Through federalism

#365

How do we save democracy?

Through federalism.

Let me explain.

It looks as if Donald Trump is using California as a testing ground for cementing his power through violence. Which military groups will follow him, and which might defect? ​​These are the kinds of questions Trump and his cronies are likely to be preoccupied with at the moment.

There's little doubt that Trump would have gladly pursued the path of violence after losing the election at the end of his first presidency. He couldn't. He had too few troops behind him. To be more precise, there were only a few hundred crazy people.

The situation now is quite different. Trump is already creating situations at the beginning of his second presidency that "allow" him to use violence, and it doesn't take much imagination to envision that if the Trump regime perceives the danger of losing power, it will devise a narrative to justify the use of violence to maintain power. The legal basis for this could be the Insurrection Act of 1807, which authorises the president to deploy the army domestically in the event of an attempted coup.

At this point, courts will likely no longer be able to help. Perhaps then, the last hope is the US federal structure: that the governors and their states, with their limited military capabilities, will defend themselves against Trump's illegal seizure of power.

That would be a twist of fate, for it was American conservatives who, for decades, had warned against a tyrannical federal government and championed states' rights. (What do we hear from these conservatives these days? Deafening silence.)

See you in Democracy!