The Decline of American Democracy

[Chris Knipp]

Here's an excerpt from an editorial in LE MONDE (translated by DeepL, free version) that reflects reactions all over the civilized world:

Supreme Court deepens US democracy decline
The protective fence that now surrounds the immaculate headquarters of the highest judicial body in the United States of America in Washington is a clear indication of the danger that threatens it: that of cutting itself off from the country through purely ideological drift. In two rulings handed down on 23 and 24 June, the conservative justices of the nine-member Supreme Court sacrificed themselves to two totems of the religious right: the intractable defence of firearms in the name of a freedom that must not suffer any limits; and the tireless fight against the right of women to control their own bodies.

This is when the enormity of what the Trump Supreme Court is doing: when global bodies and the West and specifically Western Europe react in shock and disapproval at the highest level. Not to mention the fact that Pres. Biden's statement about the Roe decision yesterday was lengthy and dramatic. There was nothing mild about his stand: Congress must act to guarantee the right to abortion.

Can all this lead to strengthening the Democratic majority? That's the big question.

Doesn't all this come from division? When I was young the differences were not so great and communication was possible. I would attribute the polarization and the empowerment of the far right to the changes in how we get our news: the internet, the breakdown of the traditional newspapers, right wing talk radio, Fox News, social media. These have changed everything for the worse. They have taken away our common language and our common ground.

But what democracy? The structure of American governance has always been fundamentally undemocratic - in some key respects. This is underlined in another paragraph from this same LE MONDE editorial:

This devastating epilogue for the image of the United States is the product of the tyranny of a minority enabled by an electoral system outrageously favourable to the most conservative states. It has resulted in a president widely defeated in the popular vote, Donald Trump, appointing three judges selected by a lobby, and then having them confirmed by a Senate that is a distorted reflection of the country.

It further points out that two of Trump's three appointees lied about what they would do: they suggested they would take Roe v Wade for granted. Does this not make the Court illegitimate?