this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2024
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Politics
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There are a lot of ways to define what qualifies as Democracy: is it the mere presence of voting? Is it the impact of that voting? Is it equal/ universal voting rights? Is it the ability to enforce voting outcomes? Or the ability for voters to choose what is voted on?
Some of those are clear binaries, and some of those are gradations or thresholds.
Personally, I think it has to be a combination of universal voting rights, voter-led ballot control(i.e. choosing what to vote about), and enforceability.
To me, we've been failing as a democracy for a long time.
The unenforceability of those laws is not determined by his reelection, they're determined by the actual court cases charging him with crimes. We do not have the ability to force SCOTUS to allow him to be held accountable, and comforting ourselves that we actually can, merely by not re-electing him, means you already realize the laws are not going to be enforced against him in the "Justice" System.
Which is exactly what every Democrat challenger does as well.
You're broadening the scope of the conversation so much that it's losing any meaning or focus.
No, if someone is claiming that democracy is being killed, it's very important to define what that actually means. If Democracy is the simple act of some any given sub-group being allowed to vote, it's never going to 'die' in the US. If on the other hand it's the actual ability for individuals to overrule those in power via voting, then it's arguably already dead. Definitions are important.
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