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'Republican Senator Blurts Out That He Hates Democracy'
'Republican Senator Blurts Out That He Hates Democracy,' By Jonathan Chait. The New Yorker, Intelligencer, Oct. 8, 2020. Lee loves Trump because they're both authoritarians.
~ "We're not a democracy." ~ Mike Lee, Oct. 7, 2020.
Last night, livetweeting his thoughts on the 2020 vice-presidential debate, Republican senator Mike Lee decided it was an opportune moment to share one of his edgier political beliefs: Democracy is bad.
Lee is articulating a view that has long been in vogue on the American right but which Republican politicians were generally hesitant to express openly. The premise is that liberty is a higher value than democracy, and they define liberty to mean a right to property that precludes redistribution. That is to say, the far right does not merely view progressive taxation, regulation and the welfare state as impediments to growth, but as fundamentally oppressive. A political system that truly secured freedom would not allow the majority to gang up on the minority and redistribute their income for themselves.
Lee, indeed, unpacked his views in a follow-up:
Four years ago, I wrote a long essay describing this view and its ascent within the Republican party over decades. Its thesis, that the GOP is slowly evolving into an authoritarian party, has been amply borne out by the Trump era.
From the perspective of the right, Trumps assault on democracy has advanced the cause of freedom and liberty, on net. His regressive tax cuts and deregulation have returned property to their rightful owners. Republicans believe that the political system must retain, and ideally expand, its counter-majoritarian features: restrictive ballot-access rules that restrict the franchise to the most worthy citizens, gerrymandered maps that allow the white rural minority to exercise control, a Senate that disproportionately represents white and Republican voters, and a Supreme Court that believes the Republican economic program is written into the Constitution.
Lee drew some attention by attacking Trump in 2016 and urging him to quit the race after the Access Hollywood tape emerged. But Lee, like most conservatives, has grown to appreciate the values he and Trump share. The most important of these shared values is Trumps hatred for democracy. And this is why the struggle for American democracy will continue after Trump is gone.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/mike-lee-not-a-democracy-republican-trump-authoritarian.html
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'Republican Senator Blurts Out That He Hates Democracy' (Original Post)
appalachiablue
Oct 2020
OP
I wouldn't say "blurt out". This is a long held talking point of the right wing movement.
Midnight Writer
Oct 2020
#5
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)1. Bunch of Putin wannabees
OAITW r.2.0
(24,446 posts)2. Very important point being made in this article.
They want to deliver a Putinesque, One Party state to replace our democratic institutions.
GeorgeGist
(25,318 posts)3. There are plenty of countries that agree.
He should move to one of them.
Marcuse
(7,475 posts)4. Reminiscent of the last days of minority rule in South Africa
Midnight Writer
(21,738 posts)5. I wouldn't say "blurt out". This is a long held talking point of the right wing movement.
They hate America.
Scruffy1
(3,254 posts)6. John Calhoun recycled.
I thought the North won the Civil War. Oh well.
Kind of Blue
(8,709 posts)7. K&R!
It's about time everyone starts talking openly and comfortably about their hatred for our country.