The View From Rattlesnake Ridge: What About Democracy? Democrats and Republicans Both Signal their Intentions to Sidestep the Process

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

What About Democracy? Democrats and Republicans Both Signal their Intentions to Sidestep the Process

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Democracy is a messy business. We already knew that.

Even before Newt Gingrich broke the modern-day political process with his 1994 “Contract with America” - waging a contract ON America that has led us in a straight line to the current state of affairs, we’ve had some rocky times.

During the early years of the Republic, despite the warnings about faction from George Washington and James Madison, the country was quickly drawn into factional conflict and only began to see some level of comity because Dolly Madison made a determined effort to get folks talking with one another again.

Then in the period leading up to the Civil War when slavery quite nearly broke us. Now today, we are divided between tribal animosities brought on by two political parties more interested in courting the donor class than helping middle-class and working-class Americans.

The principal culprits in this tribal warfare are obviously the Republicans who have gone over the edge and represent a clear and present danger to the Republic. Truth and civility are just not priorities for people like Congressman Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. Unfortunately, the vast majority of elected officials in the Republican Party at the national and state level continue to follow the lead of those who pervert the Constitution and blow through the constitutional norms that are the hallmark of the Democratic system.

But the Democrats have staged their own assault on the constitutional norms that we rely on as well. The zeal with which they have canceled individuals - like college professors - have turned too many Universities and the public square into a forum for shaming and censoring anyone who disagrees with their perspective on the world. Trading free speech for a culture of trigger warnings, censorship masquerading as public safe space and tribal intolerance.

For half a century both parties have gradually abandoned the working class and the poor for the comfort and succor of the donor class while the savage disparity of wealth continues to grow. . . an issue that, by the way, none of them has offered a single idea for dealing with.

The Republicans have contributed to that growing disparity by vilifying the poor and cutting social safety nets while providing tax cuts for the wealthy. The Democrats have done their part by supporting a welfare bureaucracy that fosters a nanny culture of dependency for a large portion of the population as a means of securing their support as their base. All of this has only deepened the divisions between Americans over race, religion, gender, and culture rather than creating pathways to prosperity, independence, and security that enhance the personal freedom of choice for all of our people, especially marginalized communities.

Now, with the increasing likelihood that the presidential race will be a rerun of the 2020 election, both parties are raising the drawbridges and creating their individual “cones of silence” intended to short-circuit an open debate about our future.

The fact is that over 70% of the American public is unhappy with the possibility of a rerun of the 2020 election. Yet both political parties are falling all over themselves to prevent an open and frank debate about our future.

If the Democrats and the Republicans want to prove their devotion to the American political system and to democracy they can begin by openly debating their opponents. President Biden and Donald Trump should not hide from the people of New Hampshire and Iowa or any other state by skipping primaries, and refusing to debate, even if their advisors counsel them to do so.

If our leaders do not have the confidence to engage in open debate on their ideas and policies they do not deserve our votes in either the primary or the general election.

About Wayne D. King: Author, podcaster, artist, activist, social entrepreneur and recovering politician. A three-term State Senator, 1994 Democratic nominee for Governor. His art (WayneDKing.com) is exhibited nationally in galleries and he has published five books of his images, most recently, "New Hampshire - a Love Story”. His novel "Sacred Trust" a vicarious, high-voltage adventure to stop a private powerline as well as the photographic books are available at most local bookstores or on Amazon. He lives on the “Narrows” in Bath, NH at the confluence of the Connecticut and Ammonoosuc Rivers and proudly flies the American, Iroquois and Abenaki Flags. His publishing website is: Anamaki.com.

Podcasts are produced at Anamaki Studios in Bath, NH.

This land lies in N’dakinna, the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Sokoki, Koasek, Pemigewasset, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples past and present. We acknowledge and honor with gratitude those who have stewarded N’dakinna throughout the generations.