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"Te shameful and deeply irrational response at the Capitol to the election was simply the most recent manifestation of a longstanding movement to subvert our democracy," according to the authors.
The simple, hopeful message from the mind-boggling and awful assault on democracy
Jan 15 2021
Berkman and Beem are on the political science faculty at Penn State University.
<p>We direct our university's McCourtney Institute for Democracy, which is committed to promoting democracy in the United States and abroad. Last week's disturbing events in the nation's capital imperil our American democracy. They require some thoughtful reflection about how we got here and what we do about it.</p><p>If history proves anything, it is that people disagree. Vehemently. Unity of opinion is not possible. Democracy exists as a way for people to disagree and yet still live together peaceably. Elections are the means by which we do that. They are the backbone of a democratic system. Every vote counts the same and the candidate who receives the most votes wins. A peaceful transition of power occurs as losers accept the outcome and come back prepared to fight again another day.</p><p>If any aspect of this system fails, democracy becomes impossible. Over the last many months, since well before Joe Biden's clear and commanding presidential victory, we have spoken forcefully that it was not only factually wrong but also dangerous to claim that the 2020 election was unfair, rigged or otherwise tainted.</p><p>Indeed, we have celebrated the hard work and successful efforts of election workers and others around the country who managed to carry out this election under difficult circumstances. </p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>But the shameful and deeply irrational response at the Capitol to the election was simply the most recent manifestation of a longstanding movement to subvert our democracy. </p><p>The scenes we saw should not be seen as sudden or unpredictable. They are rather the inevitable outcome of a sustained and reckless assault on the propositions that make democracy possible. The chronic denigration of the rights of the other side, the easy dismantling of democratic norms and procedures — and ultimately, the rejection of even the foundational idea that there is one reality, one truth, for all of us — all facilitated the breakdown we saw before us. </p><p>Every one of the politicians or pundits who took part in this authoritarian charade, who blithely put their own political or economic calculus ahead of the well-being of our nation and our democracy, will have to live forever with the humiliation of this moment.</p><p>But all Americans of good will have to take on the burden of rebuilding what has been lost. As we now know too well, democracy is fragile. If it is to continue, let alone thrive, it will require a renewed commitment from all of us.</p><p><div class="x12"><div class="htlad-Desktop_Content_Banner"></div></div></p>
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By inciting a riot, President Trump gave Democrats the chance to transcend the gamesmanship they helped to create, writes Salit.
More excessive partisanship will make wound from Capitol siege even worse
Jan 14 2021
Salit is president of Independent Voting, which works to promote the political clout of unaffiliated voters, and the author of "Independents Rising: Outsider Movements, Third Parties, and the Struggle for a Post-Partisan America" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
<p>My father, a Navy veteran of World War II, just celebrated his 94th birthday. He is one of the estimated 300,000 living veterans of that war and he is healthy, mobile and active, with a wicked sense of humor. His memories are sharp, his voice raspy, and he offers colorful reflections on almost a century of American life.<br></p><p>Last weekend, I asked what the country was like when he was in college during and after the war. If you were in uniform and hitchhiking on leave, he said, drivers stopped and said they would take you wherever you wanted to go. In a bar, you couldn't pay for a beer or a meal. The country was united and he was so proud. </p><p>Then he paused. When he watched the events at the Capitol, he said, suddenly grim, he wished he was still in uniform. He wanted to be there to defend our democracy, to repel and punish those who would attack it. His voice was choking. </p><p>My heart ached. His pain and anger were palpable, even over Zoom. Yes, it was about the sordid events at the Capitol. But it was also about how much the fabric of the country had unspooled in his lifetime. </p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>Like many, I watched members of Congress forced to evacuate after a failure by law enforcement to create a sufficiently secure perimeter around them or put a visible and well-equipped anti-riot force in place, as had been done before a thoroughly peaceful anti-racism protest the Rev. Al Sharpton led on Capitol Hill last summer. This double-standard must be investigated. </p><p>Eventually, last week's violence was ended. Debate resumed. Objections were heard, the separate houses debated. After courts had dismissed more than 60 lawsuits claiming fraud, after states conducted recounts that produced no different outcomes, Congress affirmed that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had the necessary electoral votes to be sworn in next week. </p><p>For my money, the democratic process held. The perpetrators who committed violent acts and brought lethal paraphernalia are being hunted down, arrested and charged. I disagree with those who breathlessly proclaim our democracy is fragile. In the face of ceaseless legal, political and procedural challenges culminating in this violent disruption, democracy looked pretty sturdy. </p><p>But what does seem fragile? The institutions that mediate and control the American people's relationship to our democratic republic. Here I refer to the two dominant political parties, the massively over-endowed and overreaching mechanisms of the exercise of political power. </p><p><div class="x12"><div class="htlad-Desktop_Content_Banner"></div></div></p><p>Full disclosure: I'm an independent. I dislike the political parties and what they breed. They are dedicated to the proposition that their self-preservation, separately and together, is equivalent to the national interest. There are moments of upheaval where those can appear to be the same thing, but that is momentary. </p><p>This is part of the terrible pain of the moment. The vacuum in political leadership in America is wrenching. After a brutal election season — in which $15 billion was spent by both sides getting Americans to hate and fear each other — 41 percent of the electorate chose to identify with neither party. Declaring oneself a political independent is their statement of non-compliance with a wretched culture. </p><p>The House decided that an unprecedented second impeachment was the best way to sanction Trump, and 10 Republicans joined the Democrats to charge him with "incitement of insurrection" Wednesday. I sorely wish that partisan Democrats hadn't used the impeachment gambit once before, and with an almost totally party-line outcome.</p><p>It would have been better to tie the president's hands for his final days in office by having Vice President Pence and the Cabinet (what's left of it) invoke the 25th Amendment — followed by Pence, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer and Kevin McCarthy standing together to promise a peaceful transition of power. </p><p>But I don't get to decide. I'm only one citizen, one who's sick and tired of being force fed a toxic brew every time something happens. </p><p>Trump, in his infinite narcissism, did more than incite a riot. He handed the Democratic Party a golden goose: the chance to ring the bell for democracy, to transcend the gamesmanship they helped to create. </p><p>In an Ipsos <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/abc-news-rioting-democracy-011021" target="_blank">poll taken last weekend,</a> 58 percent of independents said Trump should be removed from office before his term ends — surely the most nonpartisan view on that question. But the same poll found only half the country believes Democrats can be counted on to protect our democracy. Many independents are asking whether Democrats will champion the necessary political reforms to reverse the incentives driving partisanship. I have not seen evidence they will. </p><p>Meanwhile, Republicans are deservedly in chaos. Those high-minded government officials turning in their resignations have me laughing. Someone once said, when government officials talk about principles, hold on to your wallet. I just locked mine in a drawer. The GOP is assessing a vote to convict Trump in the Senate followed by a vote to bar him from any future office. A healthier option would be opening all the 2024 presidential primaries to all voters. Independents voted against Trump by 13 points in November, delivering the Democrats the White House and, later, the Senate. Trump could not survive an open primary in four years. The American people would be the deciders. </p><p>Perhaps the worst thing is that it's so hard to know what anything means. The 18th century philosopher Bishop Butler opined that everything is what it is and not another thing. Wishful thinking? Did the Democratic leadership pursue impeachment because they have the votes to stay Trump's hand? Or do they want to force the GOP to cast damaging votes? Are the resignations an "every man for himself" act of desperation? Or an act of conscience? Was the scene at the Capitol an actual insurrection or a crazed display of deformed defiance, with criminal acts that should be prosecuted? </p><p>Are all these events, and so many others, only one thing? </p><p>America is in crisis. Where do we go from here? The widening gulf between the positive traditions of our democracy, however flawed, and the current culture of partisan politics will have to be engaged. We can't continue as we are. This we know because we feel it in our gut. </p>
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Capitol riot prompts halt in corporate political gifts. Punishment, tactic or turning point?
Jan 12 2021
Democracy reformers are seeing one of their most ardent longings realized, albeit perhaps only temporarily and for truly extraordinary reasons:
The gusher of money that's steered American politics for so long has abruptly slowed this week. Two huge banks, a rasher of prominent companies and many lobbyists have all suspended campaign giving.
A few have done so across the board, spooked at how last week's insurrection at the Capitol has propelled democracy's distress to a new nadir. But most say they are closing their checkbooks only to those Republicans who countenanced the rebellion with their votes to overturn the presidential election.
<p>It's way too soon to know how long this highly unusual form of punishment will last. </p><p>It may well prove to be a high-profile but only temporary and partial gesture, with publicly disclosed donations halted even as businesses and their K Street minions continue to use the plenty of secretive channels available to influence policy with their cash. </p><p>Less likely is that corporate America decides to confront the long-term risk of inflicting lasting financial damage on half the political power structure — especially since it's Republicans who will remain the more reliable ally once the incoming Biden administration starts pressing its agenda with the help of like-minded Democrats in total control of Congress.</p><p>There is also a chance that the mob invasion of the Capitol will emerge as the rationale for de-escalating a campaign finance arms race almost all companies now view as part of the price of doing business. </p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>Executives have known for decades their donations are required before getting their voices heard in House and Senate offices of either party, a system under which they privately chafe and which has come to increasingly irk their investors. But having used their power to silence President Trump in his final days and punish his allies in Congress — in the name of preserving the rule-of-law system that permits them to profit — they may conclude they no longer need to spend nearly so much trying to influence elections and curry favor with the winners.</p><p>"We have to create some level of cost," Thomas Glocer, a board member of both the Morgan Stanley investment bank and the Merck pharmaceutical giant, told The Wall Street Journal. "Money is the key way."</p><p>Groups advocating for tighter campaign finance regulation, for now, are signaling they will focus on pressing companies to keep their promises — and amplify the efforts by demanding the return of money they have given Republicans who voted against the legitimate Electoral College results last week and thereby endorsed Trump's baseless allegations of election fraud.</p><p><div class="x12"><div class="htlad-Desktop_Content_Banner"></div></div></p><p>The nearly two-thirds of House Republicans who did so — 139 of them — include Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, two of the most prominent GOP fundraisers in the nation. The eight senators who did likewise include Rick Scott of Florida, who was just put in charge of candidate recruitment and fundraising for the party's bid to retake the Senate in the 2022 midterms. </p><p>Several prominent lobbying shops said their people would stop giving to Republicans who took Trump's side in the electoral vote challenge, which ended hours after the Capitol was sacked, at least five people died and dozens of police officers were injured. </p><p>Some also signaled they were no longer interested in having anyone from the outgoing administration spin through their revolving doors — in part after several prominent Democrats declared they would not take meetings with representatives of any K Street firm that hired Trump officials.</p><p>Among the companies that have announced a suspension of giving to Republicans who voted for against awarding all 306 electoral votes for Joe Biden: retail superpower Amazon, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association medical insurance power, Midwest bank conglomerate Commerce Bancshares, chemical giant Dow, legacy hotel icon Marriott International along with its rival Airbnb, and the telecommunications behemoths Comcast, Verizon and AT&T. </p><p>But two of the nation's biggest banks said they were pausing donations to all Republicans and all Democrats — JPMorgan Chase for at least six months and Citigroup through the end of March. </p><p>Their two <a href="http://thefulcrum.us/political-action-committees" target="_self">political action committees</a> put a combined $1.6 million directly into the 2020 campaign, most of it to Republican congressional candidates, according to the <a href="http://thefulcrum.us/center-for-responsive-politics" target="_self">Center for Responsive Politics</a>. But that does not count millions more donated by their executives, either directly or through more opaque means such as gifts to politically active nonprofits and partisan campaign groups not connected to individual lawmakers — the same sorts of venues that companies could continue to use if they want to keep their campaign giving alive but in the dark.</p><p>Medical-device maker Boston Scientific, investment bank Goldman Sachs and Alphabet, the parent of Google, also said they had hit the pause button on all campaign donations.</p><p>Those moves seemed designed to prevent public criticism and avoid angering the Republicans who backed the baseless election fraud claims. But they stand to inflame the Democrats.</p><p>"Nothing more than a PR stunt –– and a bad one at that, since it's predicated upon the dangerous false equivalency that led us to this breaking point," declared Tiffany Muller, the head of the progressive campaign finance overhaul group <a href="http://thefulcrum.us/end-citizens-united" target="_self">End Citizens United</a>. </p><p>Missouri-based Hallmark, the greeting card company, asked for its money back from a home-state senator, Republican Josh Hawley, who first assured that Trump's effort to reverse the election would be put to a vote. </p><p>In the past 15 years, two-fifths of S&P 500 companies have faced shareholder proposals to limit political spending or to improve disclosure, according to the <a href="https://thefulcrum.us/center-for-political-accountability" target="_self">Center for Political Accountability</a>, a nonpartisan group that advocates for more open but ideally curtailed corporate political spending. It says nearly half the big companies now fully disclose or prohibit contributions to candidates, parties and political committees.</p><div></div><p>The developments came as the Las Vegas casino company run by Sheldon Adelson, who had come to personify the term "Republican mega donor" and had been Trump's most prominent billionaire backer, announced his death Tuesday at age 87.</p>
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Podcast playlist: What's next for democracy?
Podcast playlist: insurrection at the Capitol
Jan 12 2021
Following the attack on the Capitol last week, The Democracy Group podcast network quickly created episodes to help listeners make sense of what transpired and what these events mean for the future of American democracy.
These episodes discuss how the proliferation of right-wing violence and extremism show that democracy reform is more urgently needed than ever. Hear perspectives from Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig, New America's Lee Drutman and more.
This playlist is part of The Fulcrum's partnership with The Democracy Group, a podcast network at Penn State University. All of its shows are committed to engaging in civil discourse, inspiring civic engagement and exploring the future of our democracy.
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