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Ever since my encounter with "it's sedition, dammit" folks yesterday, I've been noodling on a thread about why it's important to understand that these lawsuits and objections and screams of election fraud are not sedition and, in fact, are scarier than that. 1/ https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1344323143465377793
They are scarier because sedition can be dealt with through arrest and criminal prosecution. The cumulative effect of the anti-democratic GOP can't be dealt with through anything but elections. The simple fact is that as long as we don't hold these folks accountable 2/
they have every incentive, and importantly, every constitutional right, to continue. I have been on the forefront of saying these shenanigans won't work this year, but I've also consistently stated that they are still dangerous and extremely damaging to our country. 3/
Our Constitution gives a whole lot of essentially unreviewable power to Congress to decide presidential elections. The only check on that power is us. We the people elect Congress and we the people can hold them accountable for going against the will of we the people. 4/
The problem is that we the people have essentially thrown up our hands, decided it was too boring or frustrating to pay attention to Congress (and in far too many cases, simply trying to live occupies all available time), and have abrogated our duty. 5/
This, like most destructive rot, did not happen overnight. It's been a gradual creep that rotted the core of electoral politics. It's helped by unchecked gerrymandering, voter suppression, money, and maybe most of all by culture wars. 6/
Thanks to the culture wars, we've devolved into red state/blue state warriors and it's stopped being about what our representatives can do for us, but how much damage/resistance can be done to the other side (and yes, this actually is a both sides problem). 7/
So now, the GOP has realized that we have reached a state of such partisanship that we cannot even agree that the results of a fairly conducted election should be respected. Rather, if the election has an outcome I don't like, then by definition, it wasn't fairly contested. 8/
Unfortunately, the Constitution itself gives Congress a plausible way to simply ignore the results of Presidential elections as long as one party holds both houses of Congress. This year, that is not the case, so it simply cannot happen. 9/
But if they don't suffer political consequences for undermining democracy, blatantly targeting minority voters, and doing everything possible (within the bounds of free speech) to intimidate election officials, then we really might be screwed in 2024. 10/
There is no law that will save us, nor can there be at least as long as McConnel runs the Senate. President Biden can't change the Constitution. And if SCOTUS isn't willing to defy the Constitution to save Trump, they certainly won't do it to save the next Democratic nominee. 11/
The simple and plain truth is that we really do have all the power to fix this. But it takes an informed, active, and motivated electorate at every level of politics. It requires being engaged and being willing to punish bad behavior even from our own team. 12/
It is far, far easier said than done. I'm not pretending there aren't severe structural barriers to participation and engagement. But as this post-election mess dragged on, I've become more and more convinced that we're going to lose democracy if we don't change. 13/
And that means working just as hard on the local level as we do on the national level and finding a way to hold the GOP Congressmembers accountable for their actions this year. I don't have easy answers, nor do I pretend any answers are easy. But that is the next fight. 14/
The system set up in our Constitution only functions if we the people do our part to hold elected officials accountable for their actions. If we continue to abdicate that responsibility, we will destroy ourselves even before the killer dancing robots get their chance. 15/
We are less than two days until a New Year begins. It's a time of reflection and resolution. So, here's mine. I resolve in 2021 to find every way I can to work to reinforce the pillars of democracy that have been damaged this year. I hope y'all will join me in that fight. /end
