Boy, do we need a "deep state" now -- but not the way the Trumpers mean it

[marmar]

Boy, do we need a "deep state" now — but not the way the Trumpers mean it
If the new space telescope exemplifies what our "state" can accomplish, let's take the same approach to democracy

By KIRK SWEARINGEN
PUBLISHED JANUARY 25, 2022 9:00AM


Democracy is complicated. It often feels as involved as the maneuvering required to make NASA's James Webb Space Telescope functional: Deploying the sun shield took some 107 different actions, and to fully engage the telescope, 18 different mirrors must be focused.

Defending democracy seems at least the intricate, dependent on the rule of law with all its hearings and investigations and honoring the time-consuming rights of the accused. Critically, it's also dependent on tradition and something once known as political comity. It's also a game of numbers: gerrymandering and court-packing; population shifts, with 50 Democratic senators now representing 41.5 million more Americans than 50 Republican senators; confusing filibuster and Electoral College rules and shenanigans.

Attacking democracy, by comparison, seems to be a cinch: A high-level thug coaxes a bunch of small-time thugs to blatt up on Harleys to surround and invade a state capitol because they don't want to wear masks in a pandemic — and, Hey, let's grab the governor! Or he lures a crowd of followers to Washington and exhorts them to go to the Capitol to "fight like hell" to stop the peaceful transfer of power — and, Hey, let's hang the vice president! Lie incessantly about voter fraud, because you embody the fraud. Pay for fraudulent audits by fraudulent companies. Bray to your followers about having all the "evidence," while admitting in court after court that you have none. Send forged certifications of ascertainment with phony slates of electors to the National Archives. When you're not specifically trying to overturn a fair election, create a roiling atmosphere of confusion and mistrust, to undermine people's confidence in voting because you cannot admit defeat; you're a fanboy of authoritarians and want them to be proud of you.

....(snip)....

Earlier this month, another former president (one who has by his deeds burnished that title more and more), Jimmy Carter, published a guest essay in the New York Times in which he spelled out the steps we must take as citizens and as a country to save our democracy. We must "demand that our leaders and candidates uphold the ideals of freedom and adhere to high standards of conduct." Though we may differ, citizens "must agree on fundamental constitutional principles and norms of fairness, civility and respect for the rule of law." Carter, who spent decades after his time in the White House observing elections around the world, writes that we must make voting accessible and ensure "transparent, safe and secure electoral processes." ..............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/01/25/to-save-democracy-we-need-a-deep-state--but-not-the-way-the-trumpers-mean/