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As we watch the transition of power, I want to share some thoughts I wrote for @JoinPersuasion about some of the people who stood up and fought for our democracy
Thanks to @Yascha_Mounk and @TomRachman for making this possible. https://www.persuasion.community/p/14-reasons-that-democracy-survived
Thanks to @Yascha_Mounk and @TomRachman for making this possible. https://www.persuasion.community/p/14-reasons-that-democracy-survived
First, the American people defeated Donald Trump. That's what democracy is about. He wasn't taken out by the military, be the courts, or by some magical force. He was removed from office by the people acting through the democratic processes. That's really important.
Second, many progressive groups maintained a level of energy over four years, fighting over policy. I flagged @staceyabrams and groups like @MiFamiliaVota and @ConMijente in particular. They motivated their bases to fight. That's hard.
But Presidential elections are about persuasion too! Principled conservatives like @BillKristol @SarahLongwell25 and @Timodc at @ForTheRuleOfLaw and @RVAT2020 were critical. This list is really long.
There were a small number of GOP officials who consistently did the right thing. But there were some. @MittRomney is one of few at the federal level. @dougducey and @GaSecofState did the right thing on the election over death threats and political threats. They deserve our praise
Some political appointees served their country under enormous pressure, including from a dangerous president. @C_C_Krebs is the highest profile example, but there have been many more.
Many, many, many career officials also did their jobs under incredible pressure and deserve our thanks. We at @protctdemocracy organized a number of letters of alumni to provide support.
And some resigned in protest because the President and his administration were demanding that they undermine our democracy. Again, there are many examples, but Nora Dannehy is a great example. And @NeuSummits is a great example of a political appointee who showed courage.
The press ... of course. I am reminded of Daniel Patrick Moynihan:
"Do I suppose there are societies which are free of sin? No, I don’t.…Have we done obscene things? Yes, we have. How did our people learn about them? They learned about them in the newspapers."
"Do I suppose there are societies which are free of sin? No, I don’t.…Have we done obscene things? Yes, we have. How did our people learn about them? They learned about them in the newspapers."
Whistleblowers like @AVindman and inspector generals across government stood up to ensure that our laws were followed. We need more work to strenghten these. And we at @protctdemocracy look forward to working with people like @POGOBlog and others to strengten those systems.
Our uniformed military stood up against a President who threatened to undermine our institutions and forced @esperdod and @thejointstaff to behave responsibly.
Another principled and libertarian conservative group, @chkbal, with people like @gtconway3d, @carriecordero, @IlyaSomin, @jadler1969 among others, fought ferociously for their principles, giving courage to principled poltical appointees and judges.
Many civil society litigators like @protctdemocracy @ACLU @MyConstitution and others fought hard in court to prevent egregiously unconstitutional actions from taking place to undermine our democracy like national emergencies and repeated illegal appointments, bypassing congress
The heroes at @HelloCTCL actually made the election work, with the support of @ChanZuckerberg. Back in March, I wasn't sure that we would actually have an election.
And, finally, Congress actually gets an honorable mention, more for showing what is possible than what was good. They did fight back when forced. They need to do more. Read more about that here: https://twitter.com/protctdemocracy/status/1300201885476020225
