Democracy? Let's start over
Yes, we should grieve the insurrection last Jan. 6 by a violent mob seeking to overturn free and fair election results. Their action was based on fraud claims for which there was never any evidence. Yes, we should be anxious; it was a despicable act of domestic terrorism.
What should really concern us was the boring, procedural coup, planned and well advanced by Trump White House figures and Republicans in the House and Senate. This less dramatic action had the same intent as the mob – overturning free and fair election results. No blood was shed, and no physical violence engaged in this coup attempt played out in Congress. This coup was underway while the mob stormed the Capitol building, ‘interrupting’ the well-planned coup as Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro has attested. In fact, the Republican congressional coup attempt resumed immediately after Congress reconvened following the mob's action.
The "Big Lie" has since prospered, encouraging this boring coup to re-group with new aims.
Added restrictions on voting, empowering partisan politicians to overturn valid election results, and gerrymandering of state and federal election districts continue the aims of coup plotters to ensure that elections produce only the desired results – yes, rigging elections in multiple ways.
The undermining of democratic processes is almost complete. Congress has been unable to address the corruptions imposed by states thanks to two indifferent Democratic Senators, plus all Republican Senators who are okay with skewing election results to favor GOP empowerment no matter the means. The US Supreme Court is unwilling to address unconstitutional violations perpetrated by the states, saying that states have authority to do what they want. What now? We can simply watch the ongoing dissolution of democracy into its destiny of authoritarianism. The proverbial Rubicon has already been crossed.
Those benefiting from this emergent authoritarian regime will be the wealthy and big corporations, not the little people paying taxes, either liberal or conservative who feel marginalized by the other side amid their pointless dogfights. The gutting of campaign finance restrictions by the US Supreme Court has long paved the way for bought-and-paid-for elected officials, candidates, regulators, et al, all perfectly legal. We are reaping what has been sown – an authoritarian regime orchestrated by wealthy political patrons and corporate powerhouses extending their realms to fully control politics, not simply influence them.
This isn't about bogeymen George Soros or Charles Koch. In Florida, for example, think NextEra Energy (Florida Power's parent) and Florida Crystals ("Big Sugar") and many others laundering money through a shadowy web of political finance committees. These dark entities use any dirty trick to win for their benefactors, while their corporate sponsors retain deniability. Most corporations gladly spend a pittance for a ten-fold return (sometimes far more) on their trivial investment in politics, all perfectly legal.
Concern about democracy lags reality. Democracy will soon be over, leaving window-dressing elections for respectability. Frankly, it wasn’t much of a democracy “by the people” – mostly “by some people” (see women’s suffrage not until 1920 and Voting Rights Act not until 1965). The system has been laid bare, now bereft of its touted resilience of checks-and-balances, exposing its fragility and easy manipulation. Get enough corrupt actors casting aside values and principles in exchange for power and wealth, holding power across legislative, executive, and judicial branches, then any political system is doomed. We’re there.
The question now is how to bring about a genuine democracy that focuses on people, equity, justice, health, and well-being, developing a compassionate, sustainable, peaceful community for all. If tragedy brings opportunity, then we need to see it and somehow seize it from the big money interests and their political puppets. With the ending of this semblance of democracy, can we imagine a genuine democracy for all?
Bruce Seaman lives in Ocala. He is a retired Presbyterian Church, USA minister and community activist.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Democracy? Let's start over, we can do better
