this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2024
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[–] t3rmit3@beehaw.org 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

When I say “Trump is eroding our democracy,” most people - including you - understand what I’m driving at.

I agree with Stewart on that point:

Come Election Day, Stewart said, “If your guy loses, bad things might happen, but the country is not over. And if your guy wins, the country is in no way saved.”

Trump is not going to end voting if he gets reelected, and voter suppression and disenfranchisement by Republicans existed long before Trump and will continue long after Trump. There is nothing that Trump is going to fundamentally change about our government.

It will be very bad if he gets elected, but the country is not over, and using hyperbolic language that implies otherwise, like "This is a question of whether democracy dies in America." (which is what the commenter I initially responded to said), is just being used to deflect from very important and valid criticism of the alternatives. More importantly, it runs the danger of creating voter fatigue; not every election can be an exceptional, emergency situation, and all of Trump's runner-ups like DeSantis and Ramaswamy, are all running the same playbook.

If the only way for America and/or Democracy not to die is for Republicans to never again become president, it's already lost, because we're in a duopoly with them (which the DNC is actively working to maintain), and it is an eventuality.