Here’s why you should be worried about US democracy right now

On Oct 12, 2021

The growing fear outside the committed base of the GOP is that the attempted coup of 2021 was not a one-off, but rather “a dress rehearsal for something that could be happening near term, in 2022, and 2024.”

Those are the words of Fiona Hill — the Brookings Institution senior fellow, former Russia expert on the National Security Council and witness at the first Trump impeachment hearing — who said on CBS News on Sunday that the US is in a dangerous place.

She said it’s absolutely appropriate to view the Capitol insurrection as a sort of pre-revolutionary act.

The coming question for all Americans is whether their government should be run by a president and a government selected by voters.

This past weekend provided multiple examples of how the GOP is moving to fully embrace Trump and his overtly antidemocratic views.

Another top Republican won’t admit election was legitimate

Steve Scalise, the second-ranking House Republican, was pushed repeatedly Sunday by Fox News’ Chris Wallace about whether the 2020 election was legitimate. He would not say “yes.”

“I’ve been very clear from the beginning,” Scalise said on “Fox News Sunday.” “If you look at a number of states, they didn’t follow their state-passed laws that govern the election for president. That is what the United States Constitution says. They don’t say the states determine what the rules are. They say the state legislatures determine the rules.”

This antiquated view of constitutional law is the bedrock of a growing view that, apparently, legislatures and not voters, should select presidents.

It’s a misreading of state laws and antidemocratic to the core. It’s becoming the main view of Trump-backing Republicans.

Liz Cheney gets further away from her party on elections

As Scalise moved toward the election doubter crowd, fellow Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming tweeted in direct response to his comments that there should be room for truth in the GOP.

She said: “Millions of Americans have been sold a fraud that the election was stolen. Republicans have a duty to tell the American people that this is not true. Perpetuating the Big Lie is an attack on the core of our constitutional republic.”

What she said is correct. What makes it most notable is how lonely she sounds saying it.

Trump’s hold on the GOP is even more complete. Witness Chuck Grassley.

That Sen. Chuck Grassley feels the need to seek Trump’s approval is telling. Grassley is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate who has been in office for many decades. He appeared alongside Trump at a rally in his home state of Iowa over the weekend.

“I was born at night, but not last night. So if I didn’t accept the endorsement of a person who’s got 91% of the Republican voters in Iowa, I wouldn’t be too smart. I’m smart enough to accept that endorsement,” Grassley said.

It’s an odd turn for a lawmaker who spent decades building up a reputation as a strong-willed…