A full year after Biden’s inauguration, in December 2021, 60% of Republican adults still believe Biden stole the 2020 election. Across 19 states, 33 laws have been passed that seek to disenfranchise groups of Americans and make it harder to vote. New polls show 60% of Americans believe a Trump 2024 campaign would be bad for the country, but Democrats have yet failed to mount a credible challenge to this provocation. We have moved beyond usual party politics where often one could find centrist ground; Democracy itself is at risk from Republicans actively trying to subvert it and Democrats failing to defend it.
Republicans are giving lip service to democracy as Republican officials steal voter privileges to result in Republican-leaning policy and laws. Democrats are not united in response; some are apathetic, and some focus on other concerns, such as progressive and social issues. Others are just waiting for Joe Manchin to “do something,” fueling media portrayals of Democrats as unable or unwilling to defend the attack on our democracy. While social issues are important and deserve policy-oriented solutions, they should not be the top priority when Constitutional rights are at stake. Grassroots organizations are rising to the challenge, but Congress is leaving them to fend for themselves. What was a close election in 2020 for Trump may end up a landslide for Trump in 2024, and Democrats are either not giving, or, in light of current constraints such as the filibuster, unable to give this critical issue the attention it deserves, especially in preparation for the 2022 midterm election.
While some Democrats may have some fervor for democracy left, notably shown in the mobilization of Democrats (especially Democratic voters of color) by Stacey Abrams and others in the Georgia Senate runoff elections, Democratic legislative leaders have been less successful. From voter suppression bills to partisan gerrymandering to pure denial of facts (given the complete lack of any evidence that the election was stolen), the United States has seen a dramatic rise in anti-democratic laws, bills, and actions since President Biden’s victory over former President Trump. The democratic values of our country are at risk. Yet, the media has declined to portray the severity of this dilemma and clearly lay out the consequences for their consumers, the American public. This gap between reality and the public’s understanding has failed to mobilize Democratic voters and generate the interest and funding necessary to drive us to a safer path.
President Biden addressed world leaders on December 9, 2021, at the virtual Summit for Democracy, but he has not handled the situation domestically. Americans have not been effective in addressing these continuing crises, and without further action from a more united Democratic leadership and average Americans pressuring their representatives to take action in Congress, we as a country will find ourselves in a dire situation from which we cannot recover.
Democratic backsliding isn’t a foreign concept. We’ve seen it in Brazil, India, and other countries. And now, it’s closer to home than ever before. The United States was listed for the first time in our history as on a list of “democratic backsliding” in a report from the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. The Global State of Democracy Report 2021 states, “The United States, the bastion of global democracy, fell victim to authoritarian tendencies itself, and was knocked down a significant number of steps on the democratic scale.” To illustrate the point, on December 16, 2021, all five of the GOP candidates running in the Minnesota gubernatorial election suggested President Biden didn’t fairly win the 2020 election.
While this news is alarming, as it should be, some groups have taken measures to save democracy; they just aren’t widespread enough. So far, 62 laws have been enacted in 25 states working on expanding access to voting. The advocacy group Indivisible is working on the local, state, and federal levels to fight for democracy reform and inform the public on the current state of democracy in this country. Federally, President Biden plans to kick off his crusade to renew democracy with the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. However, the Democratic majority in Congress is slim, and we are seeing no motivation from either government or citizens to actually push through these bills. Notably, Senators Machin and Sinema oppose the necessary voting procedure changes to pass these bills. Grassroots organizations are active on the ground in communities working to save democratic ideals and fight against voter suppression laws; Congress simply isn’t listening to them.
Simultaneously, the Republican Party has determined to do whatever it takes to take back power, disregarding the ideals of democracy. If Americans are going to fight this new national agenda and address this attack on democracy, Democrats must organize and present a united pro-democracy front. To be successful, it is imperative that a Democratic response link together both leadership and state-level grassroots organizations. As Democrats hold only a nine-seat majority in the House, the 2022 midterm elections are crucial to maintaining Democratic control. While some Democrats remain optimistic about retaining their majority, in reality, all Americans, regardless of party affiliation, need to call their representatives to support pro-democracy policies, the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, vote in midterm elections, and invest time and energy in groups and organizations devoted to saving democracy in America. Americans need to fight for the democratic principles upon which this country was founded, and the media needs to begin covering this crisis like the battleground that it is.