A Biden-Bernie ticket can defeat Trump and defend democracy
By Mark Y. Rosenberg, Opinion Contributor — 03/08/20 04:00 PM EDT
A democracy – especially a liberal democracy – is only as strong as its political institutions. This is a rare truism in political science, and a cause for serious concern among believers in the American democratic experiment.
Although it was clear from day one that U.S. democratic institutions would be stressed under President Trump, the extent of the erosion is remarkable. The incumbent Republican Party has gone all-in on an illiberal demagogue empowered by an increasingly untrammeled executive branch, with even impeachment swatted down like a bothersome institutional fly. Judicial and prosecutorial authorities are increasingly politicized, as are national security agencies, exacerbating threats to electoral integrity from foreign interference, pervasive misinformation and gerrymandering.
Meanwhile, federal institutions like the Electoral College and a rural-biased Senate interact with structural demographic forces – the end of the country’s white Christian majority; a skills and educational gap between urban and rural areas – to heighten social polarization and erode the critical link between popular will and political outcomes.
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https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/486494-a-biden-bernie-ticket-can-defeat-trump-and-defend-democracy
