Modern Conservatism and Democracy

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Anti-Democratic Conservatism Isn’t New

“Conservatism” is no Longer Enough

From the first link:

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partisanship has led conservatives to tolerate partisan gerrymandering and legislative obstacles to voting and voter registration that are not present in other advanced democracies and amounts to voter suppression. In a very real sense, the Republican party has in the era of Donald Trump forsaken its commitment to democracy, and there is a conservative intellectual tradition to lend it intellectual legitimacy.

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Here’s the rub: Conservatives may be uneven democrats, but democracy is stronger when it has constructive conservative parties. Harvard political scientist Daniel Ziblatt has shown the importance conservative political parties to developing democracies. Strong, well-organized and fundamentally competitive center-right parties that are confident enough to accept the “‘open-endedness’ or ‘uncertainty’ of inclusive political competition” are a key deciding factor in the success or failure of nascent democracies. Poorly organized right-wing elements that rely on “contracting out” political activism, manipulating the machinery of state, or putting in place countermajoritarian institutional protections to maintain power are prone to radical right-wing takeovers and disruptive to democracy. It doesn’t take much imagination to see this process playing out even in advanced democracies like the United States.

The Bulwark is a right leaning publication that publishes factual and accurate information.  I would encourage you to read the entire article, it covers a good bit of important history. 

From the second link, the Clairmont Institute  (conservative think tank):

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The U.S. Constitution no longer works. But that fact raises more questions than answers. Can some parts of the system—especially at the local and state level—be preserved and strengthened? How would that work? How do we distinguish the parts that are salvageable from the parts that are hopeless? How did all this happen, anyway? The answers to these questions are not obvious. Having a coherent plan—thinking through what American citizenship used to mean, what made it noble and made the country worthy of patriotic love, and how to rebuild its best elements—requires input from people, and institutions, who have given these matters a lot of thought.

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This understanding of fundamental principles is also why Claremont may be the only “conservative think tank” that can continue to carry on its work—essentially unaltered—in the face of the great revolutionary change we are now experiencing. This is another way of making the point I argued earlier: America, as an identity or political movement, might need to carry on without the United States.

As evidenced by Trump's GOP approved, supported and defended assault on American institutions and norms, and the assault on the capitol 010621, the modern republican party is now actively acting against American democracy. 

These are perilous times for our country. 

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9 minutes ago, chare said:

Thank you.  The typical app glitch strikes again. 

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Heard Sen. Angus King state  'The country is in danger', as voting rights got filibustered today, blocking bringing bill to Senate floor for consideration.  He's changed his mind --now for revising/abolishing filibuster to get voting rights passed.

MSNBC 10/20/21

Sen. Angus King: 'The country is in danger' as voting rights get filibustered

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Senator Angus King (I-ME) joined Andrea Mitchell to discuss the filibuster stalling progress on the voting rights bill. "This is democracy itself. We're talking about laws that are passed in this country that are designed to limit people from voting," says Angus King. "I think the country is in danger," says King. "What's happening today is worse than just filibustering a bill, it's filibustering to say we don’t even want to bring this bill to the floor, to debate it, to discuss it, and to allow the American people to hear the debate."

 

CSPAN - His full speech on Senate Floor 10/19/21 re voting rights:

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...THINGS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW WITH REGARD TO THIS SYSTEM THAT ARE UNPRECEDENTED IN MY LIFETIME AND HAVE CAUSED ME TO WORRY AS I NEVER HAVE BEFORE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MY COUNTRY. THESE TWO THINGS ARE PROFOUNDLY DANGEROUS TO OUR FRAGILE REPUBLIC. ONE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF TRUST IN THE SYSTEM ITSELF AND THE OTHER IS AN OVERTLY PARTISAN ATTEMPT TO USE THIS LOSS OF TRUST AS A PRETEXT TO CHANGE THE RESULTS OF FUTURE ELECTIONS BY LIMITING THE PARTICIPATION OF VOTERS DEEMED UNWORTHY, ALTHOUGH THAT'S RARELY SAID OUT LOUD, OR UNLIKELY TO VOTE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR POLITICAL PARTY. THIS DISCUSSION IS USUALLY FRAMED IN TERMS OF ELECTION INTEGRITY, THE PREVENTION OF WIDESPREAD VOTER FRAUD, WHICH IT IS ARGUED IS TAINTING THE OUTCOME OF OUR ELECTIONS. UNFORTUNATELY, THESE SO-CALLED ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURES ALMOST INVARIABLY END UP LIMITING THE PARTICIPATION OF A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF VOTERS, MANY OF WHOM HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN DENIED THE RIGHT TO VOTE BY ONE DEVICE OR ANOTHER FOR OVER 100 YEARS. IT'S LIMITING THAT PARTICIPATION EITHER AS INADVERTENT COLLATERAL DAMAGE OR, MORE LIKELY, AS STONE-COLD PARTISAN VOTER SUPPRESSION....

...ONE OF OUR GREAT POLITICAL PARTIES HAS EMBRACED THE IDEA THAT OUR LAST ELECTION WAS FRAUDULENT, THAT OUR CURRENT PRESIDENT IS ILLEGITIMATE. THAT THEY MUST MOVE LEGISLATURES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO FIX THE RESULTS, TO FIX THE RESULTS OF FUTURE ELECTIONS. HERE'S THE PART THAT I THINK IS THE MOST TRAGIC. A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF OUR POPULATION HAS LOST FAITH IN OUR DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN REPEATEDLY TOLD THAT SOMETHING IMPORTANT WAS STOLEN FROM THEM. EVEN THOUGH THAT IS UNTRUE. AND THAT PORTION OF OUR POPULATION SEEMS PREPARED TO ACCEPT SOME VERSION OF AUTHORITARIANISM.  ALL BUT THE MOST EXTREME SOURCES OF INFORMATION HAVE BEEN DEVALUED AND VIOLENCE BUBBLES JUST BELOW THE SURFACE. BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. WE IN THIS BODY, PERHAPS MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY, HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION, TO PULL OUR COUNTRY BACK FROM THE BRINK AND TO BEGIN THE WORK OF RESTORING OUR DEMOCRACY, AS WE DID IN THE REVOLUTION....

Yesterday, Senator King on Rachel Maddox:

Continued Republican abuse of filibuster begins to change minds on reform in Senate

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15 minutes ago, NRSKarenRN said:

 

Heard Sen. Angus King state  'The country is in danger', as voting rights got filibustered today, blocking bringing bill to Senate floor for consideration.  He's changed his mind --now for revising/abolishing filibusterer to get voting rights passed.
 

Sen. Angus King: 'The country is in danger' as voting rights get filibustered
 

 

His full speech on Senate Floor 10/19/21 re voting rights:

 

Thank you for sharing this.  I have an out of state guest and am not paying close attention these recent days.  More people need to understand this threat. 

Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
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