The Danger To Our Democracy Is The Republican Party - By Alon Ben-Meir

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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This is a screed in the worst sense of the word. The author offers seemingly endless lists of evils perpetrated by his political opponents, none of it explained, referenced, or defended, for example:

• aberration
• demagogue 
• thrives on hatred, division, and contempt.
• bald-faced authoritarianism
• lost its moral compass
• extreme Republican conservatism
• resorting to any sinister scheme
• catered to white supremacists
• disparaging scientific truths
• belittling political opponents 
• would-be dictator 
• determined to dismantle the fundamentals of our democracy
• morally debased elements of Republican politics
• onslaught of disinformation
• falsehood
• treachery
• ravaging our democratic way of life
• plunging us anew into ominous social and political strife
• darkest chapters in American history
• moral bankruptcy
• sacrifice the well-being of the nation 

It goes on and on and on. The author then calls for civility. Hmm.

This article is anti-intellectualism at its worst. It is leftist jingoism, blank-eyed sloganeering, a perfect expression of agitprop.

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While I cheer Biden's victory in the presidential election, I lament the state of the union Trump is leaving behind. Sadly, Biden's victory has not been a repudiation of Trump, as he received more votes than any Republican candidate before him, which shocked millions of Americans. Why? Trump is a creature of our own making. He may be seen as an aberration, but he is not. Unless we pay more attention to the tens of millions who voted for him, among many other despairing Americans, and address their grievances and frustration, a hypocrite just like Trump will rise and feed on the public discontent -- another rebel in Trump's image who appeals to the masses sickened by being ignored, another demagogue who personifies Trump and thrives on hatred, division, and contempt. (Standard leftist name-calling. None of it true, illuminating, or relevant.)

Our democracy is broken, as faith in our constitutional system and culture that guided us has been all but shattered. (Irony alert. The Left hates our constitutional system and only give lip-service to democracy.)

If we continue to ignore this reality, a very ominous future will await this nation. We are witnessing the rise of bald-faced authoritarianism (Irony alert again. The Left loves big, oppressive government telling people what they can and cannot do, how many people can be in a room, and whether or not we can celebrate thanksgiving. And that's just COVID...)

and if an increasing number of Americans cease to embrace our revered democratic norms, (Norms left unnamed.)

our Republic as we know it will cease to exist. It will be replaced by an authoritarian regime that will rise by a popular vote and gradually stamp out our democracy and revoke the will of the people. (Which is just what the Left has been advocating. This is the very definition of Democratic Socialist, the replacement of our existing system with socialism, achieved via popular vote.)

The betrayal of the Republican party

The danger to our democracy comes chiefly from the Republican Party. (!! The author has chronicled the incremental loss of our country, then swerves Left and blames the ones trying to preserve it. That's what "conservative" means!)

Trump is the product of the Republicans' fantasy that only they should rule, (Irony alert again. This is exactly the goal of the Left. Whether it is to pack the Supreme court, grant statehood to DC and Puerto Rico, or eliminate the electoral college, the objective is to create a permanent leftist government.

And by the way, when the result of a vote goes to a Republicans, then the Republican occupies the office. That's what elections do. There's no fantasy here.)

which is befitting a party that has long since lost its moral compass. The Republicans are terrified of losing their ability to rule (Over the last 80 years it has generally been Democrats in power.)

because of the steadily-increasing diversity of America, the continuing evolution into a minority-majority country, the expansion of liberalism throughout the country, the growing disenchantment of women with their policies, and the disillusionment of the youth with the stubbornly growing extreme Republican conservatism. (Republicans have never been conservative. Conservatism isn't the problem, since conservatives have never had power. 

And conservatism isn't growing more extreme, it has remained the same. As the Left moves further left, the other side looks more and more extreme. It is the Left that has moved, not the Right.)

The Republicans did not shy away from resorting to any sinister scheme to hold onto the levers of power. (Here comes some more standard leftist agitprop, none of it true, illuminating, or relevant...)

They have aggressively pursued voter suppression, fought tooth and nail to keep gerrymandering in place, viciously clung to the Electoral College, (!! Does the reader remember the author's prior statement? "Our democracy is broken, as faith in our constitutional system and culture that guided us has been all but shattered." The electoral college is a feature of "our constitutional system." So is the constitution good or bad, sir?)

stacked the courts with conservative judges, (Irony alert again. It is Biden who has proposed expanding the Supreme court to tilt it Left.

And by the way, why would the author expect Trump to appoint judges that are liberal?)

and catered to white supremacists. But when all has failed to change the outcome of the fairest and freest elections, they follow their self-possessed leader, claiming that the election was fraudulent, stolen, and rigged. (Irony alert again. The Left has clung to the "rigged" 2016 election vociferously. But suddenly our elections are "fairest and freest."  What magical transformation happened in 4 years? Simple. Republican winner changed to Democrat winner.)

They refuse to validate the result of the election, (The states validate the election and submit their electoral votes to the Senate for counting. Candidates do not validate elections.)

knowing full well that nothing is more injurious to democracy than defying the will of the majority and preventing the peaceful transfer of power. (Um, 2016? Impeachment?)

The majority of top Republican officials still refuse to acknowledge Biden's victory, delaying the transition (which prevents Biden from accessing vital information, especially in connection with the pandemic) while thousands continue to die; every single death during this delay is on their hands. (This is just stupid. No one with a functioning brain would make such an idiotic claim.

Now comes more Leftist talking points, not true, not illuminating, and not relevant...)

This is the party whose leaders bask in conspiracy theories. To them facts do not matter; they believe in magic and miracles while disparaging scientific truths, belittling political opponents to cover for their innate political hypocrisy. Worst yet, they have surrendered to a would-be dictator who has his claws around their neck and is determined to dismantle the fundamentals of our democracy, and who has brought the nation to the precipice of disaster. (It is sufficient to simply parrot these phrases over and over again.)

Restoring the values of our democracy

If nothing else, the election has proven that America is in desperate need of an expansive re-education in civility ("Please report to the indoctrination center immediately."

By the way, can the author point to a single sentence in his article that is civil?)

and responsible citizenry to instill and cement the values that have sustained it in the past. We need to reform the electoral systems and legislative processes. We must prevent political polarization (That sounds ominous. What exactly should be done to prevent political polarization? Stifle dissent, like Faceboook and Twitter are doing? Continue to ignore rioters and looters and accuse Trump supporters of being likely to riot and loot? Name-call and parrot leftist talking points about dictators, as the author has continually done?)

and mismanagement of our constitutional democracy on which demagogues like Trump can thrive, and restore our global leadership role.

Regardless of how misguided Trump followers' belief in him may be, they and millions of other Americans do have legitimate concerns and needs that must be addressed. Biden is facing monumental tasks, starting by tackling the coronavirus (as economic recovery is closely tied to controlling the epidemic). Our democracy, however, will remain vulnerable to the same morally debased elements of Republican politics that nearly tore our democracy apart.

(Here comes some more civility...) If we are to survive the onslaught of disinformation, demagoguery, falsehood, inequality and treachery that Trump perpetrates, which is cheered by his Republican sheep, we must shut tightly the cave in which demagogues like Trump hide. We must diligently undertake the needed socio-political and economic reforms to prevent an imposter like Trump from returning in four years (That is, steps need to be taken that a republican will never again win.)

and ravaging once again our democratic way of life, plunging us anew into ominous social and political strife. (Who again is name-calling and parroting brainless talking points? Who again is rioting and looting? Who again has been fighting the results of the 2016 election for four long years?)

Biden's victory provides us with a small window of opportunity to repair some of the damage that Trump and the Republican party have inflicted on our democracy. Indeed, democracy can be the breeding ground that allows of demagogues like Trump to rise. To save our democracy and prevent that from happening and deny the Republicans minority rule again, we must develop an inclusive social and economic agenda to meet the needs of the people. (?? This hasn't been done yet? That would be a surprise to the deep state operatives on the Left who have one their hard drives detailed legislation ready to drop. 

Or does the author really think that the hopelessly intricate Obamacare or the far reaching Green New Deal were written on the spot? No, the Left has been prepared for years to bang through their agenda in the dead of night.)

Repairing America's socio-economic erosion

(Apparently the author thinks the following litany of problems all arose in the last four years...) Democracy cannot be sustained when the gap between the rich and poor grows ever wider, when thousands of small towns and villages are crumbling, especially in rural areas, when more than 12 million children go to sleep hungry and when a half a million people are homeless roaming the streets.

Democracy rings hollow when tens of millions of citizens live in abject poverty and have no healthcare, when Blacks and Latinos are the victims of discrimination and inequality, when schools are decaying and teachers are underpaid, when dropouts from school are multiplying and jobs are scarce, and when two and a half million people are languishing in jails and prisons, the majority for non-violent offenses.

Democracy fails when drug addicts are incarcerated instead of being treated and healed, when 40,000 Americans are killed by firearms every year, when the judiciary is becoming increasingly biased, when climate change is wreaking havoc on the country from coast to coast and people are displaced, when police brutality is commonplace.

Over the past four years in particular, the Republicans wrote one of the darkest chapters in American history. History books will recall how their moral bankruptcy allowed them to sacrifice the well-being of the nation and betray the most principled experiment in democracy in human history. (The author continues with vague, nonspecific, undocumented charges...)

Their defeat in this presidential election may well be the harbinger for worse days yet to come.

As for me, I still have strong faith in the American enterprise. (After a dozen paragraphs of hyperbolic doom-and-gloom, the author suddenly turns optimistic and hopeful for unspecified reasons.)

We have fought civil and world wars, faced depressions, corrupt administrations, social unrest, and costly foreign misadventures, but then, we have emerged stronger and an inspiration to other nations.

As long as we remain committed to the democratic values that we have cherished and for which we have sacrificed so much, a brighter and better future will await us.