With American democracy under serious assault by an increasingly radicalized, extreme, authoritarian Trumpist Republican Party, it’s high time that Democrats – and democrats, small “d” – push back, hard. Because the fact is, democracy isn’t going to protect itself, which is why those of us who believe in it need to step up, big time, before it’s too late. With that in mind, as Greg Sargent reports over at the WaPo:
…more than 100 scholars of democracy have signed a new public statement of principles that seeks to make the stakes unambiguously, jarringly clear: On the line is nothing less than the future of our democracy itself.
“Our entire democracy is now at risk,” the scholars write in the statement, which I obtained before its release. “History will judge what we do at this moment.”
And these scholars underscore the crucial point: Our democracy’s long-term viability might depend on whether Democrats reform or kill the filibuster to pass sweeping voting rights protections.
“We urge members of Congress to do whatever is necessary — including suspending the filibuster — in order to pass national voting and election administration standards,” the scholars write, in a reference to the voting rights protections enshrined in the For the People Act, which passed the House and is before the Senate.
To read the full letter, click here. Also note that signatories include three from Virginia: Alex Keena, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Virginia Commonwealth University; Larry J. Sabato, University Professor of Politics, University of Virginia; and Timothy LaPira, Professor of Political Science, James Madison University. Which is great to see, although I’m kinda wondering why there aren’t even more signatories than this. Basically, at this point, unless you’re on the side of destroying our democracy, it seems to me that you should be signing a letter like this.
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