Amid the greatest existential threat to our nation, Abraham Lincoln explained why a nation conceived and dedicated to liberty and equality must engage in a “great civil war” to preserve its legacy for itself and “any nation so conceived and dedicated.” He exhorted Americans “to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us . . . that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom . . . that these dead (at Gettysburg) shall not have died in vain.” ¹ Speaking as the President who saved our Union, he resolved that our American government “shall not perish from this earth.” But why does his resolve still appear so imperative today?
First, he reminded us that we have a government “of the people.” In the middle of a divisive Civil War, that reminder was certainly pertinent, though never more tenuous. The 13th Amendment, ratified in December 1865, and the 14th Amendment, passed in July 1868, together freed the Negro slaves, and granted them full citizenship and equal protection under the law. But they were not addressed as African Americans until after the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s, nearly a hundred years later. Moreover, from the Nineteenth century forward, America continued to expand its citizenship, opening its arms to migrants from war-torn and impoverished nations. America became a nation of people from every continent in the world—a melting pot where many were brewed into one. America was that “shining city on a hill” that President Reagan regaled: a beacon of hope for all who wanted liberty and equality before the law, regardless of race, religion, birthplace, or country of origin.
Eighty-seven years earlier, Thomas Jefferson had represented all Americans when he wrote that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all . . . are created equal . . . endowed with certain unalienable rights . . . (of) life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” These were the bedrock truths that justified American citizenship for slaves and migrants to this new world. Our current President has repeatedly reminded us that our Constitution holds us all responsible to these truths which are the very basis of our democracy. Neither race, religion, birthplace, or family origin, should restrict individual American citizens from the exercise of these rights. America must then be inclusive of all its people. As our President often says, “there is nothing America cannot do if we do it together.” He reminds us that America is one nation but only as long as we all agree to act as one people.
But how do we reconcile this core American value with white supremacy advocates, with suppression of black and brown voters, with curtailment of lawful immigrants, with denial of due process for asylum seekers, and with the actions of elected representatives who support eliminating some Americans from the census? If we assign the full rights of American citizenship only to those privileged by race, power, political affiliation, a/o money, we are denying one of the core principals of our democracy. As a result, Americans would become further differentiated between the haves and have-nots, between the privileged and the ostracized. Some Americans would be excluded not just from the census but even from participation in our democracy. How then can the concepts of “liberty and justice for all” and government “of the people” survive? Stated simply, our government would no longer be fully representative. It would cease to be the America envisioned by the founders or reestablished by Lincoln for it would not be “of the people.”
Secondly, Lincoln reminded us that, in America, governance is maintained by the people. The very definition of “democracy” is “rule by the people.” In our system of representative democracy, there are two irrevocable practices: every citizen has a right to vote; and those elected serve the will of the majority and vow to adhere to the principles and lawful governance outlined in our Constitution. This last point is critical. The founders feared that radical insurgents might attempt to overthrow the peoples’ democracy and therefore demanded all office holders swear allegiance to the Constitution. In a previous blog (ref. “Presidential Farewell Addresses”), I quoted Washington’s admonition of a “fatal tendency”: “to organize factions . . . to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of the party . . . to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.” The Constitutional remedy that addresses this fatal tendency is not just the oath of office but the provision of impeachment that holds office holders accountable to its provisions.
How would George Washington assess our contemporary governance in the light of the Republican Party’s reluctance to impeach a rogue President, to seek non-partisan counsel regarding an insurrection, and to find “common counsels. . . modified by mutual interests” or at minimum align with Democrats on those universal principles specified in the Preamble of our Constitution? The characterization of the current Republican Party as the “Party of no” is far too understated for a faction that refuses to find common ground between Parties and instead pursues political power for its own sake. That Party is simply obstructionist and reactionary. Some may even call it traitorous to a democracy. In a previous blog (ref. “Majority Pejoraty”), I outlined how the founders’ fear of a tyrannical majority has been deviously subverted into a tyranny of the minority. Our laws and institutions were created to prevent this eventuality. Unfortunately, both depend upon the goodwill of our elected officials. When a political party not only refuses to recognize the will of the majority but attempts to suppress any voter opposition to its hold on political power, it violates the primary purpose of a democracy. America then ceases to be America. And that political party no longer represents the American people. We witness that failure of representation in the Republican Party’s non-support for recent Administration initiatives.
Who supports these Administration’s Initiatives?
_____________________________Republicans_________Public___
Climate Threat Mitigation………..No……………………..Yes
COVID Relief Bill………………………No……………………..Yes
Proposed Infrastructure Bill…….No……………………..Yes
January 6 Commission…………….No………………………Yes
Voting Rights Bills……………………No……………………….Yes
Police Reform Bill……………………No……………………….Yes
The proposal for a non-partisan Commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection on our Capitol received only a few Republican votes, while the vast majority voted against the initiative. The COVID relief bill was passed, but without a single Republican vote. Of course, Republicans would never support climate legislation or the voting rights bills. For climate change denial and voter suppression are avowed policies of the Republican Party. The Administration’s infrastructure proposal has some limited support from Republicans, but only after eliminating people as part of the nation’s infrastructure—meaning only roads, bridges, the electric grid, perhaps broadband availability, and possibly water delivery systems are considered. And, finally, police reform is held back over the definition of “qualified immunity.” Apparently, Republicans do not want our uniformed police force to be held accountable for theft, sexual harassment, obstruction of justice, or excessive force—the current obstacles to Republican agreement. In other words, they want police immunity for crimes any other American citizen would face indictment and, if found guilty, incarceration. Opposition to these popular initiatives illustrates the people’s loss of governance to a political faction, the fatal tendency of which our first President warned us. The sole beneficiary in this usurpation of the people’s self-governance is the ability of one political Party to dictate in favor of minority factions. Opposition to two of these proposed initiatives—namely, denial of the January 6 insurrection against a lawful election and support for voter suppression—also abet the minority’s strangle hold on power in place of government “by the people.”
And, finally, Lincoln reminded us of the overriding benefit of a true democracy, that is, a government “for the people.” Given the Administration initiatives listed here, who are the beneficiaries of their enactment into law? Most Americans favored them. Our elected Republicans do not. They oppose the last three initiatives on the inverse grounds of their oft repeated “cancel culture”: insurrectionist were peaceful protestors; voter suppression eliminates fraudulent ballots; and police immunity from criminal activity enhances their ability to assure public safety. These are inverse examples of alleged “culture” that a majority of Americans would gladly cancel. Besides the illogic of these positions, they have no justification in the intellectual and moral origins of our American culture. Support for an insurrection against the seat of democracy, for suppression of the right to vote, and for immunity of police state violence and criminal behavior against its citizens in no way reflect the cultural values of a democracy. Contrary to these abhorrent positions, several of the initiatives listed above not only “promote the general welfare,” as demanded in our Constitution, but also preserve American lives. But, Republicans argue, these initiatives are too expensive and will add to the deficit. But, as proposed by the President, they are fully paid by tax increases for the wealthier among us. The Republican argument sounds hollow in the light of the budget breaking tax break they passed in 2017, which favored their donor community, that is, the richest 10%, at the expense of our national budget deficit. Wealthy Americans, however, have no need for a tax windfall. Recently, it was reported that three of the wealthiest men in America—multi-billionaires all—paid no taxes in 2020. Unfortunately, America already matches Russia’s oligarchy in its income disparity. ² And, clearly, that disparity does not benefit a majority of Americans nor promote a government “for the people.”
How did America arrive at this impasse in its history? We seem at odds with ourselves, even at the costs of our own best interests. Should we place the blame at the feet of the Republican Party? But the struggle between political factions in America has a long history. Usually, that struggle mirrored debates over issues of national concern, like Hamilton’s bank, Jacksonian popularism, slavery, “robber barons,” American participation in World Wars, Depression era social programs, civil rights, nuclear proliferation, foreign military interventions, and terrorism. Now we seem unable to recognize or apply our well-established democratic norms to the problems at hand. But problems ignored will persist. They become like a low-level virus that slowly envelopes its host. If we fail to apply the appropriate vaccine, this virus will kill our American democracy. And that vaccine is simply the normal activities of a democracy within the parameters of its Constitution. Under our previous President, nearly all the democratic institutions of our government were either distorted or diverted from public service to self-serving political interests. During his Presidency, the Republican Party reached a nadir point where a thirty-year drift away from bi-partisan compromise became an uncompromising, self-serving belligerence. The Party of Lincoln and Reagan is no longer recognizable as such. Its only purpose now is to hold onto power at any costs, rather than to serve a nation whose majority wants its current issues addressed. Stated bluntly, Americans want their elected officials to apply our democratic ideals to the problems of our time. Like our American forebears, we want our Democracy to evolve. Why does the Republican Party block our path?
Though voted out of office, Donald Trump still seems the catalyst for his Party’s reactionism. His supporters continue to control the Republican Party. Apparently, riled and dupped by a demagogue, they will follow him to their grave. They are Trump’s foot soldiers in his quest for power. Though an electoral minority, they continue to fight for his return to power, even to the extent of mounting an insurrection against our Congress. Remember, Adolph Hitler eventually overruled Germany’s elected parliament, the Reichstag, while never attaining more than 37% of the vote. But his opponents came to fear his Nazis brownshirts, allowing him to establish the Third Reich. The month after he connived to become Chancellor, Goebel, one of his chief lieutenants, had the Reichstag burned to the ground. In like fashion, Trump’s January 6 insurrection attempted to disable Congress and assure the “continuation” of his Presidency. Even now, he continues to foment insurrection with planned rallies urging his followers to fight for his reinstatement to the Presidency. Like any prospective autocrat, he objectifies his enemies and declares himself as the hero who can save us all from these common foes or, more accurately, his scapegoats. Whereas Hitler blamed the communists, his main political enemies at the time, Trump blamed far left activists, his self-proclaimed political enemies. Likewise, both made defenseless civilians the object of universal scorn, whether Jews, Slavs, or Catholics under Hitler’s jurisdiction, or Muslims, minorities, or migrants during Trump’s Administration. He declared that “only I can” clear what he termed the political “swamp” of our existing government and make his MAGA dream a reality. While Hitler considered himself one of Hegel’s “world-historical individuals,” Trump declared himself “the greatest President in history” and a “stable genius.” Like Hitler, once he attained power, he was viscerally unable ever to concede it.³
Two years ago, I wrote about Trump’s attack on our democracy and its institutions (reference “Only I Can”). Frankly, I did not believe his Party would follow him down that rabbit hole. But it did. And now we Americans can understand why the Republican Party no longer represents us. Its sole purpose is to suppress the popular will and cling to power by any means. Moreover, it bears no resemblance to its alleged standard bearer, and is unrecognizable as the so-called “Party of Lincoln.” Unless distraught Republicans, like those who formed the Lincoln Project, can pull Congressional Republicans back from the brink, the Party may succeed in dragging America into that dark pit of autocracy—wherein Donald Trump still lurks.
As I write this blog, President Biden just concluded a series of meetings with our allied democratic states and finally with Vladimir Putin, the Russian President. Putin has been a central character in the rise of Trumpism and its attack on our democratic institutions. Not only has he meddled in our elections but has had a major influence on our former President (ref. “Post Inauguration Thoughts on Power and Government”). He is a leading advocate for replacing democracies with autocracies. He believes in strong central governments and views “rule by the people” as unruly and unmanageable. He also considers any democracy a threat to Mother Russia. Biden understands Putin’s position, and assures him our two countries can still attain strategic stability, if not diplomatic comity. But whether Putin ceases meddling in our elections and allowing/promoting cyber-attacks on our institutions and businesses or not, the Trumpian virus he has helped spread may still fulfill its mission. It has invaded our politics and even the broadcast media. Trumpism has befouled our system of government, threatening its very existence as a democracy.
Like President Lincoln, President Biden assumes his office at a time when his nation faces an existential crisis. While Biden attempts to preserve Reagan’s “shining city on a hill,” Trump and Republican leaders want to drag him into a political fighting pit. Trump will hold rallies and spur insurrectionist fervor. The Senate Minority Leader will attempt to water down or block all Biden initiatives. Both antagonists hope to sway the midterm primaries and elections with supporters they can control. For gaining power is their only objective. Can President Biden do what President Lincoln did at that pivot point in the Civil War? Like President Lincoln, he has apprised Americans of what danger lies before our democracy. And he is orchestrating a new birth of freedom by restoring our democratic institutions and attempting to induce some acquiescence from Republicans. But he cannot succeed unless American patriots force their will on Republicans in the streets, in the halls of Congress, and at the voting booths. Hundreds of thousands of Union soldiers died to preserve America’s legacy. Now we will need millions of Americans to stand up for democracy over a threatened autocracy and demand that this unique experiment in democracy “shall not perish from the earth.”
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¹ Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address.”
² According to the World Inequality Database, the share of America’s income going to the richest 10% is 45.4% compared to Russia’s 46.1%, as quoted in Fortune, April/May 2021 edition.
³ These references to Hitler’s rise to power are taken from William Shirer’s “Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” Book One, Chapter 4, “The Mind of Hitler and The Roots of the Third Reich.”
Still my question of the day: is it possible to reform our economy and our government without serious campaign reform that honors voting rights and replaces unlimited fund raising with equitably disbursed public funding? Or is there another way to return sovereignty to the American people? (Yes! Same footnote dating back to 2015.)