One notable feature of 21st century America is how anti-democratic the United States has become. The Electoral College and 21st-century racism are the principal culprits. The Electoral College, always anti-democratic, is working its perverse magic by ensuring that a minority of the population decides who the President will be. Small states holding half the population … [Read more…]
American democracy may be crumbling, and we should be alarmed. Of course, for Black Americans, democracy—on paper—has only existed between 1965 and 2013. But, in a democracy, all people have a right to vote. And the Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally guaranteed that right for Black Americans. This only lasted 48 years, until 2013, … [Read more…]
There was joy in the streets when Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election. Some observers said the celebrations were like those in foreign countries when a dictator has been overthrown. That was an appropriate sentiment as we narrowly averted the destruction of American democracy. Over 71 million Americans voted for Donald … [Read more…]
Commenting on Biden’s great speech, Charles Pierce, one of my favorite journalists, nails it. Pierce: Biden is taking a bigger gamble than he is being given credit for, a bigger gamble than many people are comfortable admitting exists. He is gambling that a country that gave an authoritarian buffoon enough votes to slime into the … [Read more…]
In this week of the very unconventional Democratic national convention, I think of Bernie Sanders. I agree with renowned scholar-activist Noam Chomsky that Bernie did not fail. Instead, in a real sense, he won. There was more involved in Sanders’ campaign over the past five years than we are used to seeing. Yes, he wanted … [Read more…]