DO WE OR DO WE NOT WANT DEMOCRACY?

THIS DEAD HORSE QUESTION REQUIRES MORE BEATING

“What makes a movement Fascist is not ideology but the willingness to do whatever is necessary – including the use of force and trampling on the rights of others – to achieve victory and command obedience.”  -- Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State, Fascism: A Warning (2018) p. 229.

A friend who is a Trump supporter inspired this blog. He

defends the President’s right to use money, not appropriated, for building a wall on the southern border of the United States. This friend believes, even though the constitution makes Congress the branch of government that appropriates money, the

President can ignore that and take money from other appropriations for any purpose the President declares a “national emergency.” He asserts the President’s responsibility to “provide for the common defense” permits such action.

Constitutional Issues

Our friend’s “provide for the common defense” claim presents the first problem. That phrase comes from the constitution’s preamble and serves as a rationale for the constitution itself. Article II, the part of the constitution establishing an executive branch and defining its duties, does not assign the executive a “common defense” duty. Indeed, the “common defense” obligation applies to all branches of the American government.  

We live in a democracy with three co-equal branches of

government – legislative, executive, and judicial.  The constitution gives the legislative branch exclusive appropriation power. Though Congress has granted the executive authority to declare “national emergencies,” it has never given up the power of the purse.

Considerable debate, in fact, exists about the constitutionality of the statute purporting to give presidents

emergency authority. To achieve the result our friend desires, we believe this country would have to choose a more autocratic form of government. Judging by his views, and those of many Trump supporters, one might conclude they are ready to do just that. We wonder, however, if other things are at work.

Do Americans really favor moving to an autocratic form of government? We suspect not. Instead, some actually only want the result Trump has promised, i.e. making America great again by cordoning off the United States from the entry of brown people from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Trump never speaks so harshly about the entry of immigrants with white skin. That alone attracts some of his supporters. Some merely back his other policies, including his position on abortion, putting right-leaning judges on the federal courts, and tax policies that favor the wealthy.       

The Reality of Democracy

Democracy remains the most desirable form of government, but no one should underestimate what it requires. As the appearance before the House Oversight Committee of former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen demonstrated, democracy involves the people’s representatives holding even the highest officials accountable for their misdeeds. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents must work on this together or democracy will perish. The people have a right to this accountability and no president gets a free pass.

We fear some Trump supporters, who would grant him so much executive authority, miss this point in the name of achieving policy ends. Some Trump supporters behave as if they do not appreciate the damage he has done to the fabric of our democratic form of government. When he accused a federal judge of Mexican heritage of being unable to rule fairly in his case because of that ancestry, he really asserted an expectation of prejudice in our judicial system.  When he says he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin over American intelligence agencies, he attacks our democratic institutions by believing a former communist KGB agent over the dedicated men and women who risk their lives for our country. The same goes for seeking Putin’s advice about dealing with North Korea over the advice of our intelligence professionals.

Fascism Again

Even if we can’t conclude Trump’s un-democratic acts mean we’re headed for a fascist state, Secretary Albright’s warnings remain relevant:

--Fascism rarely makes a dramatic entrance.  Typically, it begins with a seemingly minor character – Mussolini in a crowded cellar, Hitler on a street corner – who steps forward only as dramatic events unfold.  The story advances when the opportunity to act comes and Fascists alone are prepared to strike. That is when small aggressions, if unopposed, grow into larger ones, when what was objectionable is accepted and when contrarian voices are drowned out …. We have learned from history that Fascists can reach high office via elections. When they do, the first step they attempt is to undermine the authority of competing power centers, including parliament or, in America, Congress.”

Fascism: A Warning pp. 229 & 234  

We think America’s first order of business remains removing Trump from office by impeachment or at the ballot box. His actions constitute a clear threat to democracy. Democrats, Republicans, Independents,

Socialists, members of the Green Party, and those not part of any organized political group must join in this effort. We can fight out our disagreements on tax policy, immigration, reproductive rights, and many other issues without this President. We can even agree democracy has its flaws and requires constant re-examination and improvement. But whatever democracy’s flaws, we must preserve it over autocratic forms of government. We can never relinquish our right to choose our leaders at the ballot box.  That right must remain inviolate. Is that even arguable?