This is a guest opinion column
Lots of folks have been arguing lately that America is not a democracy. John Wahl, Chair of the Alabama GOP, said last month that the US is not a democracy, but instead a Republic. He went on to say that democracy is dangerous. He said it “leads to socialism.”
The poli-sci academics (and wanna-be academics) are welcome to discuss the nuances of the United States of America as a representative, federalist, democratic, constitutional republic. All are valid adjectives to describe our form of government, and they do not contradict one another. But there’s no valid justification for Wahl’s claim that using the term “republic” will ward off the specter of socialism. The socialist Republic of China, the socialist Republic of Cuba, and the socialist Republic of Vietnam are all powerful examples of what a dumb argument Wahl was making. So if Wahl and others like him aren’t drawing any sort of meaningful distinction when they reject American democracy, what exactly are they doing?
Up until a few years ago, we all used the word “democracy” to refer to a set of core values. Not only did we have general agreement about which values those were, we believed standing up for those values was synonymous with patriotism.
Democracy was the word we used to summarize the notion that the laws of this country are determined by “We the People” rather than by a king or by the aristocracy. While we elect representatives to go to Montgomery & DC and do the negotiating, ultimately those politicians report to us. We can replace them if they aren’t doing what We the People want. Democracy meant having the right to express a religion or political opinion and not be jailed for it. Democracy meant a free and fair electoral process and the peaceful transfer of power after an election. Democracy meant the rights of minorities would be protected. It meant individual liberty was the default rule (with limited exceptions for public safety).
We not only liked democracy in the US, we also were proud to be spreading democracy around the world. While we thought of ourselves as the obvious leaders of the global democratic club, we were excited to welcome new members. We berated other countries for lacking women’s rights and religious freedom. Heck, we sometimes used our military to bully other countries into joining our democratic club.
But now we’re hearing Republicans reject this core patriotic value. It’s not just John Wahl. It’s also Trump saying he’ll use the Justice Department to investigate his critics, Vance saying he wouldn’t have certified the results of the 2020 election, and Jack Posobiec excitedly declaring at CPAC that the conservatives would overthrow democracy completely (to which Bannon responded “Amen!”).
This move to reject the label of “democracy” reflects the fact that those on the Far Right no longer get warm fuzzy feelings thinking about freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, due process, free & fair elections, and the peaceful transition of power. They are feeling more and more annoyed that the majority of Americans support reproductive rights, and frustrated that non-Christians keep insisting on having rights. More and more leaders on the Right are warning that if everyone gets to vote, things won’t turn out as they want. They are worrying that if people are guaranteed the right to assemble, they might assemble as Pride parades or moms against guns, or – gasp – Black Americans who don’t want to be murdered by police.
Much like Trump claiming to be unaffiliated with Project 2025, I know some on the Right will shove their fingers in their ears and emphatically claim that their insistence on America not being a democracy is in no way a desire to erode democratic principles.
But the truth is, they are wrong. The actions they’ve taken already have been anti-democratic and the actions they hope to take next are anti-democratic too. The Right might be willfully blind to what they’re doing, but the rest of the world is noticing.
Multiple international organizations keep an index of which countries are most democratic and least. The United States has been steadily declining in its ranking on all those scales, being considered now to be no longer a “working democracy,” but instead a “deficient democracy.” We are still far from being considered an “authoritarian regime,” but it’s worth noting that we are headed in that direction. Especially when one party is openly and emphatically rejecting our founding principle of democracy.
Defending and celebrating democracy is as American as apple pie and baseball. The GOP’s decision to brazenly reject this core American principle should frighten us all, and send us straight to the polls.
Tabitha Isner is vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.
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Publish date : 2024-08-13 11:59:00
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