Dan Rather: Do Republicans Believe in Democracy? The press needs to start asking.

[Nevilledog]

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Kathy Howe
@kdhowe1
@DanRather Thank you for a thoughtful and timely essay on Steady this morning.

Do Republicans Believe in Democracy? The press needs to start asking.
“Do Republicans believe in democracy?” It is a question that on the surface might seem dismissive or even divisive. Certainly the answer for many Republicans is a resounding yes. However, the facts...
steady.substack.com
6:17 AM · Mar 7, 2021

https://steady.substack.com/p/do-republicans-believe-in-democracy

“Do Republicans believe in democracy?” It is a question that on the surface might seem dismissive or even divisive. Certainly the answer for many Republicans is a resounding yes. However, the facts are what they are. And as journalists we need to follow trails of inquiry, even if they lead to uncomfortable places. One of those places right now--and it has been for some time-- is voter suppression and questions around the national commitment to majority rule through elections.

The Washington press corps has operated for decades under one basic assumption: both Democrats and Republicans, whatever their ideological differences, ultimately believe in the norms and tenets of America’s constitutional government. Sadly, this assumption is no longer a given. What that means for the future of American journalism, and for the country as a whole, is not entirely clear. We are living in dangerous times that cannot be normalized or ignored.

Over the years, we all have seen plenty of examples when Democratic and Republican orthodoxies have proven to be right, and wrong. We’ve seen corrupt politicians in both parties. From issues of war, to economics, to domestic and social policy, no one party has had a monopoly on wisdom, or the truth. To write this is to risk wading into "false equivalence," that treacherous phrase which has rightly become a topic of fervent discussion over the last several years. To be sure, there have been major differences between the parties, and you could argue that Democrats have tended to be more progressive on important issues like equity and justice around race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Although even there, the record has been mixed. Others will surely argue that Republicans have been better on a range of issues.

Regardless of how you might assign praise and blame to the parties on policy, a fundamental thing to remember is this: for most of our history, how American politics was supposed to work was that you had honest competition between the parties for votes. This competition could be fierce and even dirty, but it was ultimately rooted in a belief that elections had consequences and thus should be won. Once elections were over, the winners took office in a peaceful transfer of power. That was a given. Reporting then turned to what politicians did with the authority bestowed by voters. The press corps was expected to probe, investigate, and explain that to the public.

*snip*

[Wounded Bear]

1. The short answer is increasingly "NO, they don't..."

Repubs believe in power, and have been willing to do anything to suppress opposition and seize, maintain, and wield power, regardless of public opinion or sentiment.

Hopefully, enough of the American public has woken up to what repubs have been up to and will vote against it.

[onecaliberal]

2. We don't really need to ask, we just need to watch what they do.

Based on that, I’d say the answer is a resounding NO.

[uponit7771]

3. NO !!! They're tacitly sympathizing with the 1/6 terrorist TO THIS SECOND and wont say the underlyin

... reason why there was a protest and attack in the first place was a lie.

[tulipsandroses]

4. Clearly they do not. They are not interested in presenting ideas and policies - Just stoking fear

and voter suppression to seize power.

The mind boggling thing is many black folks, immigrants are conservative - especially the older generation. However the pervasive racism will prevent them from being republicans.

If they presented good ideas, without racism they would get a larger share of minority voters. But they would rather play dirty than play fair.

[Thomas Hurt]

5. The core of conservatism is maintaining individual power, of course they don't

[wiggs]

6. Not just vote suppression. Gerrymandering isn't democratic. Dark money and huge PAC contributions

and one-sided lobbying aren't democratic.

Fake grassroots protest groups paid for by corporations and think tanks aren't democratic. Control of media and information by fewer and fewer corporations (including the biggest defense contractor in the world) with agendas....propping up foreign dictators...intentional concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few isn't democratic. Senators from low population states have the same voting power as senators from populous states...not democratic. Using the filibuster not to further discussion/debate/analysis but to protect the party line is not democratic.

There is an easy and comprehensive case to make here, that dems, journalists, and pundits aren't making.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

17. k&r for this post!

[Montauk6]

7. Actually many right-wingers will tell you, NO this is NOT a democracy

They go back to when some lady asked Ben Franklin if we have republic or a monarchy and he goes, "A republic, ma'am, if you can keep it." Also, they'll point to Article 4, Section 4 of the Constitution (or as the boys back in Michigan used to call it, "da CANstitooshin" ) and say Amurrka's a CONSTITUTIONALLY LIMITED REPUBLIC. And of course the taunts of "mob rule" "9 cannibals and one missionary voting on what's for dinner" and so forth.

So, it doesn't surprise me at all how against democracy these folks are.

[movingviolation]

29. Even their analogies are racist..

"9 cannibals and one missionary voting on what's for dinner"

The proper analogy should be:
"9 starving people that play by the rules, and one food hoarder asshole that creates famine because they profit from it, voting what's for dinner."

[PatSeg]

8. Oh, they believe in democracy

the same way they believe in family values, our vets, fiscal responsibility, the constitution, and patriotism. With republicans, it is all lip service, but no substance.

[3825-87867]

9. CBS should be embarrassed!

With all the revelations of Bush II's BS, the shit the Republicans have foisted on America since the 80s, I don't understand how the Brain(less) trust at CBS can sleep knowing Dan was right yet they did it to kowtow to the Republicans while knowingly lying to American Viewers.

He should be given a guest opinion piece at least once per week on the evening news...if he wants it.

[malaise]

10. ReTHUGs haven't believed in Democracy for ages

Wake up Dan - I've heard some of them arguing that they are a Republic not a democracy

[3825-87867]

11. And NBC and MSNBC -

while you're at it, time for Keith to come back for an editorial piece once a week, also!

[erronis]

12. A really well-written article by Dan Rather. Part of the old school of journalism and facts.

Sometimes the facts are uncomfortable to politicians and governments. Every country and every party.

This most recent (30+ years) of trying to re-form facts into fiction and ideology into facts is very harmful to an open and democratic society.

Dan Rather, Mike Wallace, Roger Mudd, Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, and many more tried to give us some unvarnished truths in the face of obstruction and obfuscation by the US power-that-be.

Fox, OANN, Pravda, ru.com, etc. are fed lies to regurgitate to their captured eyeballs and ears.

[hibbing]

27. That is some quality writing n/t

[Ford_Prefect]

13. It's like Animal Farm...Some animals are more equal than others.

4 legs good, 2 legs bad.

Republicans believe in Democracy for the chosen few, with penury and starvation for the rest of us.

To paraphrase Karl Rove: If it mattered to you that much you should fight harder for it. If you won't shed blood over it you don't deserve the privilege, or the water, or the oxygen, or the food.

[pandr32]

14. But "we are a Republic--not a Democracy" is too often the answer

[Pepsidog]

15. It's a Democracy only when their in power and make all the rules like first 2 years of Trump.

[bucolic_frolic]

16. The party of property became the party of capitalism

Citizens exist to service their capital, make money for them, buy their products, fight their wars when they have disputes. That is a comprehensive description of human history.

[Rebl2]

20. Most certainly

And true it does describe the history of society in general. Some care for their citizens better than others though. I would say the United States has failed in many cases.

[CrispyQ]

18. They were only ever in favor of representative government

as long as they were at the top of the hierarchy and calling the shots. And they had a good run at it, too, since they built the system & put themselves at the top and in charge. But once the uppity women, people of color, and gays started demanding equality & equity in the system, their little conservative minds couldn't handle it & they've been working tooth & nail to keep the already rigged system in their favor. These hundreds of state bills to disenfranchise voters is the last grasp for power from the white, Christian patriarchy, who see the future demographics.

[gratuitous]

19. I think the question has already been answered

It's simply a statement of fact that Republicans don't believe in democracy.

[Politicub]

21. Of course they don't: They believe in amassing power.

Sometimes they get power through play-acting democracy. Other times, they pass legislation that neuters the power of their successors.

But democracy? It scares the shit out of them, which is why they try their hardest to game the system.

[PatrickforB]

22. I do not think this is a question that is dismissive, or divisive. The Republicans have

already self-selected into a fascist-oligarchy model.

I'm thinking the Democrats are the party, the one and only party, that still believes is 'little-d' democracy.

[ananda]

23. Excellent article. It really puts it to the press..

to be the guardians of truth and accountability.

[movingviolation]

24. Republicans are making Cold Civil War on democracy.

They show that more and more, every single day.

[Hekate]

25. KnR

[Lonestarblue]

26. The answer is no, Republicans do not believe in democracy.

They have never believed in democracy for anyone but white people. And since Karl Rove issued his REDMAP in 2010, they have steadily moved into more and more voter suppression and probably vote stealing, or deliberate machine miscounting as with some strange votes in McConnell’s 2020 election. The goal of Rove and REDMAP was to install the Republican Party as a permanent majority with full control of the WH and Congress, using gerrymandering and other tactics to ensure that Democrats could never win an election. They pulled some new weapons out of their arsenal with their baseless claims of massive election fraud, their support for insurrection and overthrow of the government, and their refusal to certify an election that Biden clearly won—and that they knew he had won.

Republican leaders are now accepting the lunatics and kooks like QAnon Marjorie because she provides a distraction from other things they’re doing, like passing state laws to disenfranchise minority voters. Every media person interviewing a Republican needs to push back on their fraud claims and keep hammering them for why they are trying to damage democracy by preventing people from voting.

[budkin]

28. They do if only Republicans win

So no.

[gulliver]

30. I'm wary of the phrase "believe in"

The real question to Republicans is whether they are "committed unshakably to" democracy and the vote. They have no choice if they are to remain loyal to the United States. Asking them if they "believe in democracy" is simply inviting them to be disloyal.

Do people believe in fighting for their country in time of war? It doesn't matter what they believe. It's their duty as citizens.

[Cha]

31. Rt TY Yes, the "press" Needs to Do

their damn jobs.