There are so many indices that Americans simply do not understand or appreciate their legal and governmental structure or truly recognize the political distortions that separate us. This reality has been further distorted by the recent proclivity to base judicial appointments on political litmus tests, to accept the overwhelming power of unbridled political contributions under Citizen United vs FEC, to believe that it is acceptable to make voting difficult for classes of voters who oppose incumbent political parties, for vast swaths of Americans to eschew interpretations of the US Constitution from courts in favor of ad hoc and erroneous interpretations from peers and biased social and other media, to elect candidates pledged to the force of “never compromise” if elected and finally to the belief of members of political factions who have been soundly defeated though a very normal election process that they have a right to negate opposing votes and accordingly to reverse published and certified election results.
President Biden may have called for unity, recognizing that most of his “early days” political actions are quite popular across the board among the “people” (of both major parties), but the current state of distorted pollical factors noted above – which leads The Economist to label the United States as a flawed democracy – has produced a political schism, particularly notable in the narrow margin of majority control in the Senate, where except for “my way” or “plain vanilla wrap” legislation, the elected representatives of an entire political party have vowed to oppose the will of both the Democratic majority in Congress (under the Senate filibuster/cloture blocking rules) and the President just because they believe that will force them to victory in the 2022 mid-term Congressional election.
Long a critic of election distortions and human rights violations in other nations, the United States has of late been forced to listen to the raging rhetoric of autocratic regimes lambasting our credibility after the “big lie” promulgated by Trumpers, the racial injustice reflected in the blue-on-Black reality of police shootings (an African American is three times more likely to be shot than a White person at a police stop) now routinely captured on video, our voter suppression efforts in most red states and the notion of political instability and factionalism evidenced by the January 6th assault on the Capitol.
Indeed, at the high-level political conference that took place in Anchorage, Alaska in late March, an immediate personal conflict took place at the US Secretary of State who met with a comparable delegation from the People’s Republic of China: “In the combative dialogue held face-to-face between two nations which reporters described as ‘sharp and unusual public rebukes’, US criticized China about Hong Kong and Xinjiang human rights abuses, while the Chinese delegation launched scathing attacks on the US saying it can no longer speak from ‘position of strength’ asking [US Secretary of State Anthony] Blinken to address ‘deep-seated issues’ such as racism, berating US of incivility.” RepublicWorld.com, March 20th.
Even as one of the world’s most virulent human rights abusers, China was unambiguous in its reference to US failings: the rising White supremacy, right wing politics, the BLM movement, an election where fraud is alleged from an entire political party and all of the factors I have noted above., To China and much of the rest of the world, the United States has lost its credibility to criticize undemocratic systems elsewhere.
The polls on racial injustice within the United States reflect changing demographics. Older voters, naturally fading, seem to be diametrically different in the relevant attitudes than rising voters. Racial and ethnic schisms within our body politic also reflect attitudinal changes, many of which are not yet reflected in those elected to Congress. The Journal of the American Bar Association (April 29th) reported the results of its own political attitudinal polling (a March poll of one thousand voters), both in terms of numerical splits in voting preferences and in their perception of what is happening in their country:
“A new survey released by the ABA on Thursday [4/28] found stark divisions based on age and race when it comes to believing that there are racial biases built into the rules, procedures and practices of the justice system… While 45% of white respondents said they agree or strongly agree with that statement, 80% of Black respondents and 63% of Hispanic respondents agreed or strongly agreed.
“Additionally, the ABA 2021 Survey of Civic Literacy discovered that more than two-thirds of Americans ages 18-34 believe racial biases exist in the justice system, but only about one-third of Americans age 65 and older do… The ABA’s third annual survey of civic literacy, which assesses the public’s knowledge about the basics of U.S. democracy, also included questions about issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its results were released as part of Law Day, a national event established by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958 to recognize the country’s commitment to the rule of law…
“When asked whether ‘the nation’s judicial system adheres to the rule of law, under which all individuals are treated equally in the eyes of the law,’ 56% of total respondents said they agreed. However, only 41% of Black respondents and 47% of respondents ages 18-34 agreed with the statement…
“Among its other data related to racial justice, the survey found:
• 57% of white respondents, compared to 50% of Hispanic respondents and 43% of Black respondents, support charging juveniles who are younger than 18 as adults for serious crimes.
• 50% of respondents think ‘defund the police’ means ‘redirect funding from the police department to essential social services,’ while 17% think the phrase means ‘strip police force of all funding’ and 14% said that it equates to ‘abolish the police force.’
• 33% of respondents ages 18-34 believe aggressive prosecution is the main factor contributing to mass incarceration rates in the United States, while 43% of respondents age 65 and older believe an increase in crime is the main factor.”
If trends continue as reflected in the above analysis, the current GOP base supporting White supremacy and parallel nationalism/populism will continue to lose traction, getting voter support primarily by marginalizing and excluding obvious voting blocks that oppose them. We can expect lockstep and systematic Trump-oriented Republican directed Congressional gridlock through several more election cycles, very much dependent on whether or not they secure judicial support for voter suppression efforts and gerrymandering, until those demographic trends marginalize these populist elected officials. We can expect a longer battle in the reddest of the red states, but the writing is on the wall. If the fading base becomes desperate enough and if gun control cannot be implemented on a rational basis, the “most real” threat (according to the FBI) of right-wing domestic terrorism could reach as far as another civil war. Time will tell.
I’m Peter Dekom, and it may take an inordinate amount of time for so many Americans to put country over undemocratic but charismatic political leadership.
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