How much of that was due to Covid?
In the 2020 election, the Dems told their voters to vote by mail, and avoid the crowds. The Reps told their voters to vote in person. As a result most of the mail-in vote was for Biden.
Will it be the same in the next election?
The object is to sow confusion in the upcoming midterms. Blue states ignore the unconstitutional EO, giving Mike Johnson grounds for not seating representatives from those states. Crisis erupts, to be exploited by a felonious President seeking total and continuing power.
Although data is spotty, it looks like the correlation between party and mail voting is declining – but still significant:
NY Times: Despite Trump’s Attacks, Republicans Made Big Gains in Mail Voting
I do not find rich countries moving away from representative democracy so quickly and completely.
If Republicans retain the Senate, Trump shouldn’t mind having a Black Democratic speaker to blame for whatever goes wrong. Democrats would fight with each other, blaming Jeffries for not standing up to Trump when the new speaker would have little real power. Jeffries would be under enormous pressure, from his base, to shut down the government, and then we are then back to Trump further consolidating power by deciding what government function as essential while Democrats blame each other.
I live in a wealthy Western democracy. Our right-wing nationalist party would love to be able to do what Trump and the Republicans are doing, but unfortunately for them, our country uses a parliamentary system with proportional multi-party representation, and the fringe lunatics are unable to get meaningful political traction beyond their limited base.
This is not the case everywhere. The democratic impulse is eroding. It’s just that some countries are equipped to withstand the drift better than others.
A parliamentary system is an important component of safeguarding democracy, and it’s all the more effective when you have a true multi-party system.
Conversely, things can get bad very quickly when a single ignorant tyrant is both head of government and head of state, when said tyrant acts like a demi-god who can single-handedly rule the nation by churning out vast numbers of executive orders with reckless disregard for their illegality, when the legislature is spineless and ruled by a rigid two-party system, and when the Supreme Court has been thoroughly politicized and is complicit in the madness, having already effectively ruled that a sitting president is above the law.
Yes, that’s true, but I was responding to the observation that the erosion of democracy doesn’t seem to be happening everywhere at the same rate. I thought it was important to point out that the impulse to sabotage democracy can be found everywhere, and that what stands in its way is not necessarily cultural but rather systemic factors. In other words, if my country had the same electoral mechanics as the U.S., we would probably be well on the way to electing our own Trump (not to mention pulling ourselves out of the EU).
(Edit to add: I think we basically agree, but I was just framing the point slightly differently.)
Plenty of multi-party democracies have become illiberal. Israel? Hungary? Brazil? Poland?
Much as I’m fond of periodically referring to the “14 Characteristics of Fascism,” I think it might be worthwhile to enumerate some of the top-level guardrails that safeguard(ed) our democracy:
Anybody still playing BINGO?
SOURCE ARTICLE: 7 Pillars to Defend Democracy in 2025 and Beyond
DIRECT LINK TO THE IMAGE/LIST (IT MAY NOT BE DISPLAYING WELL)
Oklahoma will test some incoming teachers with ‘America-first’ exam
Candidates from California and New York must pass a 50-question test to qualify to teach in Oklahoma, state Superintendent Ryan Walters said.
Teachers from New York and California who apply to teach in Oklahoma will now have to answer questions meant to screen out “woke indoctrinators” with left-wing views — the latest attempt by Oklahoma officials to push the state’s education system rightward.
The test’s 50 questions will cover topics about U.S. government, religion and gender, according to examples shared by the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters (R). Teachers unions have criticized the move as a political stunt that will discourage applicants as Oklahoma faces a teacher shortage.
…
“We’re not bringing in woke indoctrinators into the classroom,” Walters told The Washington Post on Monday, adding, “It’s a very America-first approach.”
My bold.
Ya think?
Some?
What is the threshold that would draw candidates from other sates into this net?
There are no concerns about the natives or neighbours harbouring subversive views?
You can’t have a Wokie Okie?
Woke-lahoma!
Where great change comes sweepin’ down the plain
And the Blacks and gays
Enrich our days
As diversity is to our gain.
Woklahoma!
Every night my honey lamb and mate,
Sit down, I confess,
To watch PBS
Makin’ leftist inroads in our state.
We know we belong to the woke,
And the woke they are all real good folk.
And when we say:
Yee-ow! A-yip-i-o-ee-ay!
We’re only sayin’,
You’re doin’ fine, Woklahoma!
Woklahoma, O.K.!
First, fuck Oklahoma. Then, are there many candidates for teacher positions in Oklafuckinghoma from people willing to relocate from New York and California??
I understand that there’s always a handful of anything, but this sounds like idiot Republican (please pardon the redundancy) posturing.
And a test that applies only to candidates from two particular states??
Anyway, fuck Oklahoma.
Almost always, a non-teaching spouse had to relocate. The teacher thinks it won’t be that hard to land a public school job in Oklahoma, and, depending on specialty, is probably correct .
Anyone who is good at multiple choice tests, and knows that you are supposed to give a right wing answer, should ace it. And, unless they cheat, anyone who is bad at multiple choice tests will fail no matter how far right their views.
I guess they are thinking that progressives will answer C. But what limits religious teaching in public life, in some contexts, is the establishment clause. Only the desired conservative answer, D, applies to freedom of religion. So, on that one, I wouldn’t even have to lie.
.
What particular religion is considered will entirely determine if Republicans are in favor of, or opposed to D.
I’m going to bet A is the answer that gets you hired in OK. The other 3 are disqualifyingly wrong.
Because current RW government “thinking”, doctrine really, is not conservative; it’s authoritarian reactionary.
I agree. “A” is the Right answer, not the factually correct answer.
The questionnaire comes from PragerU. And Dennis Prager is Jewish. So I am going to double-down on D being the only answer the automated system will grade as correct..
With luck, the entire exam will soon leak, with answers provided, and we can know.
Q2 how old is the Earth?
A. 4.5 billion years
B. We can’t possibly know
C. 6,000 years
D. Wibble
Q3, How would you describe the character of our current president Donald Trump?
A, the best
B, the greatest
C, the mostest wonderfulest
D, turns out I don’t actually want this job
Splunge!