American Democracy in the ICU

If American democracy –– our Constitutional system of government –– were a person, it would be like one with a severe case of Covid-19. It would be in the ICU, the intensive care unit of a hospital.

Washington Post columnist  E. J. Dionne writes: “We know that this fall’s election is in deep jeopardy. We have been warned that Trump, the GOP, and the party bosses in robes on the U.S. Supreme Court are perfectly willing to obstruct the right to vote of those most likely to vote Democratic.” New York Times columnist Paul Krugman notes: “What if Trump loses? . . .He’ll claim that Joe Biden’s victory was based on voter fraud.”

Republicans have shown that they care not a whit about our core values, the Constitution, and the rule of law. There’s every indication that they would prefer a self-perpetuating, authoritarian, right-wing government than a Democratic victory at the polls, and they’ll do whatever they can get away with to bring about that result. Our nation is in peril as never before.