Analyzing Weaknesses In American Democracy

Dr. Sarah Kendizor, scholar of Authoritarian states and author of, “Hiding in Plain Sight,” explains why we need to look at the weaknesses in American democracy that deteriorated during the Trump administration.» Subscribe to MSNBC:

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#Democracy #Politics #Government

Analyzing Weaknesses In American Democracy

46 comments

  1. A national president should have a national election by national popular vote, as he represents the entire nation.

    1. If we had had a direct democracy, the orange traitor wouldn’t have had the chance to send his army of minions to try to stop the Electoral College vote’s certification.

    2. One person. One vote. Whoever gets the most votes, wins. It’s so simple, but somehow America managed to screw it up!🤦🏻‍♀️

  2. Here’s a hint for our American friends: You only have two parties for 360 million people. Two! That’s pathetically limited, offers no nuance or meaningful choice, and leaves the risk of a lunatic hijacking one of the parties, as Trump did. Yet you have the nerve to constantly claim to have “the greatest democracy in the world”, with just two parties?! (I’m aware it’s not quite that simple, but ultimately that’s what it boils down to – A or B.) How’s That two party system working out for you?

    1. @Bat Boy On top of polarizing the political spectrum, a de facto two party system creates a delicate balance of power that’s easy to destabilize and, therefore, manipulate, (within the limits of twisted and confusing electoral laws.)

      The orange insurrection would not have had the excuse of “stop the steal” if the election had been resolved as soon as votes were counted.
      There would not have been an excuse to stop the certification of Electoral College votes.

    2. Only a fool would claim the US is the greatest Democracy in the world. The richest or most powerful yes, but there is much more to being great than just being rich and powerful, but they are also important. The founding father of the United States intentionally didn’t want a democracy they didn’t trust the intelligence or rationality of the common man. That is why the US was founded as a Republic to insulate government rule from the whims of the common man. As we have become more Democratic we have run into problems. Trump would have never been President in the era before parties picked their candidates by primary. The step towards greater democracy is what allowed Trump.

    3. @Matthew Huszarik – As Socrates pointed out, democracy requires an educated population, otherwise its is vulnerable to a demagogue. (Representative) democracy is not bad, as it is the operating system in most western civilizations, like the UK and France. Our particular structure of a republic, is great in theory, not in execution. The Senate is a glaring example of how our particular government structure is failing. It’s baked into the cake. The Senate can not simply be removed, however, it can be changed. Let’s hope America wakes up in time, and does a operating system upgrade, before the next Trump-like president is voted in, or China becomes the world leader.

    4. @Matthew Huszarik – I am not suggesting you do not know this, but just case there is no confusion:

      We are both a “republic” and a “democracy”.

      *Representative democracy*

      Most people refer to the USA as a democracy.

      A direct (or pure) democracy was rejected by the founding fathers as “mob rule” or “tyranny of the majority”.

      Both the UK and France operate on representative (or western style) democracy, however their specific form of government is described in more detail. Just like the USA.

      *Federal representative democratic republic* (per our constitution)

      People often switch or omit particular words, (or even add the word constitutional), however, republic is the necessary keyword.

      Using a simple analogy, our republic is the computer, and democracy is the operating system that makes the computer work.

    5. The US has never been a good example for others to follow.
      ⬜️ Electoral College.
      ⬜️ Politicians “certifying” results – useless and dangerous.
      ⬜️ No independent neutral agency overseeing the elections like in other democracies.
      ⬜️ Local politicians changing the rules to favor their party.
      ⬜️ Gerrymandering.
      ⬜️ Corporate donors, dark money and lobbyism.
      ⬜️ Only 2 parties.
      ⬜️ 18% of the electorate electing 52 senators.
      ⬜️ Politicized Supreme Court.
      The US is designated by The Economist Intelligence Unit as a “flawed democracy” for a reason.

  3. Main weakness: Electoral College.

    If every vote counted the same there would be no “swing states” that can be manipulated.

    1. @UCtJk38je0TE2q_WaXDfjZdg
      So there are jerks in Guatemala too. Overall approval of the US have gone up 30 points with the new President.

    2. Electoral College 🤦 New York Philadelphia and Los Angeles deciding who the President will be ain’t gonna happen.

    3. @Dale Hartley no court evidence was ever LOOKED AT. You low IQ fools will believe literally ANYTHING… Lol Lol
      The audit in AZ in nearly finished, brace for impact!

    4. The US has *never* been a good example for others to follow.
      ⬜️ Electoral College.
      ⬜️ Politicians “certifying” results – useless and dangerous.
      ⬜️ No independent neutral agency overseeing the elections like in other democracies.
      ⬜️ Local politicians changing the rules to favor their party.
      ⬜️ Gerrymandering.
      ⬜️ Corporate donors, dark money and lobbyism.
      ⬜️ Only 2 parties.
      ⬜️ 18% of the electorate electing 52 senators.
      ⬜️ Politicized Supreme Court.
      The US is designated by The Economist Intelligence Unit as a “flawed democracy” for a reason.

  4. The weakness is your attitude towards politics. Do you even know that you are the only country in the world where people are frowned upon when they want to talk about politics? In Europe, we talk about politics all the time, everywhere. At a restaurant. At parties. At weddings. At football matches. Even when getting together after a funeral. Politics is a part of life over here, not a taboo. And that is how it has to be.
    Your American Exceptionalism is incompatible with democracy.
    _

    1. Rick must bore everyone wherever he goes.

      “Look out lads, it’s that Rick Simon, the guy who drones on about politics wherever he goes.”

  5. WE NEED to Stop worrying about who has what letter next to their name and START voting for people who are HELPING OUR Country..

  6. Thanks for pointing this out. What I am curious about is how many of the 57% have diametrically opposing viewpoints. Some think the election was stolen and that’s the problem, and some are pointing to the voter suppression and saying that’s the problem. Our willingness to meddle in foreign nations to prop up “American Interest” aka corporate profits is the greatest evidence of our lack of credibility as a model of democracy.

    1. In Sochi, Putin referenced the electoral college to slam the USA. It’s not the first time he’s done so. (Paraphrase): “How can they spread democracy to the world, when they are not democratic?”

  7. Nailed it, topic covered, sugar coat any way you want, foreign nation’s cannot ignore the points mentioned here, despite a new president, unfortunately that doesn’t change the deficiencies that were exploited during cptn Bonespurs tenure, nor the fact that justice is still lagging, or even extinct for some people.

    1. I remind you…it’s June 12th. Biden and his admin have been in the saddle for less than 4.5 months. Settle down.

  8. America is a perfect example why too much Capitalism and Democracy don’t mix well. I feel sorry for the American people who’s lives you have destroyed because of political corruption and greed all in the name of Capitalism and your twisted view of freedom.

    1. “too much Capitalism and Democracy don’t mix well.”
      Please explain that one for us oh master economics professor…and if possible please try to keep your meandering a few notches above an 8th graders vision of reality. Say, you’re not partial to being the target of derisive laughter and public mockery are yuh? Well if not I suggest you take some time in preparing your answer.

  9. the corruption happened long before Trump… he just turned on the hyperdrive and accelerated the deteriation. Since regan power was gradually shifted to rich people poleraizing power… and democracy vs autocracy is the struggle between decentralized and centralized power.

  10. America doesn’t even meet the requirements for a full democracy. Look at your voting system, where not every vote counts, the winner takes it all, gerrymandering, electoral college, two party system. Look at your anachronistic judiciary, hundreds of years old and never ad aspted to modern times. Judges appointed by parties and so much more. That’s why America is officially classified as a non full democracy. How could you ever be a good example?

  11. Yeah, those statistics are no big surprise after 5 years of craziness
    Was the question asked in America ?

  12. “We have met the enemy, and he is us!” ~ Walt Kelly
    “The secret of freedom is educating the people, whereas the secret of tyranny is keeping them ignorant.” ~ Robespierre
    “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities” ~ Voltaire
    “There can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet.” ~Abraham Lincoln
    “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” ~ Charles Bukowski
    “Everybody has a right to their opinion, but nobody has a right to be wrong in their facts.” ~ Bernard Baruch, quoted in 1946 AP article.
    “It’s easier to fool people than it is to convince them that they have been fooled.”
    ~ Mark Twain
    “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” ~ James A. Baldwin
    “When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent.” ~ Isaac Asimov
    “If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon’s but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.” ~ Ulysses S. Grant, 1875
    “When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” ~ Typically misattributed to Sinclair Lewis, the original source of this quote is unknown, but likely derived from labor activist Eugene V. Debs 1917 quote, “Every robber or oppressor in history has wrapped himself in a cloak of patriotism or religion, or both.”

    Before World War II, Charles Lindbergh typified American heroism with his daring flights, including the first solo transatlantic flight, and his celebration of new technology. He parlayed his fame and heroic stature into a leading role in the America First movement, which opposed America’s entrance into the war against Nazi Germany. In 1939, in an essay entitled “Aviation, Geography, and Race,” published in that most American of journals, Reader’s Digest, Lindbergh embraced something close to Nazism for America:

    “It is time to turn from our quarrels and to build our White ramparts again. This alliance with foreign races means nothing but death to us. It is our turn to guard our heritage from Mongol and Persian and Moor, before we become engulfed in a limitless foreign sea.”

    The America First movement was the public face of pro-fascist sentiment in the United States at that time. In the twenties and thirties, many Americans shared Lindbergh’s views against immigration, especially by non-Europeans. The Immigration Act of 1924 strictly limited immigration into the country, and it was specifically intended to restrict the immigration of both nonwhites and Jews.

    Once again, nationalism, aka fascism, has risen its ugly head in America, in European nations, and in some other countries around the world. The fight of good people against ignorance, the fears that sprout from it, the hate which then blossoms, culminating in the bitter toxic fruit of evil, senseless brutalities and deaths, is a constant, never-ending battle we fear, but it is a battle from which we must never shrink.

    In this era, the likes of Toxic Trump and Marginalized Greene have become the face of the new “America First” fascist movement built up over the last four decades by the GOP, Reich-wing plutocrats, demagogues, and media. But, as with Lindbergh, the American people gradually come to recognize their dysfunctional poison and reject it. Most Americans understand, accept, and appreciate that the enduring strength of America is that we are a nation of immigrants and multiculturalism, a “melting pot” where the best ideas rise to the top, and superficial differences are meaningless in the face of our common humanity and purpose. Most Americans want competent leaders who speak truth, who strive to unite, who are not corrupt, who care about them. So, it should come as no surprise that President Biden is already receiving high marks from the public, while Toxic Trump never managed to rise above even a 50% approval rating. To conclude where begun, the following quotes are submitted for further reflection:

    “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” ~ George Santayana
    “History doesn’t repeat itself. But it does rhyme. ~ Mark Twain
    “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.” ~ Aldous Huxley
    “If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us! But passion and party blind our eyes, and the light which experience gives us is a lantern on the stern which shines only on the waves behind.” ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

  13. All democracies that came later have looked at the US as example, took inspiration from it and decided “No no no, lets not do it that way…”
    The general model that seems to kind of work:
    – No 3 coequal branches. Instead the House (the chosen representatives of the people) is the boss. The House forms, employs and can fire the executive branch. But if the House sends the executive branch packing, there will automatically be new elections for the House.
    – Keep the head of state away from politics, preferably just a ceremonial position with no real power (You are the king or president? Sure, but listen and do as you are told).
    – Keep the judiciary and police a-political, NO elected judges, prosecutors, sheriffs and the like.

    Oh yeah, a Electoral Collage and the opportunity to gerrymander, also big no, no’s.

  14. The USA has never been a good example. But it has never before been so far off the accepted democratic minimum standards in e.g. Western Europe. And the USA is even further off regarding the rule of law.

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