What we must do

Mitt Romney's compliance with Mitch McConnell proves, once again, that we cannot expect decency from any Republican. The party is all about power, not principle.

Democrats and centrists have finally awakened to the threat: Fascism is here. How can we beat it back? 

If -- and it's a big "if"  -- Biden wins and the Senate goes blue, we must plug the holes in our democratic system which have allowed anti-democratic forces to take hold. What systemic changes should we institute? 

Here are some ideas:

1. End the filibuster. I've always advocated this move. Once the filibuster ends, much good can happen -- if the Democrats act rapidly. We will have only a two-year window.

2. Pack the courts. The counter-argument has always been "If Dems increase the number of Justices to 11, the Republicans will increase it to 13." The number nine is traditional, not constitutional. In 2016, Mitch McConnell abandoned all pretense of civility and respect for tradition. We must respond in kind. 

We received a punch. We must punch back -- harder. 

3. Increase the number of states. Here is a devastating blow that the Republicans cannot return, at least not easily.

There are 3.2 million Puerto Ricans. The vast majority of them would prefer statehood to their current sorry situation. 

The 706,000 residents of the District of Columbia pay taxes but have no representation. They deserve statehood. All of the arguments against DC statehood are effectively rebutted here. 

Not only that: Statehood should be granted to Guam (population 170,000), the Virgin Islands (population 100,000), American Samoa (population 55,000), and the Northern Mariana Islands (population 50,000). 

Each new state will have two senators and at least one House member. Puerto Rico would get four or five representatives in the House. All of the new senators will likely be Democrats.

(You wanna play hardball, Yertle? That's hardball.)

Heretofore, the Republicans has always defended the idea that sparsely-populated states like Wyoming should have the same number of senators as densely-populated California. That idea will be much less attractive to them after six new states are created.  

Can the Republicans punch back by dividing red states? Perhaps, but the Constitution makes division far more difficult than admission. 

(Incidentally, in 1905 there was a move to create an American Indian state -- the State of Sequoyah -- from the eastern section of present-day Oklahoma. An idea worthy of reconsideration...?)

4. Electoral college reform. Ending the electoral college is extremely necessary -- and extremely difficult. 

One commonly-heard plan is for a certain number of states to pledge that its electors will support the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. The problems with this suggestion are obvious: 

1. No red states will agree to such a compact. Even purple Florida has not yet agreed, and probably never will.

2. A pledge can be broken. Yertle and Lady G -- and now Mitt Romney -- have demonstrated that Republicans lack honor. They will ignore a mere pledge the moment doing so serves their purpose.  

However: Increasing the number of blue states will motivate the Republicans to support a constitutional amendment to do away with the electoral college. If our territories become states, the electoral college will give wildly disproportionate weight to the presidential votes cast in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands or Guam. 

In 2005 and again in 2009, Representative Gene Green of Texas introduced the Every Vote Counts Amendment. Representative Steve Cohen offered a similar proposal in 2017. Whenever this notion has popped up in the past, most people have snickered. The snickering will stop when five sparsely-populated islands (plus DC) become states. Republicans will demand a popular vote system. 

Increasing the number of states is the key than unlocks many doors.

5. A voting reform amendment. As long as we're amending the Constitution, let's take other measures to improve the voting system. I say that Democrats must compromise. We must give the Republicans something they want in order to gain our own goals.

Let's keep things simple. No computer -- of any kind -- should be used in the official casting or tabulation of votes for President, Vice President, Senator, Representative, Governor or state legislator.  

Computers may be used as an adjunct to the actual vote, but their results will be unofficial.

The full paper trail for each election should be warehoused for a period of at least four years. Recounts should be as easy as possible. If there is evidence that any party has attempted to interfere with the election (such as a wide disparity between the final tally and exit polls), the federal government will pay for the recount. 

There must be terrifyingly severe penalties for anyone who interferes with the counting or the recounting.

No Secretary of State may run for another elected office while holding that position, or for two years thereafter.

To mollify Republicans concerned with voter impersonation, the government should issue voter identification cards with picture ID and magnetic stripes. This innovation will make voting easier, even for the homeless. One need merely present this card for admission to the voting booth; no further identification will be necessary. 

(Some will ask: "What if someone allows his card to be used by another person?" My first response: So what? If I want to give my card to Nutsy McDruggie -- if I tell him "Go ahead and do my voting for me" -- that's my decision. The "one person, one vote" rule would still apply.)

Yes, I know that voter impersonation is largely a right-wing myth. But why not ameliorate all fears? 

A national voter identification card could go a long ways toward ending the problem of voter caging. By giving the Republicans what they want -- or claim to want -- we will benefit the cause of true democracy.

6. End gerrymandering. Arguably, Mr. Jerry Mander will always live among us. But we don't need a Constitutional amendment to reduce his power. Legislation offers remedies.

Increasing the number of Supreme Court Justices could reverse the wrongly-determined case of Rucho v. Common Cause, That decision removed the federal government from the issue, forcing the problem to be fought state by state. Things will be a lot more manageable if a federal judge can say "This district is as misshapen as a wet spaghetti noodle. Fix it." 

Otherwise, let's support the Redistricting Reform Act. 

As things stand, such an act has no chance of becoming law. But if the Democrats control the House, the Senate and the presidency -- and if the filibuster goes away -- passage becomes thinkable. 

We will have only two years to act. Even issues as important as climate change, health care and police reform must take a back seat to the challenge of preventing the Republicans from exercising an undemocratic share of power. 

As long as the Republicans hold disproportionate power, no lasting improvement can occur. Any gains will be both infuriatingly incremental and easily reversed. Thus, it is pointless to think about issues. Think about remaking the system.

All of the above ideas have been discussed by others. What follows are my own humble suggestions.

7.  Curtail the freedom to oppose freedom. Right now, Peter Thiel -- a billionaire who makes no secret of his desire to abolish democracy -- holds enormous power within the NSA and the military. This situation is outrageous, suicidal and downright obscene.

Thiel champions a political philosopher who literally wants a return to monarchy. (Since Thiel is gay, I'm not sure how he intends to fulfill the monarch's primary duty -- but if Edward II could do it, Thiel can find a way.) Currently, pundits treat Thiel's antidemocratic ideas as quaint. To the contrary: He is very powerful, and what he stands for is very dangerous.

Our founding fathers were children of the Enlightenment. This nation was founded on democratic values. A new president must recommit America to democracy by limiting our right to oppose democracy. 

Anyone who thinks like Thiel, and any employee of such a person, must never be granted access to this country's national security secrets. Antidemocrats must be forbidden from influencing, accessing, or contributing to any government official -- high or low, elected or appointed. 

That's not all.

Today's greatest threat is the international fascist movement. (If you prefer to call it the "new authoritarianism," fine. But I prefer a blunter terminology.) A new Democratic president should state a new American doctrine: Any individual who supports an authoritarian ideology shall be considered an Enemy of the United States of America, as defined by the Constitution.

I'm referring to this passage:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

It is insane not to apply the word "enemies" to the Boogaloo movement, to the Dark Enlightenment movement, and to any other fascist movement. 

Treason carries the death penalty.

Yes, I am talking about treason trials for Peter Thiel, for the Boogalooers -- for all antidemocrats, including those libertarians and Marxists who disdain the voting booth. No mercy for these traitors. Fascism is the greatest political threat of our time, and that threat will end if and only if we muster up the courage to imprison -- and execute -- the treasonous vermin who live among us. 

The threat is existential. The United States of America should no longer grant its citizens the freedom to oppose freedom. 

Obviously, everyone should have the right to advocate the economic ideals favored by Hayek or Marx or any other extreme thinker -- but no-one has the right to impose those ideals through any means other than the ballot box. Democracy is fundamental. The solution to democracy's many flaws is more democracy, not less. 

No non-democratic nation is legitimate. That principle should be the bedrock of our foreign policy. However, opposing antidemocratic governments should not be construed as an all-purpose excuse for endless war.

I also believe that the government should root out postmodernism, an antidemocratic movement within our universities. Though often misunderstood as a left-wing phenomenon, postmodernism is actually a variant of fascism: Both philosophies oppose the Enlightenment, both oppose science, both advocate cultural separatism, and both are inherently racist. 

The term "postmodern" means "post-Enlightenment." Since our country is founded on Enlightenment values, the American taxpayer should no longer subsidize academics and university administrators who oppose those values.

8. Reform the Republican party. How can those outside the party force the GOP to reform? It won't be easy, but it can be done.  

Step one: Investigate the Republican leadership for ties to Russia and/or the international antidemocratic movement. 

Some will object to this partisan focus: "Shouldn't we investigate the Democratic party's leadership as well?" I see no reason why we shouldn't. 

Honestly, I don't think that any important Democrats will ever be found guilty of ties to Russia. If such ties existed, Barr would have used that information by now. But we all know that an honest investigation will turn up evidence that the GOP as a whole has a "Putin problem" -- for example, Lindsey Graham has received Russian money. The Kremlin's influence goes way beyond Trump and his immediate circle. 

An investigation will result in an official report. A report filled with damning, incontrovertible evidence will allow a Democratic president to make the most drastic move in American political history. The president can use membership in the Republican party as the basis for denying a security clearance. 

If the GOP's leaders are beholden to an Enemy power (as defined above), why should any registered Republican be granted access to classified information?

Exceptions can be granted on a case-by-case basis. The important goal is to cleanse the intelligence community of an antidemocratic virus. We must remove the Enemy Within.

Once that occurs, a Democrat-controlled NSA can remove the minimization protections which hide the covert machinations of democracy's foes. In other words, all of the dirty secrets of the Republican party will finally be exposed. I am convinced that the filthiest of those secrets is election rigging. 

Did anyone ever tell Lady G "We've got something on you"? If that conversation was telephonic, the NSA has a record of it. Trust me.

When that level of filth becomes visible, the Republican party will reform or die. The American people will demand a newer, less-corrupt centrist-conservative party. There will always be a conservative party; there should be. Many current Trump opponents would consider joining such a party. Hell, I might.

You may now be wondering: What if a future conservative president retaliates in kind, investigating the Democrats for entanglements with democracy's foes? If the party of Trump becomes once again the party of Ike, I see no reason to worry about such an investigation. 

Frankly, if the Democratic party's worst sins are revealed -- good.

Those are my suggestions as to what we must do. You may have other ideas. Feel free to suggest them -- but before you do, ask yourself: Are your ideas practical? Do you have a reasonable way to get from here to there? 

Emphasis on the word "reasonable."

Either you believe in democracy or you don't. Democracy, like it or not, is a popularity contest. Most progressives want things that are not popular. That's why some progressives, like some libertarians, mistrust democracy.

Feminism is not popular -- even among women -- although gender equality is popular. (And no, the two things are not the same; if they were, the poll numbers would match.) Late-term abortion is not popular. Identity politics and political correctness are not popular. Defunding the police is not popular. Defunding the military is not popular. Taxing religion is not popular. Pretending that gender has no relationship to biology is not popular. Most Americans support the right to bear arms, although a majority favors stricter regulations. People will continue to blind themselves to the dangers of climate change if environmentalists continue to insist upon absurdly restrictive lifestyle changes.

You're missing the point of this essay if you talk about your pet issues -- if you talk about any issues. 

No lasting change can occur unless and until the system is changed. The mechanism of democracy must be brought into the 21st century. 

Hence, my question: What systemic change would you recommend? And do you have a practical means to bring about systemic change? 

If you are a mouse, do not talk to me about the need to bell the cat unless you know a way to make Tabby cooperate. 

Everything I have proposed is not just advisable but possible. I have given you not just a There, but a Path to Get There.