Senator Angus King (Ind., Maine) addressed the U.S. Senate last Tuesday on behalf of the Freedom to Vote Act. Republicans later blocked consideration of the bill, but his words (above) deserve a hearing.
Excerpts:
“It’s important to remember that most failures of democracy started with legitimate elections, but once in office, the leader manipulated the electoral process to consolidate their hold on power, just as was attempted here last winter. And once power is seized, the control and reach of the modern surveillance state is truly terrifying. Ask the Uighurs in China, or members of the opposition in Russia, if you can find any alive.”
“Russia, Turkey, Venezuela, and Hungary are examples of the slide into authoritarianism just in our lifetimes; those countries still have elections, but they don’t mean much.
And what if the current wave of voter suppression legislation succeeds and keeps tens of thousands of people from voting, or what if in 2024 a partisan legislature in a swing state votes to override the election results and send its own set of electors to Congress? Then it won’t just be Republicans who distrust elections, and we will be left with a downward spiral toward a hollow shell of democracy, where only raw power prevails and its peaceful transfer becomes a distant memory.”
245 years ago, British colonists in North America rallied around the cry of “No taxation without representation” to fight for freedom, but the tax-paying residents of the nation’s capital still don’t have a vote in Congress. Mo Rocca looks at the issue for CBS Sunday Morning.
Despite America’s founding principles, politics perpetuates taxation without representation in the United States. Kimberly Mas and Madeline Marshall explore why Washington DC is not a state in this Vox video.
Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter was interviewed by Margaret Warner of PBS NewsHour on September 14, 2012, the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution.
Justice Souter: “I don’t worry about our losing republican government in the United States because I’m afraid of a foreign invasion. I don’t worry about it because I think there is going to be a coup by the military as has happened in some of other places. What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough, as they might do, for example, with another serious terrorist attack, as they might do with another financial meltdown, some one person will come forward and say, ‘Give me total power and I will solve this problem.’
“That is how the Roman republic fell. Augustus became emperor, not because he arrested the Roman Senate. He became emperor because he promised that he would solve problems that were not being solved.
“If we know who is responsible, I have enough faith in the American people to demand performance from those responsible. If we don’t know, we will stay away from the polls. We will not demand it. And the day will come when somebody will come forward and we and the government will in effect say, ‘Take the ball and run with it. Do what you have to do.’
“That is the way democracy dies. And if something is not done to improve the level of civic knowledge, that is what you should worry about at night.”
Chris Wallace: “I want to ask you here on the stage tonight: Do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely—sir, that you will absolutely accept the result of this election?”
Donald Trump: “I will look at it at the time. I’m not looking at anything now. I’ll look at it at the time ….”
Chris Wallace: “But, sir, there is a tradition in this country—in fact, one of the prides of this country is the peaceful transition of power and that no matter how hard-fought a campaign is, that at the end of the campaign, that the loser concedes to the winner—not saying that you’re necessarily going to be the loser or the winner, but that the loser concedes to the winner and that the country comes together, in part for the good of the country. Are you saying you’re not prepared now to commit to that principle?”
Donald Trump: “What I’m saying is that I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense. OK?”
Um, no.
___________________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-oH9
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
While authorities suppressed the pro-democracy street protests, the movement for local self-government continued. Last week, a record voter turnout elected six leaders of the Umbrella Movement to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and Macau. The next Hong Kong Chief Executive election is scheduled for March 26, 2017.
Some Hong Kong protesters put down their umbrellas to meet police with the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture they learned from Ferguson’s protesters, but they wear surgical masks and goggles because it doesn’t stop the pepper spray.
Mr. Morozov emphasizes that networked digital tools can be used to maintain political power as well as challenge it, and recently spoke to the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) about this. The video of his complete lecture is here, but this short animated excerpt is easier to follow and more fun:
NotionsCapital 