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We Need a Department of Democracy

This post expands on 2019’s proposal for a government agency, a “Department of Democracy,” to protect and promote democracy.

Democracy doesn’t have an advertising agency, and our discourse is swamped by well-funded anti-democracy efforts — done by self-interested parties like the tobacco and fossil-fuel companies. For obvious reasons such interests want to get government and its rules that protect the public from harms (a.k.a. regulations) “off their backs.”

Our elections have become a game in which secretly-funded disinformation, spread by secretly-funded propaganda outlets, in rigged districts, with voter suppression and apathy deciding who rules. Those minority-selected elected officials perpetuate these barriers in a “doom loop” that is ending democracy.

If what’s left of self-rule survives we need a government agency to take on the role of protecting and promoting democracy. Perhaps we could call it a Department of Democracy.

Continue reading “We Need a Department of Democracy”

Stop The Voter Fraud Charade

Republicans know that no one bussed illegal voters anywhere, no one filled out other people’s ballots, no one “stuffed” ballot boxes, no ballots were printed in China on paper made from “bamboo.”

Republicans know, and everyone knows, that none of this happened. Republicans know that what happened is more people were allowed to vote and when that happens Republicans always lose.

Everyone knows what this is about.

Republicans are saying that -ANY- vote by a minority or Democrat shouldn’t count, they should be allowed to vote, shouldn’t be citizens. That is what they are very clearly saying now. That is what all their new state laws are about. It’s about only letting Republicans vote so they will win.

Republicans are a minority and they have rigged the rules for years now. Republicans win state legislative and Congressional seats through gerrymandering. Republicans are not elected president by majorities. Republicans on the Supreme Court are put there by Republicans presidents who did not win majorities, and confirmed by Republican senators who represent a minority of voters.

A filibuster allows senators who represent only 24% of the public to block everything.

Everyone knows this, especially Republicans.

So stop the charade, stop talking about “fraud,” stop pretending Republicans are doing anything other than rigging things, stop trying to refute their cover-story lies and stop letting them get away with this.

That’s all.

The Democrats’ Dastardly Plan

The Democrats have a sinister plan. They are going to trick people into voting for them by doing things to make their lives better.

They plan to use the people’s government to bribe the voters. They are strategically scheming to allocate government resources to deliver things like safety from the Covid-19 virus, health care, education, even modernized infrastructure. They plan to address problem like the climate crisis, racial injustice, even inequality, They will pass laws preventing companies from polluting, committing fraud and other things that companies have been allowed to do for so long! This hijacking of the government by Democrats for their own purposes could mean voters reward them by allowing them to do even more for them.

However the good Republicans also have a plan. To prevent the seizure of the government away from the corporations, they are passing laws to stop the voters from being able to reward the Democrats for their bribery schemes. They are gallantly making sure that it is very, very difficult for the bribed voters to get to polling places – of course prohibiting the ease of voting by mail – and if they get to voting places they will face all kinds of rules designed to keep the from the voting booths themselves.

In case voters actually do make it to the voting booths to cast votes, the districts are carefully drawn in ways that Democrat votes are concentrated into a very few districts, while the majority of districts remain under Republican control, no matter how the statewide vote turns out.

So be aware of this sinister plan by Democrats to bribe voters by making their lives better. Do not let them get away with it.

Take What Happened Very, Very Seriously

People don’t want to say that Republicans attempted a “coup” but they certainly attempted to overturn the clear results of a democratic election. They tried to end our democracy, right in front of our eyes.

The election was almost “close enough to overturn.”

The Democrat received (the counting is not finished) over 6 million more votes but it was “close.” This is because our 18th-century electoral college system, designed to keep the “slave states” happy, does not belong in the 21st century.

If Republicans had blocked a few more people who couldn’t get birth certificates, etc. from voting…

If Republicans had been able to close a few more polling places…

If they had taken away a few more ballot drop-boxes…

If Republican had scared just a few more people…

If Republicans had told just a few more lies…

If the USPS had delayed a few more ballots…

If just a bit fewer Democrats had voted…

they very well might have gotten away with it.

Take what happened very, very seriously. Because they tried. Right in front of our eyes.

And if we don’t take steps to do something about this, next time they will do … just that bit more.