The Republican Threat to the Republic
Oct 2, 2020JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ
As US President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans' behavior over the
past four years has made abundantly clear, American democracy itself is on the
line in this year's election. Without an overwhelming victory for Democrats at
all levels, Republican minority rule will be locked in indefinitely.
NEW YORK – Whereas Nero famously fiddled while Rome burned, US President
Donald Trump has famously hit the links at his money-losing golf courses
while California burns – and as more than 200,000 Americans have died of
COVID-19 – for which he himself has now tested positive. Like Nero, Trump will
undoubtedly be remembered as an exceptionally cruel, inhumane, and possibly mad
political figure.
1.
ROBERT H. FRANK explains
why the hurdles to addressing climate change are not nearly as high as they
seem.
10Add to Bookmarks
PreviousNext
Until recently, most people around the world had been exposed to this
American tragedy in small doses, through short clips of Trump spouting lies and
nonsense on the evening news or social media. But in late September, tens of
millions of people endured a 90-minute spectacle, billed as a presidential
“debate,” in which Trump demonstrated unequivocally that he is not presidential
– and why so many people question his mental health.
To be sure, over the past four years, the world has watched this
pathological liar set new records – logging some 20,000 falsehoods or
misleading statements as of mid-July, by the Washington Post’s count.
What kind of debate can there be when one of the two candidates has no
credibility, and is not even there to debate?
When asked about the recent New York Times exposé showing that
he had paid just $750 in US federal income tax in 2016 and 2017 – and nothing
for many years before that – Trump hesitated and then claimed without evidence
that he had paid “millions.” He was clearly offering whatever answer he thought
would move things along to a more comfortable topic, and there is no good
reason why anyone should believe him.
Even more disturbing was his refusal to denounce white supremacists and
violent extremist groups like the Proud Boys, whom he instructed to
“stand back and stand by.” Combined with his refusal to commit to a peaceful
transition of power and persistent efforts to delegitimize the voting process,
Trump’s behavior in the run-up to the election has increasingly posed a direct
threat to American democracy.
When I was a child growing up in Gary, Indiana, we learned about the
virtues of the US Constitution – from the independent judiciary and the
separation of powers to the importance of properly functioning checks and
balances. Our forefathers appeared to have created a set of great institutions
(though they were also guilty of hypocrisy in declaring that all people are
created equal so long as they are not women or people of color). When I served
as chief economist at the World Bank in the late 1990s, we would travel the
world lecturing others about good governance and good institutions, and the
United States was often held up as the exemplar of these concepts.
Not anymore. Trump and his fellow Republicans have cast a shadow on the
American project, reminding us just how fragile – some might say flawed – our
institutions and constitutional order are. We are a country of laws, but it is
the political norms that make the system work. Norms are flexible, but they are
also fragile. George Washington, America’s first president, decided that he
would serve only two terms, and that created a norm that would not be broken
until the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. After that, a constitutional
amendment codified the two-term limit.
Over the past four years, Trump and his fellow Republicans have taken
norm-shattering to a new level, disgracing themselves and undermining the
institutions they are supposed to defend. As a candidate in 2016, Trump refused
to release his tax returns. And while in office, he has fired inspectors
general for doing their jobs, repeatedly ignored conflicts of interest and
profited from his office, undermined independent scientists and critical agencies,
attempted outright voter suppression, and extorted foreign governments in an
effort to defame his political opponents.
For good reason, we Americans are now wondering if our democracy can
survive. One of the greatest worries of the founders, after all, was that a
demagogue might emerge and destroy the system from within. That is partly why
they settled on a structure of indirect representative democracy, with the
Electoral College and a system of what were supposed to be robust checks and
balances. But after 233 years, that institutional structure is no longer robust
enough. The GOP, particularly its representatives in the Senate, has failed
utterly in its responsibility to check a dangerous and erratic executive as he
openly wages war on the US constitutional order and electoral process.
There is a daunting task ahead. In addition to addressing an out-of-control
pandemic, rising inequality, and the climate crisis, there is also an urgent
need to rescue American democracy. With Republicans having long since neglected
their oaths of office, democratic norms will have to be replaced with laws. But
this will not be easy. When they are observed, norms are often preferable to
laws, because they can be more easily adapted to future circumstances.
Especially in America’s litigious society, there will always be those willing
to circumvent laws by honoring their letter while violating their spirit.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter, PS on Sunday
But when one side no longer plays by the rules, stronger guardrails must be
introduced. The good news is that we already have a roadmap. The For the People Act of 2019,
which was adopted by the US House of Representatives early last year, set out
an agenda to expand voting rights, limit partisan gerrymandering, strengthen
ethics rules, and limit the influence of private donor money in politics. The
bad news is that Republicans know they are increasingly in the minority on most
of the critical issues in today’s politics. Americans want stronger gun control, a higher minimum wage,
sensible environmental and financial
regulations, affordable health insurance,
expanded funding for preschool education,
improved access to college, and
greater limitations on money in politics.
The clearly expressed will of the majority puts the GOP in an impossible
position: The party cannot simultaneously pursue its unpopular agenda and also
endorse honest, transparent, democratic governance. That is why it is now
openly waging war on American democracy, doubling down on efforts to
disenfranchise voters, politicize the judiciary and the federal bureaucracy,
and lock in minority rule permanently through tactics like partisan
gerrymandering.
Since the GOP has already made its deal with the devil, there is no reason
to expect its members to support any effort to renew and protect American
democracy. The only option left for Americans is to deliver an overwhelming victory
for Democrats at all levels in next month’s election. America’s democracy hangs
in the balance. If it falls, democracy’s enemies around the world will
win. 2
FEATURED
Oct 1, 2020 MARIANA MAZZUCATO, et
al.
Sep 29, 2020 NOURIEL ROUBINI
Sep 28, 2020 CHRIS PATTEN
4. The Republican Threat to the Republic
Oct 2, 2020 JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ
Writing for PS since 2001
283 Commentaries
Follow
Joseph E.
Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia
University, is Chief Economist at the Roosevelt Institute and a former senior
vice president and chief economist of the World Bank. His most recent book
is People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an
Age of Discontent.
No comments:
Post a Comment