If I told you the November 2022 election could be the last free election in America; would it change the amount of pressure you are willing to put on Senators Sinema and Manchin? Would it change your likelihood of voting? Would it change how you think about democracy?
Last week when President Biden spoke about Voting Rights in Atlanta, I believed the narrative may finally have changed. When he asked if Senators would be on the side of history that stood against George Wallace, Bull Connor, or Jefferson Davis I believed people would finally understand the gravity of the situation. When he once again labeled the new voting restrictions as Jim Crow 2.0, I believed people would look closely at what has been proposed or passed. I was wrong.
I knew right wing media was going to condemn the comparison, what I wasn’t expecting was for the rest of the news media to do the same, with CNN anchors asking guests if he had gone too far.
Gone too far?
On this topic that is voting rights, I would argue he hasn’t gone far enough. This is not the time for hope. It’s time for shock. On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it is time for people to see his life’s work is in peril of becoming a tattered dream.
The GOP is carrying out a calculated and coordinated attack on American democracy with one objective- total power forever. They aren’t just trying to make it harder for some people to vote. They are trying to make it nearly impossible for anyone who would vote against them to cast that vote. They aren’t just trying to increase confidence in elections. They are trying to make it, so they have the ability to overturn any outcome they don’t like. Suppression and Subversion are the goals, and they are succeeding. These steps are not just a threat to democracy, they are a threat to America. They are a threat to the World as a whole.
With the state bills that have already been passed and the ones currently being discussed it is very possible that our next election will be our last chance to save ourselves. Without the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act it may be unfeasible to get back what we will lose. It is very likely that we will see intimidation in November at polling locations unlike anything since before the Civil Rights Movement. In these same states we will see officials make choices they see fit regardless of the will of the people. In the case that these outcomes flip the Senate and the House, 2024 will be all but decided.
With a flipped Senate and House, the attack will continue at the national level. States that can change electors combined with a Congress loyal only to GOP power will negate anything the ballot box may say that year. Add to this a party that bows to a single man and you have the beginning of authoritarian America. After this happens there will be no going back to even where we are today.
If trump gets back into the Oval-Office, the only time he will leave (other than daily golf outings) will be his death. The GOP will take away every democratic institution we have. They will set laws to decimate their opponents. They won’t take away your right to be heard, they will take away your voice and silence any opposition to their power. Look to the number of red states that have legalized running over protestors. They will use those models to inform federal policy. The running down and murder of counter messaging will be carried out legally by the forces in charge. Protesting the next trump administration won’t be cleared with tear gas and rubber bullets, they will be eviscerated with live ammunition and left to die in the streets as a warning to anyone who dares to stand against them again. His followers root for war and that will be exactly what they attempt to set in motion. They will take everything from you until you can only resort to violence. At that point any violence could be the ignition point his Christian White Supremacist Militias are looking for. They will taunt anyone they see as opposition in hopes that they can finally start the battles they believe will bring them glory.
The failure of American democracy will also set off a cascade of democracy failures around the world. With “Strong Man” governments taking shape global power realignment will be inevitable. Think Cold War 2.0. This time with three major powers (China, Russia, and the U.S.) and none of their leaders being accountable to voters.
So, no, I don’t think he went too far. I think we as voters in America haven’t gone far enough. As someone who vomits at the thought of hailing King trump, I think we need to go further. I would say this may be the time where every Democrat, Independent, or Non-trump Republican who cares about America should be standing on the front lawns of Senators Sinema and Manchin. If we have to shut down the country to obtain our solidified voting rights, then that is what must be done. MLK Jr. would demand that we organize to meet the moment -“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” For America today, voting rights and fair elections are the things that matter most. We will not get a redo.
What can be done with a vote today will only be accomplished with war tomorrow.
Changed So Much! 