Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party tried to convince the American people: “Democracy is on the ballot.” last week. their appeal I was almost deaf.
The conclusion most analysts draw from this is that Americans don't care about process, only narrow self-interest and basic issues.
we disagree. It is more accurate and honest to point out that the Democratic Party has no credibility when it comes to democracy and process.
Consider: They protected Joe Biden from surveillance After months of losing his mental acuity, Ignoring Congressman Dean Phillips (D-Min.) and Marianne Williamson “Protecting Joe Biden would be a disaster,” he said. They canceled all preliminary debates.
Florida Democratic Party canceled primary This is to keep Philips out of competition. Wisconsin Democratic Party I tried a similar tacticonly to be forced by the courts to change course. The Democratic National Committee created a “war room” to discredit and derail Robert Kennedy Jr.'s primary challenge. In the end, they succeeded in kicking him out of the party.
Meanwhile, in states from Colorado to Michigan, Democratic politicians and lawyers They tried to ban Trump from participating. Ballot voting was based on the novel theory that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution precludes a candidate from running for president for “aiding and comforting” to “insurrection or insurrection.”
one time Bubble wrap strategy No longer sustainable to protect a vulnerable Biden, they sidelined him, pivoted and anointed Harris. have Dropped out of the 2020 primary election Harris had the distinction of having never received a single vote as a presidential candidate until her poll results were so poor that no votes were cast.
All this was done in the name of “saving democracy.”
Democrats' hostility to open processes was not limited to the presidential election. They actively campaigned against the referendum. arizona, colorado, Washington DC, nevada South Dakota would have reformed its system to give independent voters the right to participate in primaries and give all voters the right to choose among all candidates.
And 2024 was not an anomaly. Democrats have long championed efforts to block primary reform across the country. In states where voters overcame obstructionism, California and washingtonthey advocate a return to exclusive institutions.
This is not an issue of “Democrats are bad, Republicans are good.'' Since primaries became common in the 1960s, both Democrats and Republicans have been involved in them as they wish. They use them to manipulate, divide, disrupt, and exclude. They will comply if it serves their purpose, but reject it if it does not. It may serve some party leaders and special interest objectives, but it does not serve the American people.
But it's a bigger problem for Democrats, who claim to be the party concerned with the democratic rights of ordinary Americans. They must confront the hypocrisy of cloaking themselves in the myth of defending democracy while engaging in such widespread forms of voter suppression.
Leaders like Nancy Pelosi are now grieving in public The lack of an open process because we lost the election. But they have yet to explore the depth of opposition to sharing power with ordinary people.
The way primaries are conducted in this country is outdated and exclusive, leading to Congress and state legislatures representing increasingly smaller parties rather than a broader electorate. 51% of Americans now identify as independent — Their voting rights mean nothing to the leaders of either party. But they mean a lot to a growing number of Americans across political lines.
Don't be fooled. Americans place great value on democracy and process. But you won't be lectured by hypocrites. As Democrats process the results of this election and plan their path forward, I hope they take a hard look at their lack of faith in democracy.
John Opdyk and Jeremy Gruber open primariesa national electoral reform organization.
