. The idea of a democracy, that which emerged during the Enlightenment, was not realized in the United States of America in the 18th, 19th or 20th centuries and it will most likely not be realized in the 21st century. But despite this, the idea has flourished and motivated peoples here and around the world.
At the moment, the United States has lost it's leadership role in the struggle to realize democracy, and it may or may not be able to regain that leadership role. But if it doesn't, other peoples and other countries will pick up the mantle of democracy and carry the idea forward.
That is and will continue to be a sorrowful experience for those who have pursued the idea within our state, but we must accept the notions that humbling experiences inevitably follow fits of hubris, that ignorance inevitably follows a sense of entitlement. And hubris, a sense of entitlement, and ignorance have surely been gaining a stronghold in our country for decades.
Mr. Jefferson warned us, "if a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be." A lesson that must be learned by all Americans, including Mr. Trump's followers.
And remember, each state gets two senators. California (pop 40 million) gets the same number of Senators as Wyoming (pop 600 000). That's not democracy.
2
We are definitely being shown that the two party system is not working. In our history we have never confronted these unique circumstances before-- a corrupt president, in fact, he is so corrupt he doesn't even know it. For him, it is business as usual. Also, his political party has
been so corrupt that it only gives lip service to ideas like truth and justice.
These two forces have given us such a double whammy that as yet, we have been unable to recover. Look what we've learned. Our two party system is broken. If Trump is acquited and then re-elected, we are in for a bumpy ride. We are already seeing signs of serious disruption.
In fact, I just heard in the news that drug prices have now become unaffordable to the middle class. We will now see how much they can be squeezed before they look to other countries to see how they manage affordable medication.
Our constitution is a beautiful piece of art but it was unable to save us from the madman Trump and his constituents. There is only one causable factor left-- the two party system. We need another party. When the republican party fails, hopefully it will split into two factions and then the three parties can sort themselves out. Basically, it all boils down to the fact that it is harder to corrupt three parties than two parties.
5
We’re not much different any more from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, China, North Korea: a small rich oligarchy perched atop a country of dispossessed poor, working busily each day to accumulate more of the world’s wealth just for themselves.
Until we wipe these skimmers off the face of the planet, everywhere, we will all suffer increasing impoverishment, slavery and powerlessness under totalitarian regimes perfecting their surveillance and policing capabilities.
It has become a universal problem, which will in turn require a universal solution far more effective than a bunch of people on the streets, picketing. That is symbolic but not real.
5
I couldn't agree with the article more. But, just about everyone reading it knows about all the abuses listed here.
Its time for proposed solutions to roll back, and permanently prevent, such abuses.
5
Maybe it's time to reevaluate Hamilton's federalists belief in a strong central government and embrace the antifederalist idea posed by Jefferson in which state rights held sway. We are a much much bigger nation today and more diverse than ever, ten times bigger from when we signed the Constitution. Maybe the problem is what the founding fathers feared--tyranny--has come true. Why throw it all away. We could transform into the United Regions of America where local governments are shaped by regional concerns and the vibrant participation of local voters. The Constitution can live on just transformed to meet the needs of a very different world.
3
Two of the biggest challenges to overcoming all of these things are the electoral college and the fact that the senate is elected by state rather than based on population. These are fundamental structural disadvantages that prevent equal representation. If we fail to either overwhelm these with a massive majority or eliminate them to make everyone's vote count equally, our nation will continue its slide into minority and authoritarian rule.
13
@John
You apparently don't understand that since its founding this country has been a relatively loose federation of sovereign states that have ceded limited powers to a Federal government. Therefore, our form of government is very firmly based on each state, not each individual, being represented.
2
@Kurfco I do understand that. What I am saying is that it no longer works. I think the author is saying the same thing for the most part.
Well said Mr. Blow, well said.
Putin, very well, could be the sharpest swords to have punctured the armor that was the American electorate’s belief in the viability of our democracy. When we lose belief, we lose our democratic state - if we ever really had one.
We seem to have reaped the seeds we have sown all over the world. Given, that the U.S. has been installing and removing leaders and governments the world over.
It just astounds me that the Republican Party - who have draped themselves in patriotism with flag-pins, supposed reverence for the constitution, democracy, and the flag - have now sided with a demagogue, who solicits foreign intervention in American elections. Pathetic.
15
The United States idea we knew was destroyed by the installation of W Bush by The Supreme Court in 2000. Obama did restore it, and in 2016 the mob that is the current GOP destroyed this country's social civility. Do not kid yourselves any further.
6
Even if you lose the impeachment case, you still win. Remember that the previous cases of impeachment acquittal ushered in victories for the opposing party. The loathsome Andrew Johnson was followed by President Ulysses S. Grant, who pursued a robust agenda of racial justice. Al Gore was reluctant to accept campaign surrogacy from the wounded President Clinton, and that sure didn't turn out so well.
2
The night after Trump got elected I read "Let America Be America Again" to my teenage boys at dinner and was sobbing well before the end.
I wept because I knew how badly Trump would continue to shred the fabric of our society.
I did not, however, foresee that our system of checks and balances could fail to prevent him from also shredding the Constitution.
Despite the damage done, we can recover if we keep this crackpot tinpot from dictating above the law beyond this term.
We can recover with trustworthy, morally upright leaders regaining the wheel of the ship of state.
Vote this November for JUSTICE by removing Trump from office to see how SDNY handles his other crimes and misdemeanors.
Vote to Make Donald Indictable Again.
12
Orwell's 1984 is alive and as dystopic as possible in 2020. Endless war, government spying on the people, poor education, and pop culture to feed the masses. And now a dictator, Trump, supported whole heartedly by a corrupt majority party in the Senate called the Repugnitants, and a majority of corrupt judges of the same ilk. America, the idea, is gone.
5
I worry that the Constitution will not be worth the paper it was inked on.
2
'The United States of America' is a federation of sovereign states, they come together in congress to delegate powers and responsibilities to a central, 'federal' government. The idea Mr. Blow claims is lost, the idea of 'America' as a simple democracy, never existed. If Mr. Blow wants a simple democracy instead of a federation of states as we presently have he should propose a constitutional convention to rewrite the relationship between the states and the federal government, in effect abolishing the states except perhaps as convenient administrative units ruled from Washington. Go ahead, Mr. Blow, show us you're a man of your convictions, propose what you really want--a thoroughgoing revolution!
2
Nothing lasts forever, Charles. There is a contemporary portrait of Chopin playing the piano at a Paris salon, in which the painter shines a brirght light on the patron and relegates the composer and other guests to the shadows. Today, the patron is long forgotten and Chopin is revered. Is this a cautionary tale for leaders today who commission fake TIME covers of themselves to put up in their golf clubs?
https://www.google.com/search?q=painting+of+chopin+playing+in+a+salon&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=FkBoPk0fBr003M%253A%252CZTCao6hgr9f5JM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kReLR106dr-xwb79z89byGIGNKbXw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiam5mm5aLnAhW56nMBHaQ3B1cQ9QEwAnoECAkQBQ#imgrc=FkBoPk0fBr003M:
Sad, and all too true.
Impeachment is a lost cause, but the election isn't. Unless millions are too lazy to vote. Or will vote for a third party because the Democratic candidate isn't exactly to their liking. If that happens, we'll deserve four more years of Trump.
Sadly, the entire world will suffer. Trump now has dictators and autocrats around the world who follow his lead--talking about fake news and a free press as the enemy of the people.
There is so much riding on this election. Will American voters be up for the challenge?
3
America isn't an idea. It's the wholesale recreation of European/Western Civilization in a new place peopled by those from all over the World. It's a living thing, not a grand project. Blow is buying into American exceptionalism...though I don't think he realizes that.
Charles, Charles, Charles.
You are brilliant, but, as we all tend to do, assigning the blame to our higher-ups.
How about us?
We live in a country founded by those willing to fight for our freedom.
We are too beguiled by our dear devices made of cheap Chinese slave labor…lulled into word blather.
We are not ever-vigilant - effectively protective of our rare, fragile, and difficult democracy.
Mr. Blow and all your readers, I challenge you:
Give me the name of one person you have convinced to vote from now on, and to vote knowledgeably.
Then go back and do it again.
And again.
Our dreams depend on it.
1
Hope feels naive, despair seems defeatist.
3
Without the electoral college, ‘woke’ coastal millennials would be running the country. Scary thought.
4
You are not kidding. The current administration has ridiculed this democracy, by abusing their power to it's limit, and trampling on the constitution and the rule of law. And Trump's minions, the republican party, seem agreeable to this corrupted farce, all to stay in power. In practice, we are a pluto-klepto-autocracy, helped hugely by Citizens United and the 'free' flow of money. And money and power are intimately connected. And economics closely connected to politics. One person one vote is a sick joke, not only because of money but the fences and hurdles used as excuses to prevent people's voting. America the Idea is being distorted as we speak. And the odious inequality in this capitalistic society is only getting worse...adding another nail to it's casket, for it's greed...and lack of ethics.
4
But we are still here, and we won't give up our ideal of democracy without a fight. The unprecedented kowtowing to POTUS and Putin displayed by the nihilists in the GOP is an aberration of history, At least I hope so. It is also a wake up c all to every American of every political party. This is our democracy, if we can keep it! Vote the bums out, and bring your friends and neighbors with you!
4
Republican friends love to quote Ben Franklin: “A republic, if you can keep it.” And then they condone all these moves to restrict voting and to let big money influence voting.
Perhaps we need to revise Franklin’s admonition: “A republic, if you can protect it from Republicans.”
4
Agreed -- sad to say. Good night, America!
I find it odd and telling that Mr. Blow does not include the corruption of massive financial donations from large labor unions. Is it because Democrat candidates benefit from those donations?
3
Oh, please, corporate and "dark money" donations dwarf the union amounts at almost every office level, so let's put this canard to rest. If "corruption" means supporting candidates who support adequate wages, real benefits, and a fair balance between labor and management compensation - instead of increasing shareholder value, out-sourcing and "temporizing" workers, and preventing workers from organizing - then unions are the way to rebuild the middle class, not the stakeholder, gig-economy myth.
1
Ah, but Mr. Blow, the 'idea/ideal' of American Democracy has always been an illusion.
Property owning white men could vote, and had power. That's not ideal.
Native Americans, Jews, women, African Americans...the list of those ground down and forgotten in the ideal version promulgated is long and tragic.
Read your history, explore the age of the Robber Barons as just one example of nothing 'ideal'.
There is nothing 'lost' that ever existed. Except your illusions.
1
Mr. Blow has it right. The GOP has been engaged in a decades long project to defeat American democracy and they have succeeded. Today the GOP has its very own, utterly corrupt, unelected president (loser of the popular vote), an unelected senate majority (due to gross distortions in state representation relative to population), and a federal court system packed with questionably qualified, partisan GOP operatives including a dubious majority on the supreme court. Fox News and the rest of the Murdoch disinformation empire fills the air with republican lies, distortions and diversions, while Citizens United invites a flood of cash into every campaign, undoubtedly from both foreign and domestic sources with self-serving agendas that often run contrary to our national interests. But that doesn't matter anymore. The GOP political class wants power and now they have it and I have a feeling they are not going to relinquish it to anything as quaint as a fair election or something as abstract as "the will of the people". With every Trump tweet, McConnell boast and GOP/Fox lie, the formerly great American Experiment based on "government of the people, by the people and for the people" sounds a little more unlikely.
3
To those in power the "people" have become irrelevant. It is not far fetched to imagine after this impeachment "trial" is over for the Republican congressmen to gather with trump and all kneel and bow and swear fealty to King Donald.
1
But you must be wrong, Charles. Surely Trump getting away with corruption will have no ramifications whatsoever. Everything is fine, things are the way they should be, I don't like having to think.
America isn't post-truth. It's post-reality.
2
I dunno, to me, way more important than whether there is "corruption" in the process of voting is whether there are reasonably informed voters out there. Like, can the voter identify the 3 branches of government. Or, who their Senators are? Or, one or two Democrats who are currently running to be president. Or, how about, who's the Vice President?
Sorry, but I fear that there are way-too-many-voters who, no matter how much "corruption" there is in the process, are way too easily swayed by appeals to fear and hate and tribalism.
So, to my mind, if if it takes "corruption" to sway those ignorant voters toward a less ignorant ruling class then, to paraphrase Barry Goldwater, corruption in the defense of liberty is no vice.
3
The mechanism by which Americans choose their elected officials is in shambles. The drug that keeps it running is the money pouring into the system because of Citizen's United. Moreover, in spite of all the arguments in its favor, the Electoral system has become a monster. No matter how hard its apologists twist themselves into pretzels trying to justify the tyranny of the few, the EC is a disaster.
I've been writing this a lot here on the commentary boards: there is absolutely nothing that guarantees the U.S. will continue as a modern power. It has taken only 3 short years to show huge, fundamental weaknesses due to the oppressive power of minority rule. Those who feel the government is the enemy should be rather pleased today. When all that's left is a bloated military and gated communities where the rich (few) sequester themselves at the expense of everyone else, well, I guess you got what you deserve.
3
“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” - the conclusion to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863.
Shall we allow our beautiful Democracy to perish? Will the Senate vote for witnesses and documents in the Impeachment Trial of President Trump? The over 350,000 Union soldiers who died from disease or in battle during the Civil War can only vote if we keep their lives and their sacrifices in our memories. But our Senators are living Americans who might choose to cherish what was so dearly purchased.
Funny how if your predetermined outcome :the president should be found guilty and impeached (even before his defense is fully underway) is not pushed forward it will be a stain on America and across the world. So much for standing up for those 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 principals you so hypocritically espouse to be dear to America and you personally.
2
The moment the corrupt GOP Senate votes (in their preordained rigged verdict) to fully exonerate Trump (before the Super Bowl as ordered) is the moment that the United States ceases to be a Constitutional republic and morphs overnight into a one-party dictatorship.
And then all doubt will be erased as to what "Make America Great Again" really means to Generalissimo Trump.
The Dream is Over. R.I.P. USA.
It was a nice 230 years while it lasted.
2
So we may elect a man who demanded, not asked, the firing of a prosecutor looking into his son's company where his son was raking in millions. And to add weight to the demand, he put a billion dollar withholding threat of tax payer money and a six hour time limit on his extortionist demand. As the US vp in charge of Ukraine! And when, by golly, he bragged about it, he was applauded.
How, for pity's sake, is that okay?
Spot on Charles. The proud American indoctrination I got as a white man has morphed into disgust at what we have become. As a teacher working with highly educated colleagues including Puerto Rican, African-American etc. - I was gifted the opportunity to cast away erroneous perceptions of my past. Now, watching the GOP, the Senate, Fox News and the corporate fossil fuel cartel lobotomizing a sizable chunk of my fellow Americans - I'm awaiting the 2020 election results to decide whether to stay or emigrate to Panama as an expat. Average Americans will announce they are dumb as rocks if the GOP maintains control of any of the branches of government.
4
Blow makes a number of interesting points. But one of his conclusions is positively insulting to every American. Blow wrote:
"campaign exposed just how vulnerable individual Americans were to being manipulated by misinformation."
Blow claims to be making his case for real democracy. But he clearly has no confidence whatsoever in Americans to decide wisely who to vote for. He clearly thinks Americans are so easy to manipulate that a few social media posts will take hold of their minds and convert them to ignorant automatons voting according to the dictates of those who posted those few social media messages.
If Blow was correct about how easily Americans can be manipulated, then his case for democracy is utterly destroyed.
1
If one person and one voter were implemented and the majority preference accepted, then Hillery would have won the Presidency. Unfortunately the American people/citizens have let our system degrade. DJM
Have you opened a bank or brokerage account? They require a photo ID. Flown on a plane? It takes a photo ID. Just curious, can anyone get SNAP/Food Stamps or welfare or WIC or housing assistance or Medicaid without showing a photo ID? Just who is in the market segment inconvenienced by the requirement to have a photo ID to vote?
1
@Kurfco
None of those actions you mention requiring a photo ID are Constitutionally protected rights of American citizens.
@Folksy So no ID is required to purchase a firearm then right?
1
@Folksy
"Constitutionally protected" means no one needs to establish who they are?!
1
Fascism crops up in many countries, often when least expected, and sometimes following progressive regimes, as in Chile, Brazil, Greece, and even Russia (after Gorbachev).
The Democratic infrastructure is first ignored, then suppressed, and ultimately overcome by fascist courts and bureaucrats.
We are in a very dangerous time. Fascist dictatorships are typically only overcome by the masses. Our own working class has been lobotomized by bad schools and worse media companies.
We must face the fact that we are no longer a beacon to the world. Look to New Zealand, Uruguay, and Sweden for those qualities. Trump has soiled our "brand" forever.
3
Will Roberts allow the charade to continue, or will he speak up?
We hold these Truths to be Self-evident;
1. Money is not Free Speech.
2. A corporation can not have religious rights
3. A State Militia is not an individual
4. If you declare an emergency, but you're lying about the reasons, there ain't an emergency.
Are you American or republican?
4
Oh, these pundits who lament the rise of a villain to first place in our nation overlook the history that made him possible. Doesn't Mr. Blow see that Clinton-Obama let the people down in the preceding years, that it was dissatisfaction that made them seek any alternative to their present deprived state? Wages were low during that period while the income of the top 1% equaled that of the bottom 50% of the people in our nation. Write about that, Mr. Blow.
1
You know why people don't vote?
It's not due to any of the tired laments that Blow lays out.
No, a lot of Americans, nearly half, don't vote because they're too busy, too indifferent, too lazy or all three to bother.
These are our fellow citizens who can't make the time and effort to register, to stay registered and then to get out and vote in every election - not just those that are in presidential election years.
Voting is a right that every citizen has and should exercise. Freedom is being able to choose - for what ever reason - not to exercise the right to vote.
The nefarious intents detailed by Blow are a mere nothing compared to the mass of indifference, even in these trying times, felt by most Americans towards are election process and government in general. Accept it and move on.
2
The sheer level of derangement of this situation is beyond belief. With full documentation, an impeachment process, and the whole megilla, nobody expects anything to be done about it. Why are a few throwaway two-dimensional people allowed to basically destroy democracy? How "representative" can this be? The gerrymander, the bizarre rules coming out of nowhere, you name it- The issue is that 320 million Americans and their future are now subject to the whims of mediocrity. Anyone prepared to do anything about it?
3
Remember when we were "great"? "An example for the rest of the world"? Remember when "exceptionalism" usually followed "American"? Remember when we were referred to as "...a bastion of democracy"?
So, what happened?
What is much more scary than a despicable president is a sycophantic congress. Trump is 10 times more powerful because Republicans refuse to do their jobs. Well, it was fun while it lasted, I guess.
2
Just vote. Prove them ineffective in their charade.
Vote against all Republicans everywhere. Because if they still claim that spoiled definition; they need to go.
Bye, bye Susan Collins.
2
This country has always had a deep undercurrent of evil. Its ebb and flow corresponds with the Republican power cycle.
1
It seems that Trump was onto something when he described politics as corrupt and rigged. He should know, too, since he made the system far worse than before.
1
My daughter's only B this past semester was in American Civics. I have a hard time explaining to her the importance, if any, of this subject, given its remoteness from experienced reality today.
Representatives consistently vote laws unpopular with their constituencies but pushed by lobbyists and donors. The president lies with almost every breath he takes. Media has no obligation to veracity whatsoever. The supreme court has a man credibly accused of rape tipping its scales, for life. The senate is unrepresentative, with votes in some states worth up to 5 times those in other states. A state, South Dakota, is the world's most secure tax haven and everyone in Washington is fine with it. Children under 10 are murdered by the dozen and no one can legislate anything to save them. Neither justice, education nor health are rights, but privileges to be bought by the highest bidder.
The theory my 10-year old gets in that class is so far removed from reality, it's a striking reminder to me of the Marxist economics texts the Soviet Union used to sell really cheap where I grew up. Few people read them unless they were paid, and of those even fewer understood how to square them with reality.
In the same way, my daughter's elementary school American Civics class is closer to wishful thinking at best, but propaganda more honestly, than to education, having been dissonant with the reality of this country's practice for at least a generation.
1
Because each state, no matter it’s population, gets two senators the Senate may become the biggest threat to Democracy.
Ezra Klein days ago in the NYT cited a study noting:
“ By 2040, 70 percent of Americans will live in the 15 largest states. That means 70 percent of America will be represented by only 30 senators, while the other 30 percent of America will be represented by 70 senators.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/opinion/sunday/democrats-republicans-polarization.html
2
@mw
That's precisely why we have a House of Representatives.
Well said Mr. Blow. As I read the comments amplifying your statement, I am in tears.
That's not all we lost, Charles.
We've also lost our ability to connect with anyone whose ilk differs from our own
How can we keep an idea alive when we can't keep a dialogue alive?
We can't.....
1
I agree with most of Mr. Blow's comments here. However, to
say:
"America, as an idea, as a representative democracy with the power ultimately vested in the people and accountable to the people, is vanishing like a vapor."
is wrong . Such sentiment and description of American democracy has always been more aspirational then reality. The history of voting rights and fair elections in this Country are rife with miscarriages and dishonesty. The transgressions have occurred on all sides of the political spectrum. No faction or party is innocent. The very structure and examples of the voting process, such as the Electoral College, confirms this. Whether we will ever reach the level of democratic purity we hope for, remains to be seen. Today's state of political affairs in the Country shows we have a long way to go.
2
Not so fast, Charles. There are thousands, millions? of young and not so young people working very hard to elect better public representatives and make voting easier and more fair. Yes, these are bad times, maybe the worst of times, but better is coming.
1
@Andrew Pearson
This is about the best time and place to be alive that's ever existed!
Either truth is the most important thing or it isn't. I am beyond despondent with so many of my fellow humans that it is not the most important thing. If we can't agree on that, what can we agree on?
I want my traditions, institutions, way of life, etc. tested against the truth all the time and I will move towards the truth or, the most honest version of the truth I can discern, every time.
I am sympathetic to the fact that truth can be hard to discern, but to refuse to strive for it or even outright deny it in order to protect a tradition, an institution, a way of life, etc. seems disingenuous.
I read recently that conservatives value loyalty over truth and that is the crux of the acrimony playing out. They value the traditions, the institutions, the way of life, etc and the truth only if it doesn't undermine those things.
We get mixed messages to be both loyal and honest. They are often incompatible. We are told to be "all in" and "totally invested". Anytime I hear "undivided loyalty" or sense some exclusivity, I run. There is comfort in the group, but at what cost? Not my integrity. The independent decentralized "non joiner" mentality has its advantages.
Be honest always and strong enough to walk away from whatever the truth exposes, however deeply you may be tied to something. It can be an ephemeral existence without the grounding so many crave, but it seems like the right thing to do. How many are "patriotic" and "manly" enough to take that on?
4
Fully agree, Mr. Blow.
America has lost sight of the most basic insight: corporate and billionaire money going into politics has only one purpose: to obtain a special favor that goes against the interest of the majority of Americans. Not even the level of sophistry Supreme Court judges can produce can hide that simple truth.
Until the money problem is solved, America will be lost.
7
In accordance with the concept that the power of the republic should ultimately be vested in the people, what is needed is an overhaul of the impeachment process. The Framers were, at best, naive in designing a process that depends upon senators as a jury - a process in which all are inherently severely conflicted. Perhaps the reason for this was that only affluent white men were permitted to participate in politics in those days, so they told themselves that they would be able to adjudicate impartially for the interests of the republic. I doubt that this was ever true; but, when the majority leader commits himself to a certain outcome before the trial even begins, it's obviously not true today. I think what is needed is a jury or juries of citizens (which provide the legal test of guilt, even in capital cases). Of course, citizens can be biased, too; but I would have a lot more confidence in the verdicts of citizen juries than I do in the pig circus currently ongoing in the senate.
3
Professor Jill LePore's monumental new history of our country, These Truths, is shot through with the subtext of the reality we were never taught in high School history class. Racism has been fundamental to "our way of life' since the get-go. The number of slaves "imported" to the New World vastly outnumbered white settlers. John Locke was instrumental in drafting the state constitution of North Carolina, which incorporated slavery. After the slaughter of the Civil War the country briefly experimented with an age of something resembling equality (except for women, of course). That perished along with Reconstruction. We are who we are, and we still are.
5
@highway,
Racism cast a long shadow over much of the world including this country, but I am quite sure we are not who we were. I grew up in the South and the change in racial attitudes and awareness for the better is huge, but not yet complete. That is where we need moral political leadership which we currently, obviously, do not have.
@W Pierce Mr. (or Ms.) P--I hear you in the sense that I have been traveling to Montgomery for business on a regular basis since the mid-80s. It is now a different world--amazing downtown revitalization, the Hyundai plants, the civil rights museum. I'm not holding my breath for Alabama to go into the Dem column, however.
When I voted in Israel, I had to come to the precinct with my ID card that had my picture and a unique number. If I tried to vote without it, I’d probably be arrested. In Italy where I lived not as a citizen, I had to have a temporary work visa and an identifying document issued by the police. I could not, of course, vote with it. In Switzerland where I visited recently citizens use their picture ID cards to vote, and travel in the EU. Norway is to start issuing unique ID cards this year. So I cannot believe that requiring a picture ID and a proof of citizenship for voting is the death of democracy. The American electorate system is creaky, unwieldy and open to manipulation and misuse. It requires urgent reform. But insisting that only citizens can vote, and demanding that all citizens have state-issued ID cards, is the necessary beginning of such a reform.
5
@Mor None of those countries you mentioned have the same massive socioeconomic and racial disparities as the US. The simple fact is, in this country many people do not have the requisite documentation or the means to obtain a photo ID. Should those people be excluded from the democratic process because of this?
1
@Chris Getting an ID is not that difficult nor expensive. You don’t have to get a drivers license to get an acceptable ID. Additionally, requiring an ID is not discriminatory. Many activities necessarily require photo IDs.
@Chris Seems like if there were the will a comprehensive campaign to issue non-driving related photo ids to all citizens could be financed. Especially with the ubiquity of cell phone cameras. For 0.5% of what Republicans spend on suppressing the vote. I'd love to see Mr. Bloomberg invest his billions in this.
2
The liberal media has done everything possible to undermine the senate.
Rather than wait for and respect their decision, we've decided that if they don't give the decision we like, they are obviously inept.
Similarly, many of us rejected the last election. "Not my President" By rejecting the election because we didn't like that particular outcome, we implicitly reject democracy.
Let's all simmer down and respect other views, eh
2
@Me Too
True, and if the Senate acquits, say, due to insufficient evidence of a quid pro quo, most will immediately assume that democracy has been destroyed, rather than accept that it could possibly have been decided the way we didn't like for legitimate reasons. There is no respect on either side, just pure self-righteousness and paranoia.
1
@Me Too,
When the guy who lost the popular vote wins the election, that isn't democracy. When the majority in the Senate represents fewer people than the minority, that isn't democracy. When historical precedents are ignored so that the federal courts can be packed with partisan operatives, that isn't democracy either.
1
@Me Too
Unbelievable! You talk about respect. Do you not see an iota of irony in that comment when your president demands so much of it while giving it to nobody and nothing but his own interests.
Just unbelievable.
Government is fractured only because concepts of decency, morality and integrity have been fractured by resurfaced racism. White, conservative racists will employ whatever measures they can employ. The end justifies the means, and the end is limiting the rights of all minorities to make America White and Christian again. The impeachment hearings are the best example of this attitude. Listen to the invocations that precede each hearing. Observe the lockstep Republican denial of undeniable fact. Look at the ethnic makeup of the Republican Senate. Massive harm is being done to the system, perhaps irreparable harm. Only time will tell.
4
Dear Republicans:
If you truly care about protecting the integrity of the vote, and not just disenfranchising minorities and people of colour, then support a policy of automatic registration just as there's already in place for the draft. I wouldn't hold my breath though.
5
Sad but true Mr. Blow. There are no rules from history any longer. The Senate’s corruption and the amoral lawlessness of Trump has made us a different nation.
5
Charles, many logical, clear-thinking citizens feel the same way. And just as many, perhaps more, fully understand that Trump and his band of sycophants is much like a very bad case of food poisoning. You know.......cramps, heaves, sweats, and more, and then it departs as quickly as it came. You felt really awful for awhile, but you survived.
As bad as things may seem now, the country was truly on the edge of extinction in 1861 all the way through 1865. Only two things overcame the superior skills and advantages of the Confederacy's military and its soldiers, and they were the industrial might of the North and the superior leadership of Abraham Lincoln. Otherwise, the United States of America would have been an historical relic over one-hundred-fifty years ago.
Voting rights are indeed important. So, too, are the checks and balances inherent in our Constitution. What Trump hasn't yet attempted to do, at least not publicly, is bully the Supreme Court or shame/insult individual jurists. But with Trump, who cannot control his emotions or his mouth, that is sure to come, likely soon, very soon. No one on the SCOTUS will tolerate such behavior, regardless of which president appointed him/her. It will be a uniting moment for both parties, signaling that Trump is truly out of control. And then it will be over.
3
The conclusion is only partially correct. Corruption is acceptable in the executive when it is occupied by a Republican. We all know a Democratic president would have been impeached and removed by the G.O.P. for far less egregious misconduct.
5
@kjb
You mean like Clinton? He wasn't though.
Another great irony of today's politics is that the Republicans have always put the Constitution forward as holy writ that must be followed at all costs.
Now, to them, it's just a guideline or some words on paper that must give way to their wants and needs.
Good laws and high ideals are necessary for a decent society, but worthless if ignored for personal gain. Republicans have taken the test and failed; Democrats get about a C+.
Every day in every way, we must recommit to high ethics in our behavior, not just give them lip service. Words are worthless.
1
Many of my friends are saying that l am an illusionary fool in describing our system as a representative democracy. They may very well be right in describing our system of governance as being a constitutional republic, which to me implies that democracy is a myth.
No matter how many times I place myself in the shoes of any one of the Republican Senators, I feel the cold yoke of cowardice and fear, powerfully blurring truth into an unrecognizable entity. And, yet, the truth could not be more clear, to those of us living outside this chastity belt world. The Republicans are desperate to remain relevant, outside the truth, by staying silent and purposefully ignorant. It will not work for anyone.
The Republican Senate has been led by lies for so long, they have become inept. The rest of us are on our own and this Senate, like the Supreme Court, live immoral lives. There is no other way to look at their rationales for turning their eyes away from the madness of this Presidency. The Democrats have given Republicans a gift - a way out - to vote this obscene President out of office, perhaps, even, winning the next election, with honor. Instead, they choose to throw gas on the flames, while Rome burns.
4
The ideal of the United States is lost.
I have this complex for telling the truth and the truth is the United States, not America, that has lost it's ideals,
I agree with the rest Mr. Blow is saying,
Trump will be acquitted but he will never be exonerated. An a Senate acquittal will be another nail lin the coffin of the Electoral College.
3
Why have a military to defend us from dictators, when Trump, the Republicans, and nearly but less than half of Americans, have conceded our Democracy to a dictatorship, unaccountable to Congress, the Constitution, and the Courts? Why did hundreds of thousands of Americans have to die to preserve our Democracy when it is given away cheaply by a few unpatriotic Republican Senators?
7
If the idea is living in a country where bigotry, intolerance, and persecution are acceptable the idea has not been lost. In fact it's alive and well. The people who left England to settle here in the 1600s didn't want freedom from religion. They wanted to be free to practice their religion and to force it on others.
The slave owners didn't want to have to pay their former slaves decent wages, provide them with decent living conditions, or anything close to it. They wanted to keep the former slaves in their place. They did that with the laws they passed, the organizations they created, and the atmosphere of terror they maintained. That was the idea of America; a country where every person knew his place and stayed in it.
1
Wealth always murders democracy. Great wealth concentrates and corrupts and justifies its rise to aristocracy by pointing at the poor living under bridges as inferior and lazy.
Still, I greatly respect Oregon's vote by mail system for all elections, federal and state. Hard to manipulate the vote when we get our ballots weeks in advance.
And ever since Oregon adopted that system, Republicans are having more and more trouble winning.
Hugh
5
Doom and gloom. The world is ending. Last week it was going to be a war with Iran, President Trump was causing. The week before that it was Ukraine. and that vital withholding of aid. And before that, Russia, Russia Russia. You know Collision. Trade deals, bad if President Trump does them. Rebuilding the military, that's our awful President at work again. Fixing the corrupt VA so the Veterans don't die from lack of care, Who cares right. Tax Cuts and regulation reform, that allow business to make jobs that raise wages for all Americans and a robust economy for all economic levels in America. So when President Trump is now encouraging the states to assure election integrity, naturally that is corrupt. However, when the city of New York Mayor and City Council is going to allow over one million Illegal Immigrants the right to vote that's OK
3
Isn't our current state exactly why many voters turned to Trump to begin with. Government that never listened to the little guys. Were just in it for the $$? That was what Trump was supposed to change.
Right?
One of your better pieces, and I'd suggest it is so because it is not fixated on permanent grievance, or identity politics. Yes, everything is seeming to go up in a mist, and we're lurching toward a dictatorship with a fig leaf of impotent democratic structures.
You failed to put the blame though on individual Americans. Why do one-third of our fellow citizens and residents know so little, and are so easily manipulated by domestic and foreign voices? Why are one third of Americans willing to live under the proverbial "man on a white horse", our own version of the "dear leader"? Yes they'd happily leave everything to the carnival barker and send Congress home. That's the real crisis of our times.
Contrary to the voices on our party Left it is not structures in need of "a revolution". It is people's outlook and core beliefs, and a return to values such as empathy, kindness, decency and the rule of law.
1
Frankly, lawfulness and accountability have already vanished, they aren't vanishing.
I'm only waiting for Trump to declare himself "President for Life", and for the GOP to willfully lap it up.
1
I fear Charles is correct. One more step back to the mid-17th century world of competing spheres of influence seeking advantage and armed to the teeth. Only this time the arms are nuclear, biological, chemical, cyber, robotics and AI. And the mess is exacerbated in every way by climate change. When the world needs America to be America, we are turning into a sham democracy and just another selfish empire.
2
A little revolution now and then is a good thing; we are overdue. Time to fix what’s so wrong with so much in this nation.
2
It is all too often that when the electorate is cheated, bullets will fly.
How many decades did the FARC beat back the army of the Oligarchy off Columbia.
2
You never said a word about NY not allowing any voting except at the poll on Election Day. But if a state cuts early voting from 3 weeks to 2 weeks you cry discrimination. The home of Tammany Hall needs to do a lot more. In Florida we have Vote by Mail, instituted by, of all things, Republicans. You get your ballot a month before the election, fill it out, and mail it back. What could be easier.
2
Well when you see your control and power beginning to evaporate. Control and power you should not have been able to amass in the first place. You get scared. Terrified, actually. Letting everyone vote means the end to white man's rule. And the white man simply cannot have that. So they will do anything to stop the train from entering the station. The ends WILL justify the means. And with every one of these situations, the people who engage in this type of behavior start to look in the mirror and not recognize themselves. But, they simply don't know what else to do. For them there simply is no other way. And then Jekyll becomes Hyde. And, eventually, the process of going back and forth ends and you are left with being Hyde. And you never have to wonder about what happened to Jekyll again. It's like he never, ever existed. And when people say to you "I can't understand it. What happened to you?", you look puzzled and say "Why, I have no idea what you mean". Transformation complete. Fiction becomes fact..
The billions of dollars spent on political campaigns could support every poor person in the country for a good long time. It isn't the "one person, one vote" fiddling that's the real problem. It's the whole process that's made the words "republic" and "democracy" into a disgusting dirty joke. Give to each candidate money, budgeted according to the office up for grabs, from a fund we citizens pay into. And that's it. No other money can be spent; each man and woman running starts out at the same gate and runs the same course. Let the ideas do the work.
1
Thank you for this helpful chronology of our country’s voter suppression phenomenon - it is yet another trip wire to my intense anger and despair
over the self-serving lies, hate, racism, willful/inherent ignorance and impulsiveness of JRT, his cabinet, base and now spineless Senate.
I cannot imagine such a legacy of chaos being transferred to and successfully (or humanely) re-constituted into even a mere facsimile of the Republic within which most of us have lived our lives.
These past thirty-six months of Trump’s presidency and administration have been a travesty to civilization and also fostered a pandemic spread of mental cruelty among us - the collective citizenry of America.
As a Vietnam Era veteran (lucky enough not to suffer PTS), there are periods when I, none-the-less, succumb to the ranks of the walking wounded and emotionally depressed - Over what IS, and what is NOT
taking place in Washington DC.
Senators, your working class white and blue collared constituents have been in the trenches of work force layoffs, a plethora of what seem to be random firings and many other job ending “jolts” to their careers, income, socio-economic standing; as well, they have experienced the painful and slow crawl back to self-sufficiency. COULDN’T YOU DO THE SAME IF YOU HAD TO DO SO?
Vote your conscience ... please.
1
To paraphrase Angela Davis, we have to stop accepting things we can’t change and start changing the things we can not accept. To directly quote her “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”
3
“The Senate will be saying to America that corruption is an acceptable feature of the executive branch.” Or maybe even, the Republican Senate will frame it as a feature, not a bug. As in——-we wield the power and that’s what we want. That’s the direction we are headed. Trust us. Perverse, pervasive power-grabs.
“Everything is broken”. Are we, the American Experimental People, going to see the ship sinking and say, that’s just the way it is?? So broken that it’s beyond our ingenuity? So broken that it’s out of reach of our sleeves-rolled-up values-driven collective will?
Our ship of state is leaking, and listing terribly. We can all see it now. The skies are even burning in the background.
And yet...we are a motley crew of Americans. And we love this place we call home. It will take all of our ingenuity and grit, all our willingness to believe that though it is terribly broken, our democratic republic (rooted in racism, history so flawed...and yet, with an arc that up until recently has bent more and more toward expansion, inclusion, justice and rights) belongs to us. Every single one of us will be needed to perfect that union. Vigilant. Courageous. Emboldened. Light-filled. Believing. Not losing hope.
It would be so easy to give up. To say she’s beyond repair.
A mess? For sure.
Ours, absolutely.
“She’s worth it.”
With eyes wide open, let’s each tend our beloved country like our lives depend upon it. ALL hands on deck!
2
Representative democracy, is being murdered by the economic revolution that has shifted most economic activity into centralized capitalistic structures, whether corporations, big banks, hedge funds, or the like. People cannot be free, nor have equal rights, when they are living in a feudal society. in which income inequality re-creates, de facto, the social classes of medieval society. The idea of America is not "vanishing like a vapor". It was crushed by the greed of Americans, unleashed by technological advances, and the "kill or be killed" ethos of free-market capitalism, fueled by the energy of the fossil fuel revolution.
The will to be free will assert itself again, most likely after the ecosystem has collapsed, and nature creates itself anew. Freedom, like greed,is hard-wired into human nature, easy to beat down, impossible to kill.
1
"The Senate will be saying to America that corruption is an acceptable feature of the executive branch."
So, what was sitting VP Joe Biden doing when he got his son a sweet gig sitting on the board of Ukraine's largest natural gas company? Or when he got the same drug-addicted son $1.5 billion towards his private equity firm from the Bank of China?
If that's not "corruption" of the executive branch, then what is?!
3
Mr. Blow, the US election process is racist, despite Obama's election. This is due to the electoral process and restrictions on voting. But popularly elected Senators (one person one vote) are now the cause of the evil soon to occur. To say nothing of the billions spent on elections where evil come from corporations, not unions which spend more. The GAO said Trump broke the law, but the gravity of that concern is so high that no penalty is proscribed. The sky is falling (except when my candidates win and my opinions are standards).
In this Opinion Charles M. Blow writes about the disappearance of representative democracy in USA. He is correct, and it is time to redefine the country. Before Trump, long before, Ronald Reagan, Dark Money, Newt Gingrich, Republican control of state governments, a weak Democratic Party and giant corporations, such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Alibaba and Facebook have held sway and profited mightily. The middle-class/working class have been disappearing as quickly as democracy. Drugs, alcohol and suicide are killing us as never before. Trump, Mitch McConnell and most the Republican Party have encouraged white supremacy, hate for 'others', restricted voting for minorities, lack of affordable housing and the reduction of social programs. To his credit, Donald J. Trump has awakened some Americans to this ever darkening land. Unfortunately, he has also aroused the fearful, the bigoted, the ill informed, the angry, the greedy and the disenfranchised to scapegoat some more While this feels like a most dangerous time, it will get worst. That is the trend.
The more I think about this country, it seems to me that national identity has always been a myth. Yes, there have been efforts to expand enfranchisement, but in its essence the system is as WC Fields declared "Never give a sucker an even break", which is to say, every man and woman for themselves.There is no real commitment to the commonwealth that the Puritans envisioned. The US is bound together by nothing more than symbols, the $ and the flag, which is why to "disrespect" the latter is of such importance. Without it to bind us, despite all the efforts over history to enfranchise and to democratize, there is nothing but the constituent parts all at loggerheads with each other.
1
Good article. However, the United States is a Republic, not a Democracy.
2
The USA needs to be broken up. The Soviets had to when there corruption made it impossible to govern.
The US is bombing eight different countries. Have 800 + bases around the world. Are actively trying to over through counties to steal their oil.
The Government is bought by the rich and needs to be removed.
What I find disheartening is that while an astonishingly high percentage of the population (40%) believes nothing that's going on these days is wrong, the other 60% feel helpless to do anything about correcting the problem. Stonewalled by corrupt or immoral politicians, we, the 60%, feel broken and powerless. 60%! That that majority should feel this way is, in and of itself, why the dream is rotting.
3
It is time for the states to break up. Let the blue and red states go there own way. It will be difficult for many . Mass migration will disrupt our lives and the economy but it is time.
Just like the Soviet Union who's corruption grew to the point that the government was unworkable due to the level corruption that could no longer be concealed .
The red states will have to deal with a massive loss of revenue funneled to them through federal handouts .State sponsored welfare.
Blue states will have to deal with a massive influx of the counties population.
Its time to end the experiment of democracy. Unfettered capitalism is killing the majority of its citizens.
Greed and corruption is rampant for all to see. Murder in our name around the world is perfectly fine if you just install the word terror in the report. Infecting our courts with unqualified hacks to the highest level. As long as your party is in charge you can break laws with no consequences.
I'm looking forward to building a government for the people that has true safeguards against corruption.
2
Nothing lasts forever. It is the pattern of humanity. If history has shown us anything, we often fall victim to our own sucesses. Post WWII promised great things,but pre WWII thinking brought us back to our lesser angels.
1
Getting rid of the electoral college would be a first step in ridding our country of systemic racism. It would also make it harder for foreign countries to interfere in our elections. As it stands now foreign adversary only has to target swing states and key states. With the popular vote those states would have less influence in our elections. The electoral college is was added to The Constitution to placate the slave holding states. Its time has long gone.
4
America until recently was the world leader in representative democracy and the rule of law. Now under the Donald all that is changed. The presidency has no restraints and the Constitution is merely one more policy that is interpreted along partisan political lines. The toxic Donald Trump brand is literally reshaping in real time America as we always knew it. The Donald and his enablers and cronies and uncritical supporters should be ashamed of themselves.
4
This didn't happen overnight and it will not be over until every last vestige of what we believed versus what was actually happening is
destroyed by the greed, corruption and hypocrisy of a shrinking yet obscenely wealthy minority that controls an expanding yet powerless majority. A nation conceived through a revolution of ideals accepted by many has ironically been destroyed by a forfeiture of those ideals to a few with the collusion of our most formidable sworn enemies. When the law is no longer the law and the truth is no longer the truth, what could possibly go wrong?
2
It may be the other way around. The people have lost confidence in the Senate.
Roy Willams
Spot on Charles. Spot on.
The election of Barack Obama has exposed that old wound of racism that just won't heal. It seems it is time to revisit the structure of our republic. We have many brilliant people, we could rebuild this. Let's hope we decide to do so before the entire country is blown up by extremists.
Here is a start: Vote blue, no matter who.
4
To be fair, the voter ID law craze started before Obama. It was pushed by the Bush Administration, and a photo ID law was adopted by Arizona in 2004, with other states following suit.
1
Never heard of a country where one can vote in a local, state or national election and not show a valid ID.
I don't think it had anything to do with Obama.
Where else can I go legally or illegally and start voting in their elections or on ballot questions?
2
Societies change willy-nilly until they drive their country into the ditch, as we have done now. Then only revolution will serve! Our current revolution can be gunfire in the streets or voter revolt. I am speaking out for a huge show of anti-Trump resistance at the ballot box in 2020.
3
Our Republic has morphed from Republic to Empire since WWII. An Imperial Presidency operates with few checks and balances.
Our government serves the wealthy and powerful. It is a tool of global corporations that our Founding Fathers could not imagine
This has been coming since JFK's death.
This is what happens when people decide not to vote. They automatically give their vote to the person who wins. I can understand not voting in some elections but the presidential election and the elections for senators and congresspeople are among the most important ones we hold. We are electing people to serve us, to improve our lives, to improve America.
I believe that our legacy of slavery has contributed in no small way to the current climate. The GOP behaved shamefully during the 8 years Obama was in office. They wanted him to fail. It was racism disguised as concern for the people. There was no concern for us. Had they cared they would have swallowed their "pride" and cooperated with Obama to improve our lives. We would have had a workable ACA, an improved infrastructure, proof that Democrats, Republicans, African Americans and white people could work together.
America has always been an ideal. We've often failed to live up to it. Sometimes we've stopped trying. There has always been racism, religious intolerance, and too much tolerance of hate speech. But there has always been some accountability at the highest level when it came to acts like the ones Trump has been accused of. This reader's fear is that the GOPs acquittal will enable another president to do the same things and not be called to account. Criminal acts will be accepted as part of the presidency.
1/26/2020 11:01pm first submit
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What I worry about is that democracy is a flawed but necessary route to avoiding violence in a society. When that democracy becomes flawed, problems arise in more than just a theoretical and political sense. What has typically happened in societies where the majority of people are not represented by their leaders or their leaders' values? When they feel disenfranchised?
The modern GOP is extremely, extremely conservative. Apparently it feels "attacked by modernity and the godless liberals" or whatnot. I find it ironic that a party that has clawed its way to power despite literally losing the popular vote multiple, multiple times feels attacked. They, a rich, small and bigoted, and religious minority, want to make me legally less of a person and make my vote count for less and they say THEY'RE attacked? I know how they see women. And their ideas are so distasteful that they can't convince anyone other than the uneducated and corrupt? They're reduced to trying to manipulate elections because their ideas are so unconvincing to the majority of Americans?
I know how resentful I personally feel. This is not a good thing for our society.
2
While the Obama Presidency did mark a turning point in Republicans' resolve in this respect, that resolve would have steeled regardless of who held the Presidency in the early 21st Century: the demographics demand it.
And so this resultant column a curious one, in that it does not outwardly acknowledge that harming voters' confidence in our electoral system, and creating barriers to voting -- especially among minority voters -- has been a feature, not a bug, of Republican party strategy for decades.
4
The decline of liberal democracy in the United States outlined here by Mr. Blow almost exactly parallels the transition in Rome from Republic to Empire as described by Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
As in Rome, the forms, rites, symbols and ceremonies of the Republic are scrupulously observed (Congress, courts, free press, inaugurations, Electoral College, etc.), but in reality they are empty and devoid of any practical meaning.
In making his imperial rulings, Caesar always made a big show of sitting between the Publican and Senate president (the Triumvirate), just as in Washington the justices wear costumed robes behind an ornate bench when they issue their rulings that eviscerate voting rights and environmental protection laws.
And as many commentors are pointing out, the form of government that currently allows rural population minorities to control two and a half of the three branches of government is simply not sustainable over time.
The inevitable future breakup of the United States will likely come from California (and possibly the Pacific states) when some future generation there gets tired, as the world's fifth largest economy, of carrying the rest of the country on its back in exchange for a measly 2% representation in the US Senate.
We ignore the worsening equity in population disparities at our own peril.
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@John M The pacific states are not held back. What prevents California from having a single payer healthcare system or free college. The answer is nothing. Retaining some power in state governments isn’t limiting. Creating more concentration of power at the federal level is both limiting and oppressive.
2
Journalist Blow: In your column you state, "Furthermore, big money from corporations and candidates themselves is corrupting the process and wielding outsize influence on voters’ choices."
I agree with your thoughts that enormous sums of money from corporations, unions, political groups is a corrupting influence and never should have been allowed.
Does anyone actually believe that large sums of money contributed to political campaigns has no influence on the direction of politics in America? Without a doubt, corporations, unions, political organizations are using their financial strength to corrupt the voting process in America.
What I can't seem to get my head around is the thought that if each employee within a corporation, each union member or member of a political organization has the ability to contribute to the political campaign of their choice, why is it necessary to allow corporations and other organizations to contribute virtually unlimited amounts to political campaigns?
I also disagree with the McCutcheon v. FEC,that removed the cap on aggregate contribution limits for donors.
If the aim of the Constitution is to give each citizen the right to vote, there must be a reasonable limit on the amount that citizens can contribute to political campaigns.
It seems that the Supreme Court decisions regarding campaign finance are working towards making the USA a country governed by the rich and for the rich.
9
Charles the principles embodied in The Constitution have not failed us. We have failed to live up to them for many of the reasons that you cite, but Obama’s election and reelection sent shockwaves through the conservative power structure because despite its best efforts to disenfranchise and marginalize all who might oppose them, an African American with a Muslim-sounding name broke through and captured the imaginations of a significant majority of Americans. He won the 2008 election by 9.5 million votes, and the 2012 by 5 million. Then the media boldly declared that America was post racial. That was probably the most dangerous lie of the century so far. It energized the nationalist right and gave the left permission to take a break. Trump Inc. is the result.
It’s often said that people get the government they deserve. We do not deserve this government.
Money be damned. All that’s needed is for all people who love democracy and justice to stop bickering over details and unite to defeat Trump and his GOP cult.
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Unfortunately, the small minority of people who actually hold and wield the power in this country does not accept--and has never accepted--"one person, one vote." The majority having real power frightens that minority, and it will do whatever is necessary to prevent that from happening.
People who actually believe in democracy should be interested in having everyone, including those with whom they disagree, vote. Those who make it more difficult to vote are on no higher a moral plane than those who destroy uncounted ballots from the ballot box. I believe the latter is called theft. What shall we call the former?
8
When an institution is in a state of decay, its flaws, the cracks in a system widen and become too obvious to ignore. Ours is a nation with a predilection for breaking apart since the founders did not have confidence that a truly national government was possible. Our original compact was titled the Articles of Confederation, a construct which underlined the stubborn hold on power which the states were unwilling to give up. The term emerged again when the states that chose to secede over the institution of slavery called their newfound nation The Confederate States of America. Cutting the nation basically in half was obviously still not enough to satisfy the states of the confederacy that a rule of law that applied equally to each region was acceptable. So long as a state border can create a situation whereby available resources are distributed such that a child born in one state can live a more satisfactory life than a child born virtually next door, the seeds of discontent will take root and flourish.
3
@Vincent Amato For democracy to be empowering and relevant, the majority of governing needs to take place at a local level. If anything, our nation is endangered by concentration of power at the federal level. When you get into the hundreds of millions, votes are just numbers. They no longer represent anyone.
4
@John You make a blanket statement about local local local, but this is childish, especially in a digital age.
I get that local people should be in charge of their local stuff, but I'm sure you understand the concept. Ten thousand votes was difficult to count in 1800, but a hundred million isn't hard with computers in 2020. They DO represent, just as my one Amazon order from a hundred million can actually get delivered.
An efficient federal government is a good thing. Every city has it's own police force, but there's also federal policing of all kinds. Also, highways have to go through state after state with the same specs. Lots of examples.
When it comes to voting in a presidential election, how would you do that at a 'local' level?
2
@deb We already do. No one votes directly for President. You vote within a district within your state that is represented by an elector. This isn’t about ability to count. It’s about ability to be heard.
To those who harbor some hope that democracy will survive, I'd like to point out that the GOP senators, once they acquit Trump without bringing forth any new evidence or witnesses, will have jettisoned the protection our constitution provided when it established three separate and independent branches of government. Any party that rules both the executive and legislative branches will have precedent on their side if this situation comes up again, as it most certainly will. And they will have no inhibitions about using it to quash any and all attempts to hold either branch accountable. And the people's vote will not likely provide any sustenance for fairness. The GOP has done everything they can to make voting more difficult.
14
Our system of government was created to protect the lives of a white patriarchal society, and continues to do just that. 44 white male presidents followed by one exception, and white patriarchal society lost its collective mind and elected Trump, a caricature of the noble white patriarch. Government isn’t broken, it’s actually working just as the founding fathers intended it to.
Our healthcare system isn’t broken. It’s doing exactly what it is designed to do, extract as much profit as possible from people in need.
Our system of higher education isn’t broken, since its goal is profit and maintaining the status of graduates, it is functioning as intended.
Etc.
Extract the hypocrisy – that our institutions are for the benefit of all – and things begin to make a lot more sense. The problems created in the lives of ordinary people are just collateral damage.
Thanks to Mr. Blow for using his platform to highlight this issue.
9
@Crane Agreed. In many ways all that's happening now is the stripping bare of the hypocrisies that people so often invoke to describe this country, to the amusement and disgust of our friends (if we have any left).
2
@Crane agreed: the system is working exactly as intended. The issue is that poor whites are finally waking up to the reality that it might not be other poor people with differing melanin levels who are to blame, but the system itself and those (mostly rich white men) at the top who benefit.
1
“There’s no point in dwelling on how bad the situation really is. You’re better served to focus on what needs to happen and move toward that goal.”
That quote, which is from a decorated Green Beret, Matthew Williams, sums up for me what journalists, pundits, politicians, and Americans need to do right now.
Enough with the hand-wringing about the "lost America." We all know how bad things are. What we need to do is explore creative, smart ways to solve our problems, and then roll up our sleeves and make it happen.
The power is right in our own hands. We can build an America that's better than ever. Not Trump's version of "great," but a nation that's truly strong, wise, compassionate, fair, and sustainable.
I'd rather read 10 words that tell me how to build that America than 1,000 words saying America is lost. America will never be lost if good people keep fighting and keep investing their time, money, and skills in the nation we can become.
10
Indeed, it can be quite easy for one to drown in apathy, but – of course – that will do nothing to change the situation.
Even in these seemingly dark times, I still believe that we, as a nation, can pull together, and make life prosperous and enjoyable for the vast majority.
2
@Rhiannon Hutchinson :
Well, most of the power is in the hands of corporations. Our congress and courts guarantee that. What power the majority of the people have (according to vote count) is a pittance next to Corporations. It is the power the Native Americans had in blocking the building of oil pipes over their water sources. They were arrested and jailed.
2
@gratis I agree - but again, that can all be changed. It's not easy, it takes time and major hard work, but I believe we can do it.
Early in Trump's presidency there was a lot of talk about a looming constitutional crisis. That ship has already sailed. At this point democracy is beyond fragile, it is broken. The Republican party has made it clear that if they have to choose between conforming to the rule of law and established norms of political conduct, or keeping their grip on power, they will pick the latter while cynically lying about their duplicity. A few examples, including those that led up to this crisis:
McConnell's refusal to even hold hearings on Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, claiming it was too late in Obama's term and cynically saying 'let the people decide.'
Keeping most of the records from Brett Kavanagh's time in the Bush administration from the public, then railroading through his Supreme Court nomination.
The manipulation of the information from the Mueller report by AG Bill Barr and the launching of investigations by Barr to support conspiracy theories that law enforcement agencies were out to get Trump, including a world tour by Barr to get other countries to support his investigations. Finally, the abuse of his position as chief law enforcement officer to fail to support lawful subpoenas by Congress. Barr has essentially said 'what are you going to do about it when I have the guns?' which is essentially what dictatorships do.
The refusal by the Trump administration to obey lawful subpoenas and document requests. Yes Trump broke it.
21
@ikalbertus: They all have a religious common-denominator: suppressing recreational sex by enforcing involuntary parenthood.
Apparently, many on the ultra-left do not get it. Yes, we are not fools...we can see what the POTUS has done, but believe that many, if not all, of the previous 44 presidents have committed the same sins. And, the centrist voters (most of the country) are convinced that most of the democratic candidates are so far left to make them not electable. For these two reasons, Mr. Trump will win in 2020.
3
@Franklin at least you are being honest with yourself. I do find it interesting that you feel so optimistic about running an Impeached President, who lost by 3 million votes again. I have a feeling that this election may prove to be the end of the Republican party as we know it. While about 30% of our electorate is apparently Ok with having a King going forward that leaves about 70% of us who are not. If this election get s a 60% turnout Republicans will probably lose not only the Presidency but also the Senate. Once Trump is acquitted for something that he obviously was guilty of you better expect a backlash. Protests and people showing up not to vote for a candidate but to vote against Trump. Basically the GOP is drinking that Orange Kool Aid that their new King is serving up not knowing whether or not it will kill them. I have a feeling that it will.
4
@Franklin
Because so many voting citizens believe that many, if not all, of the previous 44 presidents have committed the same sins: lied thousands of times to the American people, sided with adversaries over allies, slimed anyone who dares to have an different point of view [whatever happened to the loyal opposition?], puts personal benefit over the country, actively seeked to rig our elections and more, so much more.
Yeah, you're probably right, he'll win again in 2020
@Franklin
Glad to see you are not a fool.
However, your assertion that everybody else has done it is a preposterous lie.
Eisenhower enforced the law when it was unpopular. Nixon and Clinton, for all their faults, managed to separate their duties to respect Congressional oversight, including an impeachment trial, from their personal interest.
Trump not only ignores his duty to 'faithfully enforce the law'; he considers himself completely above the law. Your ancestors beheaded a King for less arrogance.
2
A well argued opinion.
For a ling time the US has bern moving to an imperial presidency. Much of governing is taken by presidential fiat.
This parallels a move by the US seeking to be the one global imperial power. We use our dominant economic power to direct how other countries compete, by manipulating the rules, massive use of tariffs, and restricting what whole regions can buy or do—e.g., restrictions on Huawei or research into AI.
The American people have chosen this. When Congress became unable to legislate, when the Supreme Court changes the law and the Constitution with impunity, the only way the people can have any decision made make is to give it to the president.
We are evolving, moving towards a system in line with China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Pretend elections to mollify the masses. True power with the executive and their super rich partners bound by patronage.
The Russian constitution is more modern and liberal than ours. Such documents really never matter. Clearly ours does not either
Thanks Mr Blow
13
The worst-case scenario is probably what will happen. The Senate will vote to acquit on strict party lines. Then it will be clear to everyone that impeaching and removing a president requires only a simple majority in the House and a two-thirds majority in the Senate. Without that, it cannot be done.
Whether the president committed high crimes and misdemeanors or not won't matter, and the presidents will know it.
7
The federal government is not based on one person one vote. Votes aren't equal.
The rallying cry of our Republic, no taxation without representation had nothing to do with democracy and everything to do with the rich landholders controlling the the government and its taxing power.
Changes toward a more democratic Union didn't come until Lincoln and the post civil war country.
Our original constitution was a complete failure. It lead to the worst war in our countries history. The failure to fully address our founders failures in the post civil war period will lead to the next civil war.
One person one vote will not happen without lots of blood being spilled.
9
Make no mistake. A Democrat winning the 2020 election will not alter the course we are on. It will simply put us on the winning side for 4 years.
The issue with our country goes far beyond who is in the white house. It is a battle between the past and the future, between those who understand the impact of our technology and those trying to hold on to what they know.
15
@AnejoDiego
Well we need to ensure that every politician needs to take a stand for the democracy of this country.
We the people need to be involved otherwise you are right nothing will change. We have to do more than cast a vote. We need to be involved and understand the issues . We need to educate our voters and get them to the polls.
Being involved in politics will be time consuming but we need to do it for our families otherwise we are lost,
@AnejoDiego - you show a naive faith in "our" technology. You sound very like the old communist party that peddled the idea that Russia was somehow the source of the industrial revolution. At least that point of view here was a joke about the over there in the 50's and 60's.
I don't know why people think the gadgets are life defining. Only if you let them be.
@gluebottle Gadgets are life defining. The whole point of the Muller investigation was the influence that Russia had on our election. The reason that Trump wanted dirt on Biden was to play to the 24 hour news cycle. The reason Andrew Yang is still relevant is his understanding of the impact that technology has on our society.
My Mom is a Trump supporter because she wants America to be what it was after WW 2, where being white and in polite society, meant a good life for your family.
The older generations think Trump is making America great again, because he plays to their vision of what America was.
Perhaps, if Trump is acquitted, and especially if witness testimony is denied, we Americans need to take to the streets, as a resounding expression of the American idea.
23
@Geri : The problem is that taking to the streets in NJ means nothing to the Electoral Majority in Penn or Mich.
This country is broke and will probably never recover. It might be time to split up. Even the Roman Empire came to an end.
12
@Rick Ivnik It's not as easy as splitting into two, given that red areas are 30% blue and blue areas are 30% red, and given the fact that huge numbers of African Americans would be left powerless under a regime that would return to blatant racism. This would require a population transfer on the scale of India/Pakistan.
The Senate is a deliberative body. The Senators need to deliberate. In order to do that, they need witnesses and evidence. Chief Justice, preside, and assert the requirement for witnesses, namely Bolton. Senators, wake up to the urgency and search your consciences. It is a moment of reckoning. As the late Congressman Cummings reminded us, we are better than this.
18
Fine. It looks as though the lights are dimming on that "shining city on the hill" -- but as far as I can tell they haven't gone out, so there's still reason for hope.
That said, I'll be quick to admit that I don't fool myself about the state of our democracy.
Especially after the last election that not only ushered in one of the least competent presidents in U.S. history, but did so at the expense of the popular vote.
And as that very president now stands on trial for his misdeeds, with overwhelming evidence against him and a Republican Senate ready to excuse him, even with the likelihood that he does the same thing again, it's hard to see this as anything other than the bad omen for democracy that it is.
But Americans. Don't despair, for you are the only ones who can keep the dream alive, and keep the lights on.
VOTE.
25
@N. Smith This is happening all over the world. Autocratic Fascism sold as Populism. It's scary!
1
We (The United States) have always been guilty of disenfranchising various groups. Whether it be through poll taxes, literacy bills, violent intimidation, and the like. The 1965 Voting Rights Act was designed to remove state restrictions on voting. Your argument that these restrictions are being rein-"stated" (pun intended) is well-taken. The reforms that were instituted in the 1960's are being challenged by groups seeking to gain or preserve power at the expense of free elections... and we thought that all we had to worry about was the Russians!
16
@John M. Failure to have the importance of one's vote in federal elections decoupled from where one lives is the root cause of national division in the US.
5
@Steve Bolger
That is one of the root causes. Another cause is widespread gerrymandering, extreme in some states. Another is lack of understanding of the difference between a Democracy and a Republic. We are trying to be a "democratic republic' but have never been able to be that because of, in part, giving control of voting rules to the states. Our intentions vs. how things have come to br as they are:"One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" ? vs. " A nation divided against itself cannot stand."
1
@Steve Bolger That often-cited quote from the Pogo comic strip, "We have met the enemy and he is us..." comes to mind.
It seems as though Mr. Blow and his cohorts are the ones most interested in taking a hammer to America and rebuilding it into their own image of how America should be. The biggest threats to America comes from those who want to effectively change America into a centralized government by eliminating the electoral college and changing senate apportionment.
10
@John I can't imagine thinking the electoral college and the Senate are actually good for democracy.
33
@Roger They absolutely are good for democracy. These constitutional foundations are our greatest leverage over tyranny. It helps to prevent too much concentration of power at the federal level. Democracy isn’t a numbers game on a grand scale. Democracy is about people having power at a more local level. There is nothing remotely Democratic about a large state like California pushing over the citizens of dozens of other states. That is disempowering.
4
@John : A country ruled by a minority for decades is not what the Founders intended. Yours is a Right Wing rationalization that goes 180 degrees of what the Founders wanted. It is easy for me to read the Preamble of the Constitution ("We the People...") and see how our current country fails the Constitution, mostly because of legislation.
(How does our current interpretation of the 2nd Amendment "promote the general Welfare"?)
15
Funny, in this article Mr. Blow comes to a truth many of have known for a long time in the first sentence, however, he comes to that truth for all of the wrong reasons.
As many political scientists have demonstrated, America resembles an oligarchy much more than a democracy as the monied interests are much more likely to come to fruition compared with the interests of the "middle class".
21
So tragically true. But one thing has struck me as I observe the Republican circus currently underway in the Senate - how can those in power possibly ask our sons and daughters in uniform, especially with many of them citizens of color, to put their lives on the line for this?
38
@Michael
Easily. It is not their sons and daughters whose lives are on the line.
1
@Michael It is easy for them to ask your sons and daughters to risk their lives, because it isn't THEIR sons or daughters, and they don't care about you or your children.
1
@Michael
To your last question, it's because such a large percentage of our people in uniform come from Trump country, particularly the south. Let's be honest, the Republicans have been very good at shamelessly co-opting 'patriotism', the flag, the national anthem and the military as elements of their brand to the the point that I feel revulsion when I hear "God Bless America" sung at sporting events. It's such a lie. They just feed these feel good elements and moments to their followers while they steal everything that was supposed to make this country better.
Only last night as I read that the Obamas sent heartfelt condolences to Kobe Bryant's family I looked at the comments, which were unsurprisingly heavily populated vitriolic comments about "obozo". Even in moments of tragedy this is how low we have sunk.
2
Trump is one problem. But the larger Right is the real issue. Working hand in glove, the Right and Capital have developed a formula of politics as bloodsport entertainment, and it is working to consolidate corporate power and nudge our system toward an authoritarian brand of capitalism. They may not get as far as Hungary or even Poland, but that doesn't mean they're not trying. They seem to have realized that the rise of serious global competitors and the inevitable strains on social and physical infrastructures that climate change will bring will risk seriously impinging their power unless they can carry out a much more forceful concentration of power. That will rely on unrelenting rejection of nearly all social demands (for environmental protection, social programs, expanded franchise) and the harnessing of quasi-fascist elements to patrol the boundaries of public politics. These are understood to be essential moves to offload costs onto workers, environments, and communities in order to keep profits coming and the economy afloat. Some will find it regrettable but not the end of the world (David Frum, Tom Nichols, David Brooks, Bret Stephens); some will be all-in (Don Jr., Fox).
The thing to fear is the competent version of Trump. Incrementalists on the other side (from Biden to Warren) are fooling themselves if they think this Right is corrigible. The only appropriate response is a real, sweeping political shift of the kind Sanders would bring.
18
@MW: Sanders is just another fool being led down the primrose path by a trail money.
“One person, ONE vote?
Why have we not overturned CITIZENS UNITED?
Recall the reaction to Barack Obama’s first State of the Union Address. What was the rationale for introducing it? It wasn’t his.
Was it FEAR of the inclusion of a previously less-engaged electorate that saw the value of the individual vote?
Immense amounts of undisclosed financial contributions, possibly from corporations, or other countries raises suspicion.
Transparency may indeed be lost to us. Corruption from within our Three Branches of Government is very dangerous today.
12
”Above the law,” the Republicans want to rule, not govern. They are happy to make Trump a king. The impeachment trial is his Coronation. This fact alone should be the reason for great concern. The impeachment outcome sets the stage for usurping power in November. Should Trump lose the election, he will not concede, and his army of lawyers head to the Supreme Court to maintain power. Remember, he is ”above the law.”
33
There are so many divides within America, I find myself wondering if we can continue existing as one large country.
17
@Emma: It only takes 5 hours to fly across the whole continental US now. And the road signs in Hawaii resemble the ones in Maine. I think we need to work on common understandings of the meanings of words.
6
@Emma - I think the same thing. That the country could easily break up along cultural lines especially if global warming wrecks havoc on the coasts. If the costs of living become too great on the coasts and there are refugees to the hinterlands - the inner states could very well want to secede and put up barriers to newcomers. They would also probably want to insulate themselves from the costs of defences to rising waters and crushing insurance losses.
It would be a war of the new haves versus the once hads.
BTW - Is there anyway to change one's name on these things without having to get another email address?
I want to use my real name Paul Rosa, but will be blocked by my own email address.
The "idea" of America is one of violence, inequality, corruption, slavery, war, incarceration, and cyclical economic disaster after disaster. There is more.
Lots more. Why bother. America is mean.
Hunger.
You won't find that issue in the media, but it goes way back to the establishment of the democracy which is in no way a democracy. Or a republic. It is a classical kleptocracy. There have always been efforts at establishing a theocracy. But it is difficult to do when there is a long history and uninterrupted antecedent of theft, larceny, misappropriation, and covering up. America is as transparent as a brick wall.
The rich run America and always have. America has always been driven by, not freedom, but a perpetrated version of the kind of capitalism that has always exploited the poor for the benefit of the exalted. People who compare our culture to the Roman culture of the past are absolutely correct. The idea of America was dead on delivery. The founding fathers did not practice what they preached. What they knew was monarchy, and it shows.
Everyone is not created equal. We are created into a class of hierarchal patriarchy that still favors white men who own land and property. Wealth does not trickle down. It is a synonym for an intransigent affluence where prosperity is protected by penitentiary houses of detention, where the working class knows its place, and that place is marginalized, conscripted (for rich people wars), and education is code for torpidity.
27
@Tim Barrus
But what makes some people rich? And some stronger that others -- in mind and spirit, if not muscle? We are not equal. I have less than many, and I have more than many. So do you. Who has ever come up with a workable idea to fix the problem?
@Rea Tarr It transcends democracy. I live out of one bag. A camera bag (I am a photographer who also works with adolescent boys with HIV). I teach the boys about memory which is what photography is. The teaching is neurologically based. How memory works. If a thing does not fit into my bag, I do not own it. I am teaching the boys about ownership. What a member of our species can own, what we cannot own. In order to teach someone that it's not about what anyone has, you have to model it. They must see not unlike the camera does.
It all becomes fundamental. I am a vegan. What our species does to climate and the murder of other species, is a crime against the planet we live on. If all people can see is the hierarchy of race, we have diminished ourselves. We are more than our greed.
These have been hard lessons for me. It doesn't begin with teaching. It begins with modeling. In the past, I have modeled all the wrong things. Good people were hurt. Today, all I need are what fits into the bag. Basically, a change of clothes, some tech I am now using to write this, and cameras. I do not own a home. I cannot be homeless (again) because the world is my home, and I am in it. I understand that if we all lived like this, capitalism would collapse.
Good riddance.
It begins with how we model what ideas we live by as individuals. Finding our meaning, and exemplifying that, and those values in how we own our lives. We are all cameras and record what we see. Memory. We are accountable.
I am a committed progressive and have great respect for Charles Blow. But I'm not with him on this. I do believe that climate change and the ongoing nuclear threat are frightening, but we are not going to lose our democracy.
I spent years in education and retain wonderful relationships with younger women and men. They are better informed, more committed and more involved than my boomer generation. They will occupy seats of government and seats of economic influence in the years ahead. They are, by and large, anti-racist, sensitive and inclusive.
The risks now are real, but the future is far less bleak than Mr. Blow asserts.
7
@Barking Doggerel
Trump supporters are having kids too. And you can be sure they are not raising them to be the well-informed, progressively minded individuals you've encountered in your presumably liberal educational circles.
I was having this very conversation over the weekend with friends. I posited that what we are seeing here is the culmination of decades long efforts to restrict our greatest source of power as American citizens. I do agree we are here today as an allergic reaction to the Obama presidency, but in reality the blueprint started emerging following the civil rights movements. Yes we as black and brown people made some individual gains but we lost far more I. The form of economic power and wealth building necessary to sustain political representation. To be American is exactly as this article asserts, a veneer supported by the paper thin concept that people could be equal...quite different than the practice of equality. This impeachment trial only amplifies this, our Achilles heel.
15
Perhaps it is time to form a new branch of government or oversight called RPA : "The Republican Protection Agency". Which is pretty much what we have today. Let's make it official.
4
Now we are in a situation where Trump, who didn't win a majority of the 2016 votes, is being defended in an impeachment trial by the GOP Senators whose states do not reflect a majority of the US population. Talk about "rigged"!
37
@Rick
All impeachments I do an election. It’s a mechanism in the Constitution that can remove a President who is unfit. If Trump is removed he will be replace by Vice President Pence, who was also elected.
If you are opposed to the removal you do not object to a president using the power of his office is for private political gain. It’s sad that so many Americans see no problem with that.
19
@Michael Ando No one candidate won a majority of US votes and winning a majority of votes isn’t the electoral goal.
5
@Michael Ando So true. The party which did not win the popular vote calls the shots voting on behalf of the people who did not win the popular vote. Crazy but true.
While I doubt that DJT will be removed, there is still the hope of November. I don’t expect millions of republicans to switch sides and vote for a Democrat, but simply not voting could be enough to tip the scales to rationality.
Or so I hope.
Still, I’m looking for ways to spend less and less time in a nation that seems on its way to becoming an authoritarian plutocracy.
18
People don't have meaningful votes in the US, only money does. That certainly explains the focus and priorities of our government. Democrats at least pretend to listen to citizens concerns while Republicans don't even try and busy themselves with taking our voting rights away.
7
@Jim Dickinson: Money-based politics freezes up like this because raising money becomes the purpose of the system, not solving any issues. Money politics never settles anything, lest it cease to be a source of money.
9
I wonder if Justice Roberts has any remorse upon learning a potential donor to a Super Pac has the power to make negative statements about an Ambassador while sitting at a full table with the President at the
Trump Hotel and Trump acts on hearsay and turns to an aid and says among other things, " Get rid of her." Does he really care Citizens United and Super Pacs enabled donors to purchase one thing not offered on Amazon... politicians? Does he care this impeachment is related to that same donor who worked with the president's personal attorney and an unelected shadow government operating out of the White House? Does he care the recent ruling by the Supreme Court on Gerrymandering promotes voter suppression? Of course not, he wrote his opinion on Federal Courts not hearing those issues because judge's are not entitled to second guess lawmakers judgements. Since that is the case he will go down in history as sullied as Trump and the rest of the Republicans for the pivitol point on the failure of democracy as we knew it. He will be held in the same distain as the rest of the motley crew McConnell, Graham, Meadows, Jordon, Kushner, Barr or he could do what is right preside over the impeachment that includes testimony from witnesses.
23
Looks like the party is over. This country will lumber on for a few more years slowly losing global significance. The wealthy will pick the remaining meat off the bones then leave.
Now that republicans have cemented the idea of an unaccountable leader whoever wins in 2020 will act like a king rather than an elected official. It doesn’t matter if it’s Democrats or republicans in charge anymore, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
26
@JR what makes you think there will be an election in November?
Many times, 45 has expressed the belief he is entitled to remain in office for life.
If the Senate exonerates him, what will stop him from declaring the 2020 election unnecessary? or "unconstitutional?" since his first term, was hindered by three years of "Democrat harassment?"
He talks about do-overs and being allowed to remain in office often enough that you have to know it's a serious goal.
13
@Stephanie If Trump loses I fully expect him to contest the election and for the Republicans in Congress to support him in this. He won't go quickly or easily.
21
@JR Dangerous thinking, and intended or not, fodder for the incumbent. You are telling voters to stay home, and you can bet Trump's legions fired by culture war concerns and a paranoid worldview ("they're taking our guns and Bibles", etc.) will turn out. So will his investor/plutocrat class supporters.
Democrats are not looking to be monarchs,and your false equivalence makes me suspect you might be a GOP sock puppet. So instead,turn out Democrats and disgusted independents. Our republic is at stake.
It's not a crisis - just the end of an illusion.
20
I laughed out loud when Justice Roberts called the senate the worlds greatest deliberative body, a title from a century ago. The senate is the place where McConnell blocks any consideration of nominees according to his sole pleasure. Americans had better wake up and see the Republicans for what they are instead of what we’d like them to be.
45
I also laughed. then I cried. hypocrisy so obvious as Roberts exhibited can do that to a person.
1
Mr. Blow is right. America, the idea, is lost. We are no longer the same country we were before November 2016.
We know two things. The impeachment case against Trump is unassailable. There is ample evidence to support his removal from office. But we also know that this Republican Senate will absolve him.
But Republican Senators' conduct in this impeachment "trial" makes perfect sense, once one understands what their motives are. And they want only this: the installation of Trump as dictator and turning this country into a "one party" nation. So of course Republicans will not challenge Trump. They want to ensure that he continues acting as a dictator. And this includes continuing criminal activity. He has torn this country apart, and they do nothing but help him consolidate his power.
Republicans will never cede leadership to the Democrats again, under any circumstances. Republican Senators will guarantee a rigged election in November. In short, they want anything that solidifies their rule and the dictatorship of Donald Trump.
Trump and the Republicans will never cede power peacefully. He will not leave peacefully if voted out this November, or in 2024. And these Republican Senators will ensure that their state elections are rigged, so that they maintain majorities, no matter what. They want Trump to be able to do anything he wants, for as long as he wants.
And for those of you who think we still have a democracy, check your rear view mirror.
38
Although I am a trial lawyer and so, in effect, trade elbows for a living, I find myself despairing often. It is not much just this president, who is a temporary though great stain on our country; it is also the many in this country who support despite all of...that, which makes me believe we inhabit or at least want different nations. I don’t know how we reconcile and even went so far today as to google how to secede from the Union, or at least the lowlifes governing it. But then I regain my senses to determine to fight for my country and try to save some of these lost souls from themselves. As a Democrat but also someone who is biracial and from a diverse California, I believe, no, I know, that we are stronger together. And then I remember that last line of the Declaration of Independence and that “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." We cannot give up on all that we have. Let’s save our Nation from itself.
25
"and plutocrats seeking to beguile those who would vote."
Only plutocrats? Every single candidate, rich, poor, white, black, brown et al. seeks to beguile voters, i.e. to charm or entice them and sometimes (only sometimes not always) in a deceptive manner. And even that deception exists on a sliding scale.
How many candidates really tell the truth? They make promises they know that they cannot keep or have no chances of implementing.
Politics never ever was or is the realm of saints.
"American, as an idea, as a representative democracy with the power ultimately vested in the people and accountable to the people, is vanishing like a vapor."
The system is a lot more resilient than you would have us believe, Mr. Blow.
4
This has always been less about Trump's behavior or his obstruction in his quest to hang onto power; this is about the integrity and rectitude of our elections - the heart of our representative democracy!! It cannot possibly be emphasized enough - Republicans (not just Donald Trump) will stop at nothing to gain and retain power! They have been working toward this moment for 40 years!!
When people lose faith in elections, then they lose faith in government. The Constitution and the rule of law will slip away. What comes next is some form of anarchy, usually followed by authoritarian rule. In the case of America, it will no doubt be a kleptocracy.
If the Republicans acquit Trump, all that Blow has stated will come true. But I will go one step further and suggest that it will further embolden Trump and the Republicans.
Our elections will no longer be secure! We have to also consider that there's a chance the election result will not be accepted or validated. Republicans will as they have before disdain all precedent and invalidate the election. They will retain their seats in the Senate and install Trump in perpetuity with some extraordinary law passed with a simple majority. We also know Barr will do nothing to prevent it.
So I ask again, where is the sense of urgency to protect what we all hold dear - America?? I just don't see it, hear it or read about it. I'm dumbfounded.
20
It is not too late, but it is up to us. Start by going to your representatives' websites. Do they explain how they will make it easier for citizens to vote? How they will stop gerrymandering? How they support publicly funded elections to end dependency on the anti-democratic, super-wealthy? If they are not even talking about fixing this, they are useless to us. Find somebody else to work and vote for.
12
The president should be removed. The high possibilty that someone who commits an offense against person, property or society would do so in the future is the reason we incarcerate those offenders. The president has exhibited a pattern of behavior that shows he cannot be trusted with public office.
16
With apologies to Abraham Lincoln. If we are not careful, government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" will indeed "perish from the earth."
10
Has madness swept over the opinion columnists of the Times? Our system of government lies in ruins?
First of all, what is your opinion of the acquittal of President Clinton? The man was guilty of lying to a federal grand jury, a federal felony which usually carries prison time. If you think that the Senate was correct in finding that this crime was not an impeachable offense, fine. But why should you expect this Senate to do otherwise when not one House member of the President's party voted for the Articles of Impeachment.
That is the problem with the impeachment clause. It is 31 words tacked on to the end of Article II that provides no guidance as to procedure and proof. It provides Congress with enormous power to play prosecutor, judge and jury with no checks on it. Whatever both Houses decide is an impeachable offense is not reviewable by court.
Your review of how we ended up with one person one vote goes right to the heart of this. The vote of an illiterate carries the same weight as that of a Nobel laureate. The votes of the undereducated swept Trump to victory. The solution to the problem is not to remove from office the man they supported, but to see that they are better educated.
Despite many conflicts, the politicians before 1974 wisely stayed away from impeachment except for once during the turmoil of the end of the Civil War and the assassination of Lincoln. This weapon should be put back in its sheath until a real emergency makes it necessary to use.
4
It may be a pipe dream, but I am an advocate of mandatory voting and rank-choice voting
15
"Then, Trump did everything within his power to conceal what he had done when the House of Representatives launched its impeachment investigation."
We need more videos that expose Trump for who he really is.
Like the one recently released of Trump calling for the Ukrainian ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch, to be fired. Or the one of Romney making his “47 percent” comment.
We need brave souls to rise to the occasion during this dark time in our nation’s history.
Trump will then be tried and convicted in the court of public opinion.
And he will go on to lose in November.
13
Charles,
Great essay but this paragraph doesn’t quite work:
“An acquittal will say to the world, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the checks and balances built into the Constitution are fatally flawed and unworkable, that they are compromised to the partisanship and therefore unworkable and worthless.”
Suggested edit
An acquittal will say to the world, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the checks and balances built into the Constitution are fatally flawed and unworkable, that they are compromised partisanship and therefore unworkable and worthless.
The next blow will be to idealistic Millennials when they vote for Sanders in their first election in 2020, and Trump still wins a second-term.
10
Wonderful opinion column, every word is true. Thanks.
6
I am utterly revolted by the opening invocations of this impeachment trial that profess that the outcome, whatever it is, will be God's will. These alone are a profound insult to democratic secular government.
26
"Everything from who can vote, how they vote, who influences that vote, who is elected by that vote and who is accountable having been voted in, is broken."
Charles Blow has the courage to admit what's happening right under our noses. We are no longer a democracy, and we no longer operate under the rule of law.
Before this imeachment, how often did pundits cry, "nobody is above the law"? How can they still say that how, when it's beyond predicted that a swift exoneration of Donald Trump is in sight?
They can't. The Republican Party's lust for power, along with a highly corrupt president, have joined hands to turn this nation inside out, rip the heart out of the constitution, begging the question, what falls next?
Freedom of the press? The fourteenth amendment? Due process?
Once law has no meaning, why have courts? If Republicans can cheat with impunity, they will keep power forever, and we'll become just like every other autocracy.
18
The longer I live and the more I read the more I understand how flawed our democracy has been. But I also believe we have always walked toward a “more perfect Union”, often too slowly.
But trump wants to remove all the gains of the past and return us to a monarchy. If republicans in The Senate have any belief in the ideals of this nation they must convict trump. If they do not then we, The People must honor the ideal of our country and vote everyone of them out of office. We cannot allow this awful, misguided administration to stop our journey to the fulfillment of the dream of our “perfect union”
6
I never thought the President would be removed by the Senate. Arguably, his fate should be decided in November.
However, after watching the Democrats presentation, the case for conviction is extremely strong on both counts.
The senators might try and tell themselves that the strong-arming of Ukraine is not a sufficiently “high crime” but they can not honestly say they the obstruction of Congress passes the Constitutionality smell test.
Possible compromise:
A. Clear him on count 1,
B. Convict him on count 2.
C. Approve censure over removal but pass an immediate law against stonewalling a duly authorized impeachment investigation. A veto proof law.
D. Remove the right of Presidential pardon for any election interference or campaign finance violations, or criminal stonewalling (ie violations which directly benefit the President).
The Cippilone letter should not become a viable path. The president has directed and approved unconstitutional behavior. That is dangerous for America and Americans. People fight and die for this great country, the petulant Senators are being disrespectful and behaving disgracefully.
7
This is wild overstatement. There is way more going on in this country than Don Trump. There is an election coming up. The Democrats have a lot of good candidates. The Democrats did very well in Congressional races in 2016. It should not be hard to make Don Trump a one term President in 2020. I would, however, advise that Bernie Sanders not be the nominee. Anyone else will defeat Don Trump. Not by a lot, but by enough. Maybe the Democrats will even win a majority in the Senate if enough people are put off by the Republicans approach to the impeachment trial.
78
@Gordon Wiggerhaus
One would hope not, but there is a long time between now and November.
If or when Trump does get acquitted, he will be even more unstoppable, he and his cronies will feel vindicated and empowered to be more blatant in their attempts to pervert the law - they won't even pretend to hide it any more.
If you thought Trump crowed after the Mueller report about no collusion, vindication etc how much more so will he do so now? He will elevate the abuse and mocking of others to a whole new level.
His followers and base will feel empowered as well, they will see him as a hero who rose above all adversity and triumphed.
The danger is, that between now and November fatigue might start to appear - fatigue of everything Trump, voters will have had enough of everything, they will feel that he is unstoppable so why even try, no matter what they do will make no difference.
It should be easy to make Trump a one term POTUS, but it might not be that easy.
And even if he did get voted out, what scorched earth vendetta will he and his thugs carry out between the election and inauguration.
Nearly 3 months is a long time to do some real damage.
32
@Shane Lynch
You are right: Even if Trump loses the popular vote, and by a landslide, this November, it is quite possible that he'll eke out victories in enough states to win (again) in the Electoral College. If that does happen, some of those key "victories" will be in states in which Republican politicians have been hard at work restricting voting rights--Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida among them. Once again, and with even more catastrophic consequences, the Electoral College and state-level control of voting rights will be the cause.
The enduring vision that has been "America" may indeed by slipping away, forever.
22
@Gordon Wiggerhaus: I really like your attitude. I’ve been down so long, it all looks like a struggle to me.
We’ve got to get this done! Trump must go—whatever it takes. Paraphrasing his own words, trump “hasn’t yet paid the price” for his reckless lies and evil ways. He must go! Better yet, he must be punished. And then he must be gone!
7
Just as the validity of law-enforcement agencies is, to some degree, dependent on equitable protection and prosecution, so does the validity of other agencies of the government.
For the federal legislators of one party to judge the president’s performance by one standard when he is a member of their party and by a grossly different standard if he a member is of the opposing party. The rule of law demands Equal Justice Under The Law.
For the three years congressional and senatorial Republicans have failed to confront the president when he oversteps his constitutional authority or violates the law. Congressional powers granted by the constitution are not optional. They are not to be enforced or ignored along partisan lines.
To do so is similar to vigorously prosecuting those criminals who have victimized white people while ignoring crimes against persons of color. This is unjust, unacceptable and unAmerican.
Too often over the past three years, Republican leaders have allowed the president to conduct himself as an “executive order” dictator. President Trump appears to believe, “I can do anything the Democrats can’t stop me from doing, and that’s just about eveything.”
This must stop. Partisan affiliation should never overcome the rule of law.
85
The "Idea" was lost when the Supreme Court ruled on Citizens United. It handed US "democracy" to the wealthy elite.
21
This is a very accurate assessment and cogently lays out some rather dire facts that we Americans must come to grips with. Having said that, there is one aspect I'd like to point out that wasn't mentioned: when the Senate makes its very clear statement that the president is above the law and that our constitution is meaningless, that will still only be true for Republican presidents. Democrats, as the only party that now believes in justice and that right means something, will continue to obey rules and try to keep a semblance of our democracy in tact. But in the end, doing what's right will just be for suckers and Democrats. If we lived in a democracy, I would implore all to vote. These elections are not between Republicans and Democrats, they are between Republicans and democracy.
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@Paul R S
This impeachment and trial circus is the danger to democracy, not Trump.
Immediately after Trump took the oath of office, the Washington Post published a story headlined, “The Campaign to Impeach President Trump Has Begun.”
This impeachment and trial is an attempted coup, and a circus as sleazy as Trump.
The nauseatingly sanctimonious Schiff piously proclaimed that "right matters", referring, of course, to Trump's offenses, which are likely typical in the transactional, grossly corrupt culture of Washington.
If "right" matters...
What about the "rightness" of GWBush's unprovoked war on Iraq based on CIA lies, responsible for more than a million deaths of men, women and children, and wrecking Iraq, turning the Cradle of Civilization into rubble???
What about the" rightness" of GWBush's approval of torture???
What about the "rightness" of Obama assassinating American citizens???
What about Reagan selling arms to Iran to fund an illegal war???
Those were serious offenses that have rotted our government and America's soul.
Schiff's pious pronouncement that "right matters" relative to Trump and his "offenses" made me cringe, and made me embarrassed to be a Democrat.
When the usually sane Senator Markey of Massachusetts, likened Schiff to Atticus Finch, of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, I wanted to puke.
1
@Lucy Cooke - I couldn't agree more on your war notes. In my opinion, anyone associated with those war activities, in any way, should never be given any authority again. Trump has done nothing in comparison to those offences, where real people, including children, died in their own country. How is it so widely acknowledged today that those were mistakes, when people were so sure that they were right back then (and opposition was labelled unpatriotic)?
That said, even though those crimes were insanely larger, I don't think we should have this president represent us, and, if he made a real mistake, then the opportunity should be taken to change our situation. I think it will be bad either way, but a message needs to be sent.
That also said, I do very much agree that those wars were just so terrible and indeed the rot is there because it is not being discussed and amended. We need to acknowledge this officially and change our whole message to the world to become what we used to be known for and not this.
2
@Paul R S
Small correction: These elections are not between Republicans and Democrats, they are between kleptocracy and democracy.
5
George Washington warned us about allegiance to party over country in his farewell address. It would appear Republicans—the party that most often invokes the founders and framers of the Constitution—missed that memo, and have thoroughly lost the plot of the United States of America...
But what I really can’t reconcile is how Sen. McConnell fails to pay even poor lip service to his Constitutional duties of impartiality, and yet he is allowed to participate in the proceedings... How is this possible?
McConnell’s comments and behavior leading up to and during the impeachment trial aren’t even the sort of insidious, dastardly acts such as the abrogation of voting rights that Mr. Blow details. Rather, McConnell is openly—even triumphantly!—contemptuous of his obligation to be an impartial juror, and to conduct a fair hearing. How doesn’t this disqualify him from participating?
Faith in the rule of law is the bedrock of a civil society. And our lawmakers, themselves, are flouting that faith.
Mr. Blow’s despair is sadly all too apt...
228
@Daphne, it is time to impeach McConnell next for crimes against the constitution and his failure to follow the oath he took to support it.
12
@Daphne The American dream is just that, a dream and it only included some Americans. Who knows if it can be saved for anyone at this point.
3
@Daphne
Why stop at McConnell? It is the entire Republican establishment and virtually every elected and appointed Republican official in government!!
13
"[The checks and balances] are fatally flawed and unworkable, that they are compromised to the partisanship and therefore unworkable and worthless."
There is probably more truth to this statement than you think. You'll notice our governance has never been exported anywhere in the world. This is true even in nations where we do the nation building. You won't find the US political and legal system in Iraq for instance. We helped them build a parliamentary democracy. Not a republic.
A key plank in Trump's impeachment defense is partisans attempting to overturn election outcomes. This practice is not only legal in parliamentary democracies but expected. When direct democracy fails to provide a governing coalition, you hold another election. Irony of Ironies, we are the only "free" nation where overturning election results is unusual. Unless you're Florida.
5
If, despite the best efforts of the Republican party (aided by the Russians and who know who else the GOP accepts help from) to block voting and undermine what's left of whatever democracy we had , the Democrats are able to control Congress, one of the first things they must do is reinstate some form of the fairness doctrine. At the same time, they must overturn Citizens United.
3
"Plus ça change,..."
Howard Zinn told us that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. Such perspective is evidenced by those famous Constitutional amendments here mentioned. There were plenty who opposed them long before they made their debut and many who opposed them long after they became taken for granted--a habit of the People all too common these days.
Nonetheless, there they are. Those legislative victories for the marginalized and unseen masses stand firm and the process of their design remains vigilant and full of potential.
You are right to worry. Your fears are justified. Let's not dispense with hope that the active and tenacious individuals hard at work this very moment to safeguard liberty and justice for all will achieve that and more for our future generations. We must raise the awareness needed to empower those who would take the proper stand, at the proper moment, and with dignity, such as those famous signatories once did.
Rest assured good sir, that America, the idea as you say, cannot die. She may grow stagnant and weary from partisan disputes and perversions of justice as you've pointed out. So do all of those who toil to keep the flame of Liberty aloft. No sir, she cannot die because you see, her legacy lives on in you, and it lives on in me. Will you continue to hold that flame aloft? Will I? Will we?
9
Remember when the U.S. was always considered one of the preeminent countries on Earth? I challenge anyone to find well-constructed research showing us anywhere in the top 20 in education, healthcare, climate concern, democracy, or general happiness.
23
You are right Mr. Blow, still I contend giving in to despair is declaring defeat, and some of us are not ready to give up.
There is a strong push to get out the people to vote. Voting is still important for state governments as well as county and city officials.
Case in point, Kansans elected a woman Democrat that finally succeed into expanding Medicaid with the help of a predominantly Republican legislative body.
In the end choosing fne right representation for the House and Senate does matter, along with term limits.
11
@Jay Tan thanks for the encouragement. I think CB is trying to rally the troops, pretending that gloom is surfacing and if that we like the status quo then were destined for a permanent demise. He only provided me with continued invigoration.
"Of all the pitfalls in our paths and the tremendous delays and wanderings off the track, I want to say that they are not what they seem to be. I want to say that all that seems like fantastic mistakes are not mistakes, all that seems like error
is not error; and it all has to be done. That which seems like a false step is the next step."
Agnes Martin
2
@DHR
You can want to say whatever you want, but facts are facts and we are off track.
I read the headline and then proceeded to read the column with the idea that the Senate wasn't about to disappoint America, it was instead going to make the Republican portion very happy. But the column was more subtle than anticipated and eminently true.
1
I see a fundamental contradiction in Mr. Blow's thesis. First he claims that we will fail unless we achieve 100% democratic participation, and every citizen has the same access to the ballot. Assuring this universal democratic voice will fulfill his ideal America.
But then he bemoans the susceptibility of most voters to "bad" information that distorts voting choices, at least compared to what we might expect if all voters were rational and used only objective knowledge. He implies that to achieve the American ideal, we must shelter voters and curate their information.
Exactly how democratic can we be if, in the name of democracy, we impose official censorship? How would we judge, let alone restrict, "allowable" information?
3
We can thank Mitch McConnell for proving that the republican party cares nothing about the country, only about power. But he also knows that when he's no longer the majority leader, his party will still control the country. Why? Because he's proven that democrats will never behave as heinously as republicans when they are in power. They will stay within the confines of the law, ethics, and norms. Meanwhile even in the minority, Mitch will lead his party to obstruct, obfuscate, and deceive to ensure no progress can be made toward a more perfect union.
11
@snarkqueen: The US judiciary has been infused with jurists biased against separation of church and state. These people will not rule faith-based legislation unconstitutional.
1
It comes down to the Senate and the electoral college, which both defy the spirit of one person, one vote by supporting a system where the minority of the population has oversized power of the system. Not to mention taxation without representation, considering how much our more populous states contribute to the federal coffers.
10
Are you purposing that we just tear up the founding documents and start again. Maybe this agreement first made should just be broken. Did we try that once?
What you say Mr. Blow is exactly right. I hope you and more people keep on saying it. The system cannot and will not be changed until the swamp is drained of big money and corruption. Public service should not be a means to power and wealth but unfortunately it is. Wealth and political corruption destroyed the Roman republic, and now it is destroying our republic before our eyes.
21
Thank you Mr Blow for your challenging words. Ultimately the responsibility is with us, the voters. Republican voters will have a chance in November to choose between right-wing politics and Constitutional government.
46
@Steve Do you think so? I'm confident the majority of Republican voters do not share the same reality as the rest of us. Brainwashed by evangelical preachers and Fox News, they live in a country on the brink of dystopia unless all people of color are vanquished, women returned to second class citizen status, and liberals are criminalized.
@Steve
Don't hold your breath hoping for republican voters to choose honor over greed and capability over dementia. It has never happened before and won't happen this year.
Count me among the many Americans who don't think there is anything wrong with requiring voters to present some form of valid ID when they enter a polling station. I've often asked myself what recourse I would have if someone who knew my name and address simply walked up to my local polling station and gave my name to the nice old folks who dutifully put a pencil line through each voter as they pass. The answer of course is that I would have no immediate remedy.
Certainly such occurrences are rare, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good practice to ask would be voters to present some form of ID. A valid drivers license or passport should suffice, and those who want to vote who have neither should be warned well in advance that they are required. To me, that feels fair and reasonable.
7
@John: Federal elections cover only three offices, House, Senate, and President. This ballot should look the same for everyone, and everyone should be able to cast it once somewhere.
6
@John
I agreed until I struggled to renew my own license. I could prove who I was but it was virtually impossible to prove where I lived. At the time I was renting space with family so I don't have a real lease or mortgage. To complicate matters further, my mail went to a PO Box, so I had no mail to corroborate my physical address. I had the time and resources to work with the DMV to figure out a solution, but it really opened my eyes to how difficult it can be. For those in counties, particularly in the south, where records keeping can be truly abysmal (Particularly in the past and particularly for older people of color) this can prove a maze where there is no way out. That is a real injustice.
17
@John if they're rare, why would we devote resources to resolving the problem? indeed, research shows that voter fraud of this type is exceedingly rare. and certainly probably never has altered the outcome of an election. people rarely run red lights - should we install strobe lights to enhance their awareness that the light is turning red? it would probably save a few lives. of course we won't. that's absurd. it's a waste of money and time. let's think critically about the issue - not every probably needs a solution if it really does not cause much damage.
3
Charles M. Blow is nostalgic for a rose-colored glasses view of democracy that never was, and never will. How can an average person, let alone someone with lower socio-economic status have an effective control over a government with one billion dollar campaigns? If you live outside battleground states, your one vote doesn't do anything except waste your time.
Yet the government has far reaching effects on you and your family, whether through its legal system that puts innocents in jail or prison, often less educated people with lower socio-economic status, while those who perpetrated the Iraq war did not receive their just desserts, nor those who caused the financial crisis. When General Motors hid defects, killing many people, none of its stock-holders were imprisoned or killed. All this and more while refusing to make full restitution for slavery and Jim Crow.
Thus we experience alienation -- government, which is increasingly intrusive and skewed toward the rich and powerful, with politicians from the top half of the income and wealth class lording over the powerless average person. Remarkably, despite his powerful editorial, Blow stops short of calling the government illegitimate. Why not state the obvious?
8
@Ed Jackson There are as many billionaires on the left as the right, so once again the brilliance of our founding fathers has continued the balance of power. The poor may have little direct influence, but they do have Sanders and Steyer fighting for them.
2
The United States is not a true democracy and never was. The fact that we are somehow allowed to vote does not convert it into one. No individual right to vote is contained in the Constitution. Stalin said that the people who counted the votes were far more important than the ones who cast the votes. The framers gave the small states equal voting power with that of the large states. They probably did that to entice the small states to join the union. The undemocratic tenor of our government has always been there and is only growing worse as the weight of individual votes is diminished.
10
@Clark Landrum ….No... the large number of ill informed American Voters are the problem..not our Democratic system. Those Voters who have willfully chosen to become citizens of the Fox's Nation of Believers and Promoters of Alternative Facts is the issue. America like any other country in the world is not perfect. The Democratic principal is a good one ...unless the Voters believe Deception and Locker Room talk and willingly choose to Vote for a candidate aided and endorsed by Russia. Then we have problems....esp when the GOP sides with the Alternative Fact Universe and enables the Worst President in American History with the most chaotic and dysfunctional Administration in our History...with an over 80% turnover rate. The framers of our Constitution could not have anticipated this testing of their idea of Democracy by so many foolish American Voters who don't appreciate their freedoms ! Voters who don't have an understanding of how hard fought our Democracy's creation has been...and how easily it can be lost. As they used to say ...America...Love it...or Leave it...I might add...America Love it or Leave it...But Don't Destroy it !!
The founders of this country stated that "all men are created equal." The history of this country since its inception has been a struggle against an entrenched wealthy class for inclusion and to make that original declaration a reality. That struggle continues.
8
@Al M, That was in regard to rights. That all men are equal was, and is, never true.
2
From our first grade school class in Civics, we learned that there were three co-equal branches of government, and were taught about the concept of checks and balances. Ancient history now: put aside the Ukraine impeachment; the obstruction of the Mueller investigation would have been enough, in a properly finctioning system, to have mattered. As would Trump's election law payoff violations. This toothpaste is out of the tube, precedent has been set, and now the only thing that will revive this country is a future president and Congress that believes in right versus wrong, country over party, and following the law. I don't envision that happening any time soon.
26
Strong article from Mr. Blow. I tend to agree. The first order of business, if we want to fix this nation, is a dramatic overhaul of our voting system. I’m talking about stringent campaign finance restrictions, automatic registration, online voting, Election Day as a national holiday, end to race based, party based gerrymandering, redoing representation so that all people are equally represented in the federal government. It seems, unfortunately, everything is moving in the opposite direction.
28
@Julia I agree with most of what you are saying. I don't think online voting is a good idea. Election software is too easy to hack. Universal mail in voting of paper ballots as implemented in Oregon, and now in Michigan, is a much better idea, at least until truly secure on line systems become available.
6
@Julia Oh, so voting is the problem when you don't get your way? To me it's the solution.
You left out the most basic of lacking which has lead or at least supported all the the democracy damaging you’ve noted. We simply fail to support an adequate understanding and promotion of democracy in our educational system. The research shows most people don’t understand democracy beyond voting and that those under 40 think autocracy would be a better system of government.
16
@Judith MacLaury, That we live in a Republic, not a democracy, seems to have escaped your notice.
Come on Charles, nothings changed but the bigger dollars involved and better social media. The system has ALWAYS been slighted toward those who could afford the process and willing to finance legislation to fit their business model. The ideal of America is the schoolchild's indoctrination that embellishes patriotism rugged nationalism and American ingenuity- whatever that all means. We are who we were- just more so.
2
@Victor Lacca: The US is a fractal mosaic of corporations. Corporations transcend the lives and participation of individuals.
3
@Victor Lacca
Arguing that it has always been broken is hardly reassuring.
@Steve Bolger
Unions have spent and continue to spend/contribute multiples of what corporations spend in elections. It buys influence and money from the public. Since my tax dollars support the election buying of the unions, I'd say the unions transcend individual's lives.
Most striking in Mr. Blow's spot-on analysis of our "democracy" is this point: In acquitting an obviously corrupt president the "Senate will be saying to America that corruption is an acceptable feature of the executive branch." Think about that for a moment.
The only point I would make about the outcome of the Republicans' trashing of our Constitution, democracy and rule of law is that it is only one sided. By that I mean, yes the Republican senators (and their House counterparts) are making corruption an executive power and placing the president above the law, but it will only be a power granted to a Republican president. For two reasons:
1) If any Democratic president ever did anything remotely similar to Trump (for example, use the presidency for personal profit by forcing government officials to be customers of his businesses; failed to divest investments which she might direct official US policy to influence; used congressional appropriations to bribe a foreign leader to smear his political opponent) then Republicans would persecute the president in their Benghazi-style hearings and pull their hair out screaming "Lock her up!"
2) No Democrat would ever stoop to do anything remotely similar to the indecency and corruption of Impeached Donald J. Trump. Democrats would endeavor to restore decency, integrity, honor to the presidency, not use the Republican view that a president is above the law.
44
Voters can do something about it: simply boycott all the stations that publish political ads; rely on what the candidates themselves are saying to the press; ask direct questions to their campaigns if you want or need more details, but ignore all the paid ads; if "polled" by phone or otherwise, refuse to answer.
When it becomes obvious that it does not pay to advertise, paid political add will stop.
7
@Fran
Media stations by law are required to run political ads. They cannot say no. So you'd be punishing entities that have no power to change their behavior. (And you really don't want media choosing what political ads to run as that would further strengthen the powerful).
2
@Z
It is not about punishing media station, just making it clear to candidates that they are wasting their (i.e. their donors' money). Once candidates understand that all that publicity is useless, they will stop.
Media stations, as you point out, "cannot say no", but candidates and their campaign managers can change their behavior.
1
If the powers that be (elected officials and their wealthy sponsors) had any wish, much less the intention, to have a healthy democracy with fair elections, they could have it. What's more, they wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel, as there are existing blueprints for healthy functioning democracies in use in other countries.
All that's really needed:
1. Restrict the length of campaigns to something sensible, like other vibrant democracies.
2. Limit the amount of maximum donations to $100, no exceptions. Shorter campaigns won't require huge war chests.
3. As an alternative to step #2, publicly fund campaigns.
4. Eliminate electronic voting machines and return to hand-counted paper ballots.
Those few changes would drastically alter the situation in favor of a legit democracy. An additional one would be to establish a non-partisan fact-checking authority to vet all TV, internet and radio ads for accuracy. Ads failing the standards would be disallowed. That'd put a big dent in the professional lying that characterizes campaigning today.
Lastly, that holdover from slave-state politics, the Electoral College, needs to be scrapped so presidential elections are run like all other elections, with all votes being equal.
But campaigns are a revenue-generator for so many players (media networks, ad agencies, researchers, analysts, pollsters, transportation and hospitality industries, etc.), so these changes won't happen. Well continue to have the best government money can buy.
34
@GFE
There is no reason to return to hand counted ballots. Requiring a paper trail (receipt or paper ballot that is scanned) is a good safety measure, but electronic counting is useful.
3
@GFE I agree with Z. Michigan has had machine counting of paper ballots for decades. To vote for a candidate,a voter simply fills a box next to the candidate's name. There is a paper trail and recounts are possible if needed. The votes are tallied as they are cast, but the results are not visible until after the polls close and the election officials print out the tally.
1
@Z
Actually, there's a very good reason to hand count ballots:
"In U.S. elections, there are three main areas of digital vulnerability: the voter registration database (who can vote); the voting machines themselves (who people vote for); and the tabulation (the government’s count). Malicious hackers or agents could delete groups of voters from registration databases. They could program DRE machines to switch votes. It is even possible to tamper with optical scan machines, which scan paper ballots and record tallies, so they miscount." - Brian Klaas, The Washington Post, 2/09/2018
Note particularly the last sentence.
Charles, thank you. Your insights aren't unique. You have this forum from which the clarion cry can be heard. Keep up the good work. The potential demise of the American idea was first called out by Eisenhower; the downward spiral has accelerated for two generations since. Influence no longer resides with the population; it resides with powerful corporations, mega-wealthy individuals, and now, even foreign countries. Too many politicians have replaced the interests of their constituents with party and bag carrying lobbyists.
19
As always Charles, you have expressed what many of us fear. But there is one group you failed to mention in this end-of-democracy scenario: the people. Americans have abdicated their responsibility to keep our democracy functioning. A healthy democracy requires an informed electorate; it also requires political engagement more often than once every four years. Perhaps we/they were lulled into complacency by decades of relative calm and so during that period we turned our attention primarily inward, toward self and family, and when we do engage outward it is increasingly toward the most base pop culture. Hence, the reality-TV president. It is terrifying to realize that a government really does reflect its citizenry. Maybe in pointing fingers of blame, we should take a moment to look in the mirror.
35
Time to get rid of the electoral college
Trump's main defense in this impeachment trial seems to be that removing him from office would "subvert the will of the majority of Americans who elected him. " But he was NOT voted by a majority.
Truth matters.
55
I concur that we are teetering perilously close to the falling off the cliff into a totalitarian or despot oblivion.
However ... there are plenty of signs on the wall that Democracy, freedom and equality are going to prevail.
No matter how many barriers to voting that are erected, there are always the possibility to overcome them, and then with a majority to deconstruct them. Also, with a super majority there can be laws introduced to make it EASIER to vote.
Even with the radical right seemingly garnering more power (especially in the Senate), they are a sliver of a sliver of a minority of the electorate that can be overcome. We shall see how much power they wield after November. (considering there were historic gains in the House for the midterms)
Look around and the electorate is more diverse as well as the representatives in government. People of all color, as well as women and others are represented in government and wielding some power. That power WILL grow.
The last three years have been almost unbearable and the last year to go may have even more pain. We need to look at what we can do to heal that pain and make sure that pain does not manifest ever again.
It is up to us. We can do it. Vote.
36
Your central point is correct. Our "republic" was never designed to be a democracy, ruled by all the people.
Our founding fathers provided a structure which codified non personhood for those who would count as only 3/5 of a person, denied the vote to women and freed Black males. It took Constitutional amendments, years of struggle to rectify all that.
The founding fathers said we could change the carriage, but it must require a bridle and never a motorized engine.
In 2040 70% of all Americans will live in 15 states represented by 30 US Senators. The other 30% will have 70 Senators to guard their interests.
And the Senate, as things are structured, still controls the Supreme Court, especially when the President is of the same party.
We are trying to carry a 21st century nation in a vehicle fraught with and formed by 18th century ideas, prejudices and fears.
39
Thank you for the long list of what's going wrong. Any positive ideas on how to change course?
3
@paplo Change the government. If you believe that the government is against you, fight.
1
@paplo
Mr. Blow only does outrage. Forward looking comments would require journalistic integrity and effort.
@paplo alas, Charles cannot print any positive ideas on how to change course. Otherwise he would be arrested for inciting to riot.
There were some exceptions to the white male only rule. In New Jersey women could vote as long as they owned real estate and were not married. In North Carolina African-American males could vote, if they were free and owned real estate.
Ohio was the first state to offer the right to vote to all White men, regardless of their real estate status. This law was also a precursor of later laws passed in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa that made it illegal for free blacks to immigrate from another state (the Whites Only Movement). These laws came about in the 1850s, when the Dred Scot Decision implied that a slave owner could take his slaves anywhere he wanted. This decision, mostly made by slave owners, did not play well in the North, where most Whites wanted to keep slavery contained in the South.
In North Carolina, free African-Americans could actually vote all the way up until the 1830s, when the turn out of Blacks in Craven County, North Carolina (where there were a lot of free African-American property owners at the time) determined the outcome of one election. That was all it took. Following that incident, a petition was circulated throughout the state and a new NC Constitution was drawn up that took away the right of those African-Americans, who up until this time had been overlooked.
The first state in which women got the right to vote was Wyoming. This was because there was a shortage of women.
9
America is a plutocracy with government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. Americans have the best politicians that money can buy.
23
I find it frustrating that everyone has just accepted the idea that the Senate will vote to acquit. When you *expect* an outcome, most of the time you will get it. You have essentially given them a pass to do the wrong thing. WHY are we not as a citizenry DEMANDING more of our federal government? When everyone knows that corruption exists and collectively says, "Oh, well, yes we know it is happening, but we can't do anything about it" is when that corruption becomes entrenched. So, America, is that who we are now??
16
America had the obligation to elect a knowledgeable, competent leader.
We dropped the ball on that one, didn't we?
Time to lay in the bed we made.
Americans have proven to be too immature and irresponsible to hold on to a democracy.
Casting pearls before swine.
I’m a dual-citizen, born and raised in Florida and Georgia, who has been living abroad for about 10 years. I’ve always taken the right to vote as a privilege that we must cherish and have since turning 18 voted in every general and primary election and taken my time to learn about the candidates and ballot measures.
If Trump is acquited, without witnesses even being called, in the impeachment trial AND does not win the popular vote but does wins the election I don’t plan on voting anymore in America. I just don’t see the point of it anymore. And I’m a white person from a middle class family. I can’t imagine how someone less fortunate would think it was worth it to vote in what seems to be such a rigged system.
14
@Kelly Smith: Many have reached the conclusion that voting only ratifies a system that ignores them.
2
@Steve Bolger
If you pay taxes and aren't in armed revolt, you endorse the system. Not voting just means you choose not to say what you want in the system you are already endorsing.
@Kelly Smith
Your decision not to vote is exactly what Trump and the Republicans count on; apathy and disillusionment.
Please vote.
2
While I certainly have my dreary days, I am slightly less pessimistic that Mr. Blow's account here.
I expect the Senate to acquit Trump, likely later this week or next. It will be fully party line, with even the "moderates" supporting him. And I expect him to win in November, because he will take from this that there is literally nothing he could do that would cause the GOP to hold him to account. Rampant suppression and vote manipulation will likely lead to a second term for him.
And that's the source of my slight optimism, ironically. A second term, in which he feels completely unbound, in which he ages into his middle- and late-70s, in which he will find it impossible to employ anyone of decent reputation or competence, in which ambitious Republicans make plans for 2024 -- all of this makes me feel that his second term would be such a colossal failure, such an implosion of incompetence and corruption and vulgarity, that it could well be the death knell for the party overall. His base will age into irrelevance, and younger Americans who don't vote often will grow into regular voters who are repulsed by Trump and all his supporters. It will be a perfect storm, hopefully strong enough to rid this nation of the GOP, deservedly, once and for all.
17
@Steven if Trump is elected in 2020, we’ll see him going for a third in 2024
@Steven When you are abused, do you always feel that "it's OK, they'll look bad later".
Or is that something you reserve for abuse from government?
@Steven
And why hasn't all that happened already? What is there left to learn about incompetence and corruption and vulgarity?
True. Also true: we did this. Eyes and ears open, if with congealed, cynical hearts and breezy, brazen minds. Starting October 2016, despite a lot of whimpering and crying, we have not coalesced, united, fallen in line, or reversed the great fraud on the republic. What is the point of whimpering if we cannot act? I have to wonder whether center left, particularly liberals, secretly want a Trump in charge. Because regardless of what they (we) espouse, we are merely pointing to the sinking republic instead of getting off our duffs, jumping in, and saving anything.
9
@Kalidan For your immediate awareness: no liberals, center-left or otherwise that I know, want tRump in charge of anything. Let alone the frightening fact that tRump is the most powerful and perhaps most ignorant and uninformed president in the history of our great country.
I understand your point. Drip. Drip. Drip. It was how the Grand Canyon was formed. But unlike the Grand Canyon we are not made of rock and stone. Like the Roman Empire which decayed from within, seems we are destined for the same fate. More obvious every day.
33
Charles, I think you are too pessimistic here in this writing. It's winter and gray and it is affecting you.
No President in history has been convicted and removed from office during the Senate trial of an impeachment process and America has not vanished previously.
When Bill Clinton was acquitted, even though there was hard evidence of both his lies under oath AND abuse of power in coercing a near teenager to do his bidding in the oval office, of all places, the world did not come to an end.
Bill Clinton was exonerated (largely by Democrats) and did anyone really think the world was coming to an end? Not really.
So, perhaps it just feels like it's all over to you, and, just today?
Tomorrow? I say it will be brighter, and, also, its OK that we are going through tough times in this Democracy.
We SHOULD have impeached Bill Clinton for signing the repeal of the Glass Steagal Act into law thereby ushering in the dawn of the financial collapse of 2008.
So, relax. We have had horrible Presidents before who have grossly abused their power. We will have more of them too.
10
@Michael I understand what you are saying. But just remember that all good things must end at some point. No civilization lasts forever. And it's more than just about a president. It's our soul. Once that is gone, it will be hard to get back. Just something to keep in mind.
22
@Michael But Bill Clinton actually had an impeachment trial, actually turned over documents, did not keep key witnesses from appearing in the House hearings.
Bill Clinton's impeachment trial did not have Mitch McConnell doing the president's bidding.
If the Senate does not allow witnesses to be called, it will be a sham impeachment, a blow to the Constitution, and a mockery of balance of power.
20
@Spiritpaws
Of course I completely agree with all you have written. Of course, a (mostly failed) crook like Trump is not a good President.
But, Trump is just a symptom. All day, every day, I move among a vast throng of Americans who are huge Trump supporters.
In a Democracy, with the electoral college as it was designed, we get who is elected by the "people".
The "people" are just not interested in Democracy anymore, because, for many of them, it appears not to work.
Yes, most of this is a result of Republican policy since Reagan. Yes, Republicans won't help these people who love Trump, quite the opposite.
But, as long as Trump supporters vote for Trump, he will be President.
No reason to declare the end of the world because Democracy resulted in an outcome that put a crook in power.
It is not the first time. It won't be the last.
I bet Kim Kardashian is the first woman President. How will that go?
1
A sadly great column.
Growing up, I saw the rise of the Civil Rights movement and the rise of the first Mercury space capsule carrying Alan Shepard into space. And, I learned from we had pulled together to win World War II and survive the ravages of the Depression. I always thought progress would move forward. Now "progress" to too many is a retrogression to past norms. We have technical gadget "advances" but our social progress, our national can do attitude, and the glue of common values is being ripped further apart every day.
18
There are many problems with our electoral system, but the largest by far is that there is just too much money involved. Nothing about the today's government would have shocked the founders more. And the amount spent is on a completely uncontrolled exponential trajectory that is going to get worse and worse. It's time for serious election reform on many fronts, but one thing that has to happen is that election spending must become completely regulated. Traditionally, election spending has been equated with free speech, but now it just perpetuates wealthy privilege. The system will never improve until election spending is reigned in.
28
Mr Blow is correct BUT
I believe that our politics is like a pendulum swinging from left to right as the extremes fail to produce the wishful thinking policies they promote or after those policies have been tried and failed.
Optimistic belief in the self correcting nature of our Republic is the only way to counter the conclusion that we are vanishing like vapor. Nothing is permanent in politics and change is a constant in our Republic
6
@Marty f If elections are allowed to become totally dishonest - we lose the very core of what a Republic is.
And if the President can do WHATEVER HE WANTS- you have an autocracy, not a democracy. And we become subjects, not citizens.
For young people there may be hope they’ll see the corruption brought on by this administration wiped out somehow in their future.
For us, as seniors, we’re just having a very difficult time grasping the decimation that can be accomplished in three years. To us three years used to be a short time in life. But we see it’s the impact of a lifetime, ours and our country’s
44
"In the beginning, generally speaking, property-owning white men were the only people allowed to vote."
It's become clear that Republicans will not be satisfied until the right to vote is restricted to old white men who self-describe as "Christians" and have more than a million dollars in the bank.
When your overarching philosophy and policy goal is to redistribute wealth from those who work to the pockets of said old white men you stand a pretty good chance of losing at the ballot box in a democracy. Right-wing identity politics (abortion, religious "freedom," etc.), cheating (see Trump, Donald, J. and Kemp, Brian P. et al), and suppression of the people's vote become your only possible strategies.
18
@pedigrees
T
If you cannot find a way to vote in today's America it is probably your own problem as I have voted all my life in different locations without fail. Blow mentions big money in elections but with both Bloomberg, 58 billion, AND Steyer, 1.6 billion, trying to purchase the democrat nomination... I must declare the democrats as the biggest spending white group in the election today. Models of White Privilege. All trying to beat Trump, who will be your next President. You are Welcome!
1
As Senate Republicans put the pedal to the metal and blindly accelerate toward acquitting Trump, they're leaving truth, justice, and the American way in the dust. It seems likely that the illusion of democracy in America will shatter and dissipate in the aftermath of their premeditated treachery. What remains unknowable is whether people of good conscience will rise up and fight to restore what these would-be oligarchs appear ready to take from us. Or will the majority submit to the new order and, in the words of President Teddy Roosevelt, “take refuge with those cold, timid souls who know neither victory or defeat”? Barring a showing of real patriotism by Senate Republicans, it seems that soon we may all face some serious choices.
19
@Rick Johnson Fight of course. Who, in their right mind accepts abuse?
Is it that people can't accept that the government is against them?
1
The U.S. is locked in the grip of minority--and decidely anti democratic--rule through a combination of the electoral college, 2 Senators per state regardless of population and partisan gerrymandering. The structure of our system favors a geographically dispersed but a demographically and politically homogeneous minority over a geographically concentrated but diverse majority. Other than unlikely structural change, the only hope of breaking the power of the militant minority is for a disciplined movement to mobilize a majority coalition of voters around a broad based legislative program. And the coalition has to be as determined and ruthless as the Republicans have been in pursuing their minority government. Democracy doesn't just happen, it requires an active majority electorate.
41
@Greg We are the Silenced Majority. And until the silenced majority has an awareness and identity as such it will never be able to mobilize into a governing majority. It requires compromise--not with the militant right wing minority--but within the diverse majority itself. Youth, African Americans, immigrants, Latinos, women, suburbanites, trade unionists, climate activists, the working poor and high tech workers need a working compromise recognizing each others interests to build a majority legislative agenda. The militant minority is successfully dividing and blocking the majority as a result we have no action on worker rights and income equity, no action on climate change, no action on gun safety, no action on healthcare, no action on human rights...the list goes on. The silenced majority has to break the minority lock on the political system.
1
I have a degree in US culture and history, I lived in the US for ten years and I have been telling my friends in Germany for the last six years that America is a democracy in name only. Mr Blow nails it, and several of the commentators add valid points.
Yes, there are a lot of issues that are well known and could be fixed. But as soon as the USA allows and ensures real democratic voting the United States of America will cease to exist. Life in Oklahoma or North Dakota or Wyoming is just far too different from that in California or Vermont.
So in order to preserve the USA the country will be reigned by a minority government, headed by an oligarchic narcissist.
16
@Petbo Is democracy (in name only) any worse here than in Germany? Just asking.
Cultural differences across the US are wildly exaggerated.
Yes, that's what is at stake. And the Republicans don't see it. Does the Supreme Court?
8
@Gordon Alderink Does the Supreme Court? I wish my pause to laugh was not laughter of amusement but laughter of horror and disbelief. We are in dire peril and those of us who recognize it seem to be powerless to stop it.
17
@Gordon Alderink : The PEOPLE don't see it.
1
It's so cute to see Mr. Blow change the slogan "One Man, One Vote" to "one person, one vote." And it is so representative of the Left's need to erase "unpleasant" history, ala the Soviets.
If "big money" is so terrible for "progressives," how is it that Hillary lost?
If Russia's influence was so great, why is it that every reputable organization has said that Russia had no influence on the outcome of the presidential election in 2016?
And so-called "restrictions" on voting are really just restrictions on voting by people who are not entitled to vote -- a thing that concerns progressives and their attempts to replace the American electorate with a non-American electorate, but which does not concern most non-"progressive" Americans.
And just because Joe Biden is a Democrat doesn't mean he is immune from investigation of his and his relatives get-rich-quick schemes.
Lastly, it is amusing to see Mr. Blow agonizing over "democracy .. and power ultimately vested in the people" while supporting an impeachment specifically intended to thwart the votes of the people for Trump.
8
@james: There is no rational basis for the weight of anyone's vote in a federal election to depend on where the vote is cast. This is one nation under the stars.
15
@James, So this puts you solidly in the category of supporter of foreign interference / influence /aid to candidates for the US presidency. Noted!
@james Wow! It is startling to hear a voice from the alternate universe of Trump. "Every reputable organization has said Russia had no influence?" I guess that is true if you discount every U.S. intelligence agency and the Mueller report. https://www.wsj.com/articles/putin-has-won-mueller-report-details-the-ways-russia-interfered-in-the-2016-election-11555666201
If the Bidens needed investigation so badly why did Trump not request the FBI and Justice Department investigate? Why was it that he needed the announcement of an investigation by Ukraine?
And now the firsthand account of John Bolton puts another nail in Trump's coffin by confirming the quid pro quo. SAD!
The next election is going to tell all of us a lot about the real health of American democracy, starting with voter turnout.
The first requirement for a functioning democracy is citizens have to care. The second is they have to pay attention.
I've read rumblings from some Democrats, on these pages as well as others, that they might sit out the election if their candidate isn't on the ballot.
Democracy can die from arrogance as much as from apathy.
Nobody stays home next November!
56
@ralph Averill: I read the same sad report. I can't believe how cavalier certain Democratic voters are about having their own way, or else. it's inconceivable to me how anyone would stay home in November. Inconceivable that they would throw away their vote at a time like this. Don't they understand what's at stake? Don't they see this could even be our last election? Trump has so corrupted democracy I can't fathom what comes next. Yet some petty voters are acting as if we were back in the 60s.
3
@Ralph Averill I am already seeing it step up on the left that if it isn't, once again, Bernie, they will sit it out because they have, well, principles. Principles? Those are not principles. Those are ignorant, selfish and idiotic surrender to the Republicans whom they say they hate. If we don't vote these people out, we're going to wind up looking like Saudi, Russia or Venezuela. Everything is now at stake and it is touch and go. There's no longer a love for and preservation of country. This is a small knot of miscreants who want to rule the world starting with the U.S. first. And that little bunch who want to sit it out are the guiltiest of all because they say they know the stakes.
2
Sometimes at graduate school maybe, a student may have some trouble expressing a vague idea; he requires a teacher to reformulate it clearly.
Sometimes I think of Trump as though he were that student. He has a vague idea he considers super and needs a lot of assistance. It bothers me trying to see, struggling to do thinking, his good.
1
@M. C. Major I mean he seems to offer us glimpses – and the view gets extended by opponents’ criticism – it seems polarized, a situation in which an opponent is said to be bad and it seems to stick. Any things getting associated with him with are by necessity really bad. America would not seem to be as really bad as he has said.
A sorry dimension to all of this—that no one seems to address—is that so many voters ARE manipulable by intensive marketing. Money works, so then MORE money works much better. High literacy and astuteness is not favored by merely voting.
America has the government it lets happen. We LET the highly monied marketing win. As much as blaming big money, we have our own thoughtlessness to face.
Take away the money, voters are still just as manipulable by whatever influences their choice; or are just as impulsive. The system doesn't require good reasons for your vote.
We know that lower education favors Repubicans. We know that Republicans don’t favor heavier funding for public education. We know that the business of business is to maximize consumerist motives, thus to turn the citizen into a mere consumer of political marketing.
We have a long way to go before our government is meaningfully democratic.
25
Lots of wealthy, well-educated people voted for Trump, just as lots of (probably the majority) of working class people voted for Clinton. Americans can't seem to face the idea that our "betters" really want to destroy us, exploit us, and bleed us dry because they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes. Many wealthy people are educated enough to know that Trump's policies give them a free ride - at our expense.
2
When the US decided it was too hard to join virtually every other nation and adopt the metric system, it showed itself to be incapable of change.
If you can't dump the hodgepodge of imperial units, how do you propose to change the cornerstone of your government?
19
I agree with a lot of what you say. But I also think there's a level of hysteria here that may be counterproductive.
When you push things so far--the Senate must convict or America is doomed--you create an implied threat. Is letting Trump off the hook tantamount to approval? As long as the economy's ok, all bets are off?
Maybe for some of our Senators. But it 's not like our politics have been a paragon of virtue till Trump showed up.
Look what young supporters of Sanders are saying about him--he's real, authentic, consistent.
What people are looking for tells you where we're going. And I think we 're far from doomed, regardless of the outcome in the Senate over Trump.
6
The Supreme Court one person one vote ruling outlawed as unconstitutional representation by area in state legislatures; it made an exception for the Senate, which is in the Constitution. California has more people than the 20 smallest states combined, yet it is outvoted by them in the Senate, 40-2. Our four biggest states have 33% of the population, but 4% of the Senate. Senate seats transform into Electoral votes: the US is the only supposedly democratic country where the person with the most votes for President can lose. Moreover, the two most undemocratic elements of our government - the President and the Senate - get to choose the Supreme Court and Federal judges, guaranteeing that the judicial branch, too, is undemocratic. Add in gerrymandered House districts and you have a supposedly "democratic" system that is a complete fraud. Our system has democratic elements, especially at the local and state level, but the Federal government is profoundly undemocratic.
42
Our founders were misguided in so many ways (2nd Amendment, tax-free churches), and their worst error was when they sold out to the rich minority of slaveholders. "States' rights" was selling out to slaveholders, too, and the Electoral College and voter suppression are the ultimate relics of "states' rights". It seems like we have never evolved from the primitive, slaveholding society that real, progressive revolutionaries like Thomas Paine begged us to abolish.
2
@J Collins
Please refer to the US Constitution; Article 2, Section 2, Paragraph 2, the first Semi-colon, and the eight words that proceed that Semi-colon.
The 'Federalists' claim the Constitution must be interpreted as described in the original Federalist Papers.
But should not the Rules for Grammar, from that same time period, then also be very important.
In fact, the Semi-colon, used as it is in the referenced section, causes those eight words, "...provided two thirds of the Senators present concur,...", to be applicable to every Statement in that Paragraph, not just to "make Treaties,..."
Elections are not suppose to effect the Judicial Branch.
Only the corruption of Moscow Mitch McConnell has led to the corruption of the Courts.
Every Justice confirmed with only a simple majority are illegitimate, including Bret Kavanaugh.
We want our Country back.
1
It all comes back to the way Gingrich exploited the already evident faultlines. Much of this mess can be laid at his feet. It’s by no means clear today that America is a functioning democracy at all... or indeed what form of democracy it has become... whatever it is, majorities have become tyrannical... Citizens should read John Stuart Mill’s “On Liberty” to refresh the real purpose of democracy.
13
If the American people win the next election - that is to say, if Trump loses - our government needs to send a strong signal that these four years have not been normal. What has gone on during the Trump administration has not been politics as usual; it has been the disarming and attempted dismantling of our constitutional checks and balances.
There must be no pardons for the outgoing administration this time. Conspiracy must be prosecuted, and all those guilty must be punished. Bribery must be prosecuted. Campaign violations must be prosecuted. Unregistered foreign agents must be prosecuted. Treason or espionage, if applicable, must be prosecuted, and punished to the full extent of the law.
70
If we prosecuted bribery, every single living politician, including our local politicians, would be in jail (and that's where they belong).
1
@Stephanie Wood What a massive exaggeration. I'm a local public servant myself and have never taken a bribe.
No constitution, not even the 1787 US Constitution, can guarantee good government. Mainline political scientists often boasted in the past that the US Basic Law was a "machine that runs by itself." Two hundred and thirty or so years later, that has been thoroughly disproven.
Governments, whether they be dynastic monarchies or democracies, need men and women of virtue and public spirit. A country with a rather flawed constitution, like Myanmar's 2008 Basic Law, could deliver good government if it had the men and women willing to dedicate themselves to public service.
6
I think the problem is the risk presented by the distinction between the executive and the legislature. The dilemma with an elected head of State who cannot be removed by the primary house is writ large by this distressing situation.
5
Actually, the balance of power is tilted against the executive; there are term limits for the presidency, but none for the Senate or Congress or the Supreme Court. I propose the same term limits for all offices, then some balance might be restored. For all their flaws, the founders never intended that the country should be run by career politicians who hold office for life.
11
One can still, thankfully, very easily live a long productive life in this country doing as one pleases without having the least concern about not only the Federal Government but about Government at any level. Perhaps a majority of our citizens do. They may vote, take a casual interest in domestic and foreign affairs, but their interests are elsewhere. Even voting in national elections is barely a majority activity. Such are signs of freedom and general prosperity not cause to mount the soapbox in Bughouse Square to cry out for revolution.
7
@Frunobulax That may be so for people with sufficient wealth to buffer themselves from risk. But just wait until until the requirement for insurers to offer their "products" to people with pre-existing conditions. Sure, perhaps such a clause that permits the insurance companies will pretend to offer policies that protect people with pre-conditions, but they won't. And then you or perhaps a family member might just figure out that this distant Federal stuff has profound consequences for themselves and their families.
21
@Frunobulax Your living without the least concern only reveals an accompanying lack of good conscience.
How do you just accept that your money is taxed for wars. Don't care about wars. do you.
How do you just accept that sick people are dying needlessly? Don't care about people, do you?
It's this "I'm interested in me, and just me", is the whole story behind Mr Blow's essay.
@Frunobulax Non-sense.
The mail is delivered to every corner of this Country.
You may delude yourself into a fantasy of self-reliance, but most get tired of eating squirrel for dinner.
Solving common problems is what Government is about.
The Dust Bowl wasn't solved by bone-headed Texans that claimed they didn't need no government to fix the weather.
Well, they did.
At 75 years of age and having spent 1/3 of my life in a Third World Country, visited the Soviet Union and Russia and studied, lived and experienced the United States Constitution as a practicing constitutional and criminal attorney and comparing it to the constitution of Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Russia, China and several other countries where it is ignored or disrespected I love and respect the USA Constitution. It is clear to me that a great majority of native ‘prima donas’ have no idea of the privilege they have of living in the USA under our less than perfect but better enforced than any other Constitution.
16
@Concepcion Well said. You'd think this time in US history was worse than the Jim Crow Era, Civil War, the Depression, among others. One side lost and lost their mind because a reality star won the White House over the flawed "chosen" candidate. Things will swing the other way in due time, provided the Dems don't implode, which is a possibility.
5
@JB Perhaps, if the Republicans don't use the imperial monarchy they've created to further game future elections. But if a Democrat does get elected, despite threats from "2nd Amendment People," that mornarchial power will be use to reshape this country. When the President is abouve the law, he becomes a figure like Noah Cross in Chinatown, "Most people never have to face the fact that, at the right time and the right place, they're capable of... anything!"
Welcome to the world of 2+2=5. We're going to be living in it for a very long time.
7
@Concepcion Absolutely right; if that is the cohort with which to compare the US, then it is doing better than the average. The "prima donnas" are thinking of places that score high on the list of freedom and transparency.
Nothing to make oneself feel better than to make comparisons with the worst.
6
Too much pessimism, Charles.
Sure looks bleak now, and I doubt the American idea of democracy has ever been under the current level of assault. But the idea was never perfect, never realized, always aspirational, only promised in a few progressive decades.
But ballots will be cast and will be counted, and we shall see...
5
Fatuous response to a courageous and accurate assessment of the collapse of the rule of law.
@GeorgeW
And the dancing continued on the 1st Class Deck, even though the evacuation alarms where sounding on the Titanic.
Patience, when mixed with ignorance, never works out.
In Canada, every voter is enumerated and given a registration card. You bring your card, and a second piece of identification to the polling station, where your name is checked against the voters’ list. At that point you receive a paper ballot, which you mark in the privacy of a booth, and subsequently place in the ballot box. Each polling station has a returning officer and two deputies, who are typically volunteers from the neighborhood.
I have never understood the Democratic Party’s opposition to voter identification and proper management of the voter’s list by a non-partisan agency of government, scrutinized at election time by representatives of all parties, and by volunteers who take an oath to uphold the law. The turnout in U.S. elections is abysmally low, and neither party seems to have much interest in changing this.
Perhaps if the Democrats were more serious about the maintenance of democracy, they would win more elections.
13
@Global Charm Government identification is neither mandatory nor free in the US. Millions of people don't have identification cards, yet have the right to vote.
There are other serious impediments to voting, such as illiteracy and the fact that voting happens during the work week.
10
@Global Charm The 3 Billion Dollar+ Political Consulting Biz along with the sellers of advertising space love the current system.
Some people argue for federal financing of campaigns.
But here's an effective and cheap way to radically raise turnout, like Australia, impose a small fine on qualified citizens who do not vote. Instantly, it would raise registration and turnout rates to the 90s, lower the cost of campaigns radically (who needs all the media to get your people out to vote when you know everyone does), and consequently, wrest the power away from the Donor Class because candidates won't need them much anymore.
Voting turnout in America reached its peak in the 1890s when individuals got real benefits that they could count on when they voted -- a turkey or a job from the local political machine.
Once the Progressive succeeded in guaranteed true anonymous voting, no body could pay for votes at scale, and interest plummeted.
Think of the Model of Economic Man: since the marginal impact of a single vote is almost zero and the cost of voting can be substantial, the rational person doesn't vote.
5
The constitution is fatally flawed. There is no doubt that we would be rid of Trump were the election democratic and reflective of the will of the people. We know he will lose by 4 or 5 million votes but may well win re-election. We know the Dems need more than 60% of all votes to win 51 senate seats. Thus the Republican refrain of “Let the people decide.” They mean let 40% of the people decide for the majority of us. Let those 40% from the “Heartland” from “Real America” exploit the rest of the country politically and economically.
The system is indeed rigged. The flawed belief by the framers that an aristocratic and rational senate would act as a safeguard against irrational democracy has given us McConnell and a party of senators who venerate and protect a revolting caricature of a man who would be in prison were he not president. They promote Putin propaganda and support Russia’s choice of the man best suited to harm America.
I don’t know how this ends. But I am sick of being ruled by a Republican senate majority because the Dakotas have four senators and Puerto Rico and D.C. none.
164
@JT - John Tucker The Constitution is the OS of the US, defining the allocation of power. Its Framers no matter their genius, knew that they had left bugs in the system or that new ones would arise. So they designed error correction features into the OS to reduce the risk of a total system crash. These included the Constitutional Amendment Process, the Power of Impeachment, and relatively short election cycles.
All of these features have been disabled over time. With the acquittal of Donald Trump, let's just all admit that the Constitution has been hacked and that Mitch McConnell, not Donald Trump, is undoubtedly the greatest hacker of all time.
30
It's funny how people in "red states" are always whining, but I pay more property taxes in a month than my friend in Florida pays in a year.
2
It's hard to turn the Titanic around particularly after it's hit the iceberg. But notwithstanding Mr Blow's understandably negative take on the appalling state of affairs currently playing out on a daily basis in the Senate I think there is a feasible answer to the problem. At some stage there will have to be total electoral reform in the United States. It will have to be a federal initiative.
Its quite simple. Compulsory voting just the same as we have here in Australia. To facilitate it there are mechanisms such as early voting and absentee postal voting. I know! It will take enormous political courage!
I read of an instance in the US where they closed the existing voters polling station in a town somewhere in the US. They then opened a new one on the outskirts of the same town which was extremely hard for many potential voters to access unless they had a car. Postal voting would eliminate this sort of blatant attempt to make it hard for people to vote.
Things have to change.
19
@David Mandatory voting would refashion the game theory that governs elections AND governance in the US. It would, for example, reduce the cost of campaigns radically. Need less money to run? If so, you don't need the Donor Class much anymore.
But that's not going to happen under current circumstances. As the Civil War, disrupted established systems so much that the post-War Constitution is effectively the 2.0 version. Getting to that reboot required the bloodiest and most terrible combat, whose echo is still being fought.
We are in for some interesting times.
1
@David Australia is on my list of, "I'd move here if I won the lotto" places.
Yes, but everyone has had their role to play, and virtually no one is taking responsibility for theirs. It's very easy and tempting to let the GOP take the entire blame. But politics itself is just one aspect, or perhaps even just one symptom, of a an overall cultural, societal collapse.
A few years, I overheard a group of people involved in the NYC theater discussing how things were there. At one point a gentleman said, "It's just about money now. Of course, it was always about money, but now it's just about money."
That pretty much sums it up. From theater to music to publishing to religion to commerce, and yes, to the media- the bottom line is now simply money, i.e. they're all very proud to "run themselves like a business." No matter how much lip service is paid to "the greater good."
I'm sure many think it's corny, but it really has always been true, and always will be true that, " One cannot serve God and Mammon." And if you don't believe in God, neither is it possible to truly serve the greater good and money.
The gradual alienation from genuine human values by a superficial, sensational and "non-contextual" (as Neil Postman put it) world view, as presented by the 24-hour media, has probably played more of a role in the "vaporizing" of America, than the Republican Party could ever be held solely responsible for.
So, as we do the ritual finger-pointing, let's try to be cognizant of the fact that three of those fingers continue to be pointing back at ourselves.
7
@Richard Margolin Postman's warning against the fusion of politics and entertainment have now been fully realized. With the destruction of journalism's traditional business model, poking at the limbic system is the standard for commercial survival. That and the surveillance that doctrinaire libertarian thinking let metastasize. The American public appears to love zombie movies and TV shows. Perhaps its because with Trump's acquittal, Representative Democracy can now join the cast of The Walking Dead.
3
I will remember this day forever. Kobe and Gigi Bryant. R.I.P. Charles Blow’s eloquent article on the death of our Republic. Both events. Sad. Both events. True
7
We have never been all that we claimed to be. In a few areas we never even came close, but it didn't stop us from promoting the charade of a shining democracy where everyone has a shot at succeeding. Our system is broken...badly broken. And one side wants to capitalize on it while disenfranchising the other side.
28
Trump declared before the last election that the American Dream was dead. He has been determined since coming to power to ensure that it is so and the Republicans appear to be acceding to his wishes. Stormy Daniels did it as a regular transaction in her profession; the Republicans do it for the quid pro quo - so he won't stomp on their electoral prospects. Dare to hope, Charles.
9
Thanks to the Electoral College and our Senate, we are living under minority rule. Unfortunately this minority is only looking out for special interests and the wealthy. I’m not sure how we can get out from under this problem as it is enshrined in our Constitution, but until we do, we will continue to suffer, possibly even worse than we are now.
27
@Hmmm In the middle ages, things would sometimes go downhill until a lot of people no longer had enough to eat. It seems to be on Don the Con's list to create a class that is on the verge of starvation (or maybe is starving) to motivate everyone else. Problem is, about 10% of males (and even more females) don't participate in the labor pool for whatever reason. So let's assume we say, "work or starve" and these people can't find food. Are they all just going to peacefully starve? I kind of doubt it. I don't think Don the Con's "YOU'RE FIRED" approach is going to solve our nation's problems.
1
@Andrew
From 1845-1850 0ne million Irish peasants starved to death and another million were deported to populate the squalor of the world's newly industrialized cities. Ireland's economy was based on food export and as the peasants starved Ireland's landlords celebrated.
There was no uprising, no protest, starving peasants have not got the energy to do much more than sleep.
1
Most of the voting access rules that make voting harder for certain groups are hurdles, not strict prohibitions. Those groups could get their democratic act together, rise to the occasion and do whatever it takes to overcome the hurdles. Yes you can.
9
@sissifus -- So easy to say people can just "get their democratic act together." When states are closing polling places in mostly-minority districts, voting now often means standing in line for hours on end. That, in turn, means taking an entire day off work when you're paid only minimum wage, have no car, have to make childcare arrangements, and may lose your job for missing work. For a great many people, those circumstances make voting impossible. Not difficult, impossible.
And here's just one more point. Some states are now requiring a photo ID for voting. Many inner city residents don't have driver's licenses. To get one, or an equivalent non-driver's photo ID, requires a trip to the Motor Vehicle Office -- which is usually located far from the inner city, and often not on a bus route. You can't get there without a car. Perfect Catch-22.
Saying "these are hurdles" just shows how completely out of touch you are with the realities of many people's lives.
43
@me How do these people open a checking/savings account, apply for a job, or even obtain government assistance without some form of ID? All these inner city folks don't go to bars and clubs either I guess where they might get carded so they can buy alcohol.
Probably the only people with a real gripe are some elderly folks from rural areas that were born when state birth records were sketchy or non-existent.
2
@me In my state you need a photo ID to fill a prescription for valium. Due to the outbreak of addiction to prescription opiate pain killers, and due to the threat of terrorists, we are all going to have to carry photo ID cards around with us.
Presumably the state governments will facilitate a way to make this possible, perhaps using this thing called the Internet, or by making the issuing office go out to the people instead of having the people go to the issuing office.
1
The idea of America, as we perceive it, was lost many years ago. We’re just now waking up to that realization.
26
@Adam Morris Reagan was backed wealthy right-wing reactionaries. Although raised to Sainthood by the Republican PR machine, it is often said, he'd be cast out now as a RINO. But the truth is, he was a most effective tool in catalyzing the process that's lead to this day. When the Senate acquits Trump, the Presidency will finally become a monarchy, and the Republic that Benjamin Franklin helped give us will be lost.
Watch what happens next. Money is trust made flesh. When the world can't count on the dollar, it's going to go elsewhere.
The Civil War was the first System Crash of the US Operating System. We're very close to another one.
6
@Eben. I agree. I also think that the majority of American society has, for the last 50 years or so, simply failed to accept responsibility for doing the heavy lifting. Introspection and change and real growth are achieved through hard work. There is no substitute.
The loss of confidence almost certainly was more cause than symptom, and faith in the system has been dying on both ends - left and right - since the giddy high of the end of the Cold War turned to a bitter realization of what we'd lost and sacrificed in the pursuit of beating the Soviets and communism. Our economy may be growing strong, but it is a hard shell masking a hollow corpse of what we used to be.
6
Next up, the Republican party standing shoulder to shoulder defending Trump should he lose the election, even if it is landslide. If they can pull this off, convincing half the country the Democrats rigged the 2020 election will be a piece of cake. The last fight to keep your democracy is coming and as Schiff said so
excruciatingly you will be lost if the truth does not prevail now,
right now!
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@Holly I agree that the fight is right now.
I am baffled by the diversity of excuses to not fight In the comments I've read: "it's a phase", "what's the use", it's the Electoral College", "wait for November"...
No fighters?
5
The Republicans' obsession to enact limitations and restrictions on voting access, despite almost no evidence of voter fraud, reflects their inner awareness that our increasingly diverse country will not abide by their corporate, anti-environmental, agenda.
Coupled with the antiquated Electoral College, gerrymandering helps preserve Republican legislative power despite increasing Democratic votes. Consider that Trump lost by some 3 million votes but won the Electoral College.
The irrational fear and hatred of President Obama that inspired these anti-democratic movements is contributing to the demise of our American ideals of which Charles writes.
Despite the clear, effective argument of the Democratic impeachment managers, and new revelations--the tape of Trump ("take her out"), and now Bolton's book--I doubt even four Republicans will do the right thing and vote for witnesses and documents. If so, the only option to renew our ideals is to defeat this president and his enablers at the polls--a task made more difficult by their restrictions.
47
@Steven Dunn Just wait until 70% of the US population lives in just 15 states (it's a coming attraction), while the country is governed by the votes of 30% whose opinions have been molded by a reactionary super-elite.
8
Opponents of voter ID law always claim they suppress voter turnout, but they are never able to produce people who try but couldn’t get a voter ID. Voter IDs are free, and there are easier to get than other forms of identification.
7
And conservatives never have the honesty or decency to admit the only way they ever win is by putting as many artificial obstacles in front of as many eligible voters as possible. And they still never achieve majority support.
47
@William Case -- And just how do you suggest that someone who lives in an inner city, with no car, can make their way to the Motor Vehicle Dept. to get a photo ID? How can they do that without taking time off from work, which many hourly employees are not allowed to do?
14
@me
People do not go through life without identification just because they don’t own cars and don’t have driver’s licenses. They get state-issued identify cards, which are cheaper and easier to get than driver’s licenses. You don’t have to pass a driver’s test to get one.
Many people who live in inner cities prefer subways and buses to cars. They are not immobile because they have not cars.
Time for a constitutional convention to nationalize the rules about voting.
Time for the people to step in and update the mechanisms of democracy in our country so they make sense for our century.
People's voting power should never depend on their physical location. We need a voting system that truly gives each person an equal vote.
27
A constitutional convention would inevitably result in the division of the United States into two independent countries. Then citizens would vote with their feet, causing mass migration. This is the only alternative to Civil War 2.0.
3
We were all taught in school that nobody is above the law, but that went out the window once Trump came around. The republicans are now saying that congress can’t charge a sitting president with a crime, because that would violate the separation of powers concept. Guess what that means? There indeed is someone above the law in the US, he spends most of his time at his golf resort in Palm Beach.
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@SP, It went out the window with Ford pardoning Richard Nixon instead of letting him face the music.
3
"An acquittal will say to the world, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the checks and balances built into the Constitution are fatally flawed and unworkable, that they are compromised to the partisanship and therefore unworkable and worthless."
Yes, but only because both the Executive and the GOP Senate are operating in complete bad faith. And I'm having major doubts about the radical [conservative] majority Supreme Court.
Vote anyway. Contact representatives. Do not go silently into that dark night.
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The US has never been what many people think it is, but there was always hope that it will become the country that other countries would admire and see as something to aspire to.
For a short instant it seemed to have reached that goal, with the election of Obama as President. That was proved to be a mirage after the 2010 Congressional Democratic debacle. Obama tried least to keep that hope alive while contending with the most relentless and shameless opposition. The 2016 election was a huge setback, a total repudiation of that hope. Everything that made that hope an illusion has come to the surface, and we are now a country that no other country may wish to emulate. Defeating Trump in 2020 would be the first step to recover the trajectory that was under way after WWII but will not be sufficient. Only an overwhelming repudiation of the Republican party can begin to do cure what ails us.
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@Serban -- You are absolutely right. And even if we throw Trump and his enablers out, it will take decades (at a minimum) for us to regain the respect and trust of our allies. We are only beginning to grasp what we have lost.
10
@me Wait until the Renbi becomes the trusted stable currency, replacing the dollar. Money is trust. The US, under the Republicans and Trump, are shredding the trust built up over generations.
Next stop: depression. PS, watch capital flows out of the US to Asia.
1
The process of the destruction of the GOP did begin with Regan. The latest Trump debacle just confirms the sellout of the GOP completely. Everyone has forgotten the other requirements Adam Smith had for capitalism, the greed of the corporations must be balanced with government regulation. He was well aware of the danger of unfettered markets. Too bad everyone else forgot this completely in the last sixty years. 2020 is a chance to start the correction process, the US needs a democratic, White House, Senate and House of Representatives. It also requires people who are willing to make serious change. The alternative is to teach President Bonespur to play the fiddle and say goodbye to the Republic.
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@B Wright
i seem to remember a guy named Nixon.....
Nixon Reagan Bush2 Trump
and if i was being completely honest i'd throw Clinton in there too.
No mention of Shelby v. Holder? It seems to me that that had a very large impact on the nature of our elections in the states that used to have to pre-clear the heinous practices in which they now engage.
12
@EH And, if those protections still were in place, Barr's DOJ would -- as enabled by this ugly SCOTUS -- raze them at every opportunity.
The egregiously "human" element, if selfish, sinister, and evil enough, apparently can, in many foundational circumstances, finally subvert many, if not most, institutional safeguards.
It seems as if one ostensible pre-requisite to the survival of a democratic system was presumed -- that from its leadership, particularly in times of great stress, would emerge, on balance, more good faith, decency, empathy, self-awareness, and ethical and moral bonafides than their opposites; and that, at the crossroads, these characterological qualities would cut across party lines.
For almost three centuries, the product was sustained by the presumption; it has though taken only three years for Trump, his troglodytes, true believers, and the party the total perversity of which he has relied on and revealed, to make the seeming sum no longer add up, and tear the idea, the system, the country, and perhaps the planet asunder.
1
I’m not so sure if Charles Blow’s pessimism is warranted. We’re only 10 months away from voters passing a judgment on Trump. Let’s see what happens before we pronounce the Death of American Democracy. If Trump wins, then I’d agree that American democracy is on life support. But, if Trump is dealt a decisive defeat, then I’d be much more hopeful. Of all things, the 2017 special senate race in Alabama gives me the most hope.
24
@UC Graduate If Trump does not get convicted, our process is dead. The elections will be an afterthought. The rule of law matters and it appears that the majority of senators are in the process of violating their oaths.
@UC Graduate An acquittal of Trump grants him
monarchical powers. All bets are off that we will ever have a reasonably fair election again.
@UC Graduate So you're saying: "Just wait".
Is that like "Chill out"?
Or more like "Just wait for the Mueller Report"?
Or just wait for the Impeachment
Or just wait for the election
Or just wait and wait and wait.
That should do it.
1
If you want to look at any one thing in our country that has made a difference:
• Imagine what the country would be like if Rupert Murdoch hadn't moved to America in 1974, started expanding his press empire here, and became a U.S. citizen in 1985 so he could start buying television stations.
• Imagine what the country would be like if the Fairness Doctrine hadn't been killed in 1987.
• Imagine what our country would be like if we hadn't seen the rise of conservative talk radio with Rush Limbaugh in 1988.
• Imagine what the country would be like if Fox News hadn't appeared in 1996.
• Imagine what the country would be like if the loss of so many small town newspapers going into the 21st century hadn't happened, and if it wasn't being followed by the collapse of large city papers.
• Imagine what the country would be like if the proliferation of cable news channels, media consolidation, and the rise of the internet and social media hadn't allowed the creation of so many different competing news bubbles.
• Imagine what the country will be like if Trump succeeds in killing PBS and NPR after decades of GOP efforts to neuter them?
Do you begin to see a pattern here?
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@Larry Roth - Hallelujah, spot on. To add another string to the wish list, imagine if a president was elected who was dedicated to MATH or making America think again? Imagine if the populace worshiped intellectuals more than celebrities? Imagine if schools were funded as well as, if not better, than the military? Imagine if our food supply wasn't poisoned & fast food wasn't less expensive than fruits & vegetables? Imagine if children were taught to judge people by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin or adherence to a commodified standard of beauty? Imagine if Twitter was never invented so a President couldn't use it as a device to humiliate & intimidate his political enemies? Imagine if people cared about the environment as much as purchasing consumer goods? Imagine if animals were respected & their lives mattered as much as humans who value money over sentient lives - I'm looking at Donald Trump Jr. proudly sharing images of himself, his hunting rifle & the numerous dead exotic animals that he took pleasure in killing.
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@Dunca
Imagine that the United States had a referendum and the electoral system was eradicated along with the need for voting booths and campaign finance reform. Instead, everyone is required to re-register to vote, not based on where you live, but on your social security number. Voting is mandatory or fines levied. All votes are mailed in after an online verification process. There is no media campaign/advertising or 'need' for PACs, just a single official website where all candidates post their policy positions, streaming online debates for discernment and question and answer sessions open to all at any hour of the day.
6
@Larry Roth
Your observations are interesting...however l would submit all of those pathogenic seeds that you enumerated would not of taken root unless there was fertile ground.
Frankly it comes down to what the individual will do and accept.
DJT,McConnell,Reagan and the GOP were quite clear as to what their agenda was and is...voter suppression extreme gerrymandering, Citizen United law,electronic voting machines,,,(with no accountability) and of course racism coupled with income inequality.
There was no surprises here, from Newt,Lee Atwater,etc.
The question is as always, what is the individual American going to do to sustain Democracy.
11
"The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought." - Rudiger Dornbusch.
We were on retreat from progress since we elected Reagan in 1980. That marked our turning point. Reagan destroyed unions. Neoliberal economists excused CEOs from any obligation to society or employees at all. Money is speech. I could go on listing waypoints like these, but I think you get my point.
We are near the end of the conservative counterrevolution against a progressive era that began with FDR. The election of Trump was the final conservative victory.
We do not so much progress as we oscillate.
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@Charles Tiege : The Republicans have played the long game, chipping away at justice and equality little by little. Anybody who thinks it all started with Trump has been asleep (or too young to remember) for the past forty years.
1
I don't think the importance of the foreign influence on the US elections has been highlighted enough. The amount of money foreign governments have at their disposal is much larger than all political donors combined can put in an election. How much do you thing Russia would be willing to pay for a recognition of Crimea or China for the US abandoning support of Taipei?
15
Movement toward political equality is seen as a loss of power for white Christians and people usually don't give up power without a fight. White Christians are so determined to hang on to power that they have elected an autocrat as president and basically the Republican Party has evolved into a white nationalist party. The Republican Party has a lot of power in the Senate because small more rural states have two senators regardless of population. In the House where each district as a similar population the Republicans have resorted to gerrymandering to keep the upper hand, in this way have gained about 15 extra seats that they wouldn't have had without gerrymandering. The result of all this is the US is moving toward what could be called fascism and to do this the right wingers need to undermine the concept of truth which Trump does daily and also the undermine the concept that elections are valid in order to discourage voting and the belief in democracy.
37
Everything written here is accurate but what is missing is
an analysis of the feeble, often incoherent, certainly abysmal
quality of the democratic party opposition. It is neither funded adequately, focused sufficiently, has an aging corps of national "leaders" whose rhetorical and media effectiveness is minimal, and who seem to think Americans are only looking for detailed policy proposals to make their lives somewhat easier to get through.
Moreover, they have no interest in, apparently, nor any idea how to build a broad reform movement that can appeal
to independents, progressives, the young, minorities, even
disenchanted rural voters. They had three years to try and
do this under the radar but failed completely to come up
with such a coherent reform vision. They've had
years to counteract the Citizens United disaster and the SCOTUS gutting of the Voting Rights bill 's oversight of states and done nothing.
In the meantime there is such deep cynicism out there that any significant reform is actually doable that were there to
be someone from the heartland who spoke to people in their
own language and not policy speak, he or she would have
great difficulty convincing enough people to pay attention and sign on.
This seems to me to speak to the vanishing not only
of this country as an "idea" but also of the notion of
a better "future" as being something that could exist
as a result of mass political action.
When the notion of "future" disappears, a lot goes with it.
7
Vote. Get your friends to vote. Where you see suppression, call it out and help. Maybe Steyer and company can come up with a help hotline to assist in areas where there is alleged suppression. To be sure, some of it is just plain apathy or indifference.
12