tyranny

Question 1

Is our democracy as stable today as it was in 2015 how do we know?

Answer 1

according to freedom houses global freedom index score in 2015 the United States received a score of 90, but after that America score declined steadily reaching 83 in 2021

Question 2

How do we know if our democracy is a stable today as it was in 2015?

Answer 2

our democracy is not as stable today as it was in 2015 in 2015. The United States was roughly in line with countries like Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the UK however, in 2021 the score was lower than every established democracy in Western Europe and lower than new or historically trouble, democracy like Argentina, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Taiwan

Question 3

is it surprising that the United States has experienced democratic back sliding?

Answer 3

It is surprising that the United States experience democratic backsliding because in every major social scientific account of what makes democracy thrive. America should have been immune to this because of two law like patterns regarding modern political systems, which are rich democracy, never die, and old democracy, never die.

Question 4

when it comes to democratic backsliding., how do we compare?

Answer 4

America is not alone and it’s growing diversity nor is it alone in experiencing an extremist right wing reaction to that demographic shift. The number of foreign born residence has increased and most of the world of this democracy however, America stands apart in two ways first our reaction to the growing diversity has been unusually authoritarian. Additionally, extremist forces have actually ascended to national power in America rather than being ostracized.

Question 5

what is a multiracial democracy?

Answer 5

A multiracial democracy is a political system with regular free and fair elections in which adult citizens of all ethnic groups possess the right to vote and basics of liberties, such as freedom of speech, the press assembly and association

Question 6

What steps have the US taken toward achieving a multiracial democracy and is there any work left to do?

Answer 6

The 1964 civil rights act and the 1965 voting rights act finally established a legal foundation for multiracial democracy in America but even today we have not fully achieved that for example access to the ballot remains unequal. Additionally, black citizens do not enjoy the same rights under the law as white citizens for example apply the kyle written house test could a young black man cross state lines with a semi automatic rifle walk by untouched by POLICE into a protest fire into a crowd kill two people and go free in some ways. despite this, we are on our way to becoming a multiracial democracy, for example a massive wave of immigration transformed what have been a predominantly white Christian society into a diverse multi ethnic one and at the same time, the growing political, economic, legal and cultural power of non-white Americans challenged and began to even out the long entrenched racial hierarchy

Question 7

Why did the US have a peaceful transfer of power in 1801

Answer 7

The US had a peaceful transfer of power because Bayard feared that there would be a constitutional breakdown or even civil war. through accepting defeat and leaving office the federalists took a major step towards solidifying the constitutional system that would eventually become America’s democracy

Question 8

How does a democracy get to where the transfer of power is drama free what enables the norm of accepting defeat to take hold?

Answer 8

there are two conditions necessary, first parties are most likely to accept defeat when they believe that they have a reasonable chance of winning again in the future the second condition that helps parties except a fee is the belief that using power will not bring catastrophe and that a changing government will not threaten lives the livelihoods of or most cherished principles of the outgoing party in its constituents excepting defeat it’s harder when parties are fearful, fearful that they won’t be able to win again in the future or more fundamentally that they will lose more than just an election

Question 9

according to juan linz politicians committed to democracy must abide by three rules

Answer 9

 first you must respect the outcome a free and fair elections win or lose this means consistently and un hesitatingly accepting defeat second Democrats must unambiguously reject violence or the threat of violence as it means of achieving political goals, but there is a third more subtle action required of loyal Democrats they must always break with anti-democratic forces

Question 10

how can we tell a loyal Democrat from a semi loyal one?

Answer 10

politicians who support military cruises, insight, insurrection, assassinations, or other terrorist, acts or deploy, malicious or thugs to beat up opponents or intimidate voters are not Democrats any party or politician that violates these rules should be considered a threat democracy, semi loyal Democrats look like loyal Democrats they never engage in visibly antidemocratic acts but they play a vital if hidden role in Democratic collapse they try to have it both ways claiming to support democracy while at the same time, turning a blind eye to violence or anti-democratic extremism a litmus test is how politicians respond to violent or anti-democratic behavior on their own flank

Question 11

What is the litmus test for a loyal democrat on how they respond to violent or antidemocratic behavior on their own flank

Answer 11

loyal Democrats follow for basic rules first they expel anti-democratic extremist from their own ranks, even at the cost of antagonizing the party bass second loyal Democrat, sever, all ties, public and private with allied group that engage in antidemocratic behavior, they refuse endorsements, avoid public appearances with them and abstained from secret or closed our conversations with them third loyal Democrats unambiguously, condemned political violence and other anti-democratic behavior even when it is committed by allies or ideologically proximate groups finally when necessary loyal Democrats joined forces with rival democratic parties to isolate and defeat anti-democratic extremist by doing this they help preserve democracy in the process

Question 12

why are some politicians semi loyal Democrats? 

Answer 12

most of the politicians who are semi loyal list are just ambitious careerist trying to stay in Office or perhaps when a higher one they do not oppose democracy, but they are indifferent to it. They tolerate this extreme ism because it is the path of least resistance. these politicians often tell themselves they are just doing what’s necessary to get ahead

Question 13

What is constitutional hardball?

Answer 13

Behavior that broadly conforms to the letter of the law, but deliberately undermine its spirit. It is the use of law as a political weapon.

Question 14

what are the four ways that constitutional hardball happens?

Answer 14

Exploiting gaps, excessive or undue use of the law selective enforcement lawfare

Question 15

what is law fare

Answer 15

Law fare is when politicians design new laws that while seemingly impartial or crafted to target opponents

Question 16

What is selective enforcement?

Answer 16

Governments may enforce the law electively targeting their rivals. The government may be acting legally because it is enforcing a lot, but it is also act unfairly because enforcement is directed at political opponents. In other words. The law is Weaponized.

Question 17

what is excessive or undue use of the law?

Answer 17

Some rules are designed to be used bearing employ were only under exceptional circumstances. There are rules that require forbearance or self restraint in the exercise of legal prerogatives. Two examples of this are presidential, pardons and impeachment.

Question 18

What is exploiting gaps?

Answer 18

No rule or set of rules covers all contingencies. There are always circumstances that are not explicitly covered by existing laws or procedures societies often develop norms, and unwritten rules to fill in the gaps in the rules.

Question 19

how do citizens recognize constitutional hardball?

Answer 19

By being able to recognize the 4 signs when they see it

Question 20

what is the first reconstruction? 

Answer 20

The first reconstruction era placed former confederate states under federal military rule and made readmission into the union conditional on passage of the 14th amendment and the writing of a new state constitution guaranteeing black suffrage

Question 21

why did the first reconstruction ultimately fail?

Answer 21

it failed because of white insecurity and fear over “” Negro rule “these fears were founded by democratic politicians and newspaper publishers, who used editorials recent cartoons and sensationalized press reports to establish a fake narrative of black violence and political corruption in particular the prospect of democratized, social relations, white women, interacting freely with black men produce the hysteria on produced unfounded, accusations of black and white rape, many southern white view, reconstruction and multiracial democracy as existential threats thus they wage a terrorist campaign and parallel and American history packed by the Democratic Party, white supremacist, organized, para, military groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, and then they carried out a wave of violent tear in which catalyst of black homes and Americans were killed in more beaten, whipped raped and forcedlyeven though the president Ulysses S Grant pass the series of enforcement acts that empowered the federal government to oversee local elections and income, political violence. It was hard to sustain this.

Question 22

Why did the Republican Party abandon democracy?

Answer 22

after the great depression and new deal reshaped politics millions of working class, workers, black and white, rejected the Republicans and established the new Democrats as a new major majority party. The Democrats won five consecutive presidential elections and the Republicans risk becoming a new permanent minority. To break the majority a cast about for new constituencies, they gradually repositioned themselves as the party of racial conservatism, appealing to voters who resisted the dismantling of traditional racial hierarchy eventually they became America’s “de facto white party “

Question 23

How did Republicans shrink the electorate?

Answer 23

Republicans shrink the electorate through voter ID laws and other defensive reforms aimed at restricting access to the ballot, such as reducing the early voting period changing early voting laws and same day registration

Question 24

How did radicals racial conservatives white Christians take over the Republican Party?

Answer 24

The majority embraced the Republican Party because they platformed that evangelical agenda and incorporated much of it into the Republican platform. Reagan succeeded in bringing southern white and evangelical voters into the Republican fold “great white switch “helped make the new Republican majority a reality the Republicans became Americans leading party however a majority of white Republicans scored high on what political scientist called racial resentment. The Republican Party was captured by its racially conservative base this matter because although the Republicans remained overwhelmingly, white and Christian into the 21st-century America did not.

Question 25

Today are Republican politicians loyal Democrats?

Answer 25

no, Trump and the Republican Party denied the results of the 2020 election and it was the first time in American history that is sitting president refused to accept defeat. The second principle of democratic politics say violated was unambiguous rejection of violence after the election GOP politicians engage in violent rhetoric and condone violent behavior while maintaining ties to para military groups. Additionally, they did not publicly denounce the authoritarian behavior of leaders like Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene only a few broke from this rank and tried to hold him accountable. Those that had voted to impeach or convict him were retired or defeated in primaries before the 2022 election.

Question 26

What does modern democracy look like?

Answer 26

modern democracy is not simply a system of majority rule it combines majority role and minority rights. Thus we have liberal democracy, which is based on two pillars, which is collective cell rule and civil liberties.

Question 27

Why do Americans like and keep super majority rules like the filibuster?

Answer 27

some see it as a check and balance against majority interest as a way for the minority to have its interests protected bc The need to win over 60 votes to end a filibuster encourages senators to work together and find common ground, leading to better legislation

Question 28

What are the counter majoritarian features of our constitution?

Answer 28

The bill of rights, a Supreme Court with lifetime appointments for justices and power of judicial review, federalism, a bicameral Congress, which means the two legislative majorities are required to pass long, a severely amount of portion Senate, in which all states were given the same representation, the filibuster, a super majority rule in the Senate that allows a partisan minority to permanently block legislation back by the majority, the electoral college, extreme, super majority rules for a constitutional changë 2/3 vote of each house of Congress plus approval by 3/4 of US states 

Question 29

Why is our constitution so counter majoritarian?

Answer 29

historical timing America has the oldest written constitution it is an 18 century document a product of a pre-democratic era. Another problem is how it was written. Additionally, they had to secure cooperation of diverse groups through giving them various concessions, such as giving them more representation in the electoral college

Question 30

Chapter 6, what are the four pillars of minority rule?

Answer 30

The electoral college, the US Senate, the Supreme Court, and the electoral system that manufactures artificial majorities and sometimes allows parties that when fewer votes to control legislatures. 

Question 31

chapter 6, how does each pillar of minority rule contribute to undermining majority preferences

Answer 31

The electoral college distorts the popular vote into ways. First nearly all states allocate electoral college votes in a winner take all matter. That means that if a candidate wins a state with a narrow margin of 50.1% of 49.9% the candidate will receive 100% of the state electoral votes. Because it allows a loser of the national popular vote to win. The US Senate heavily represents partly populated states the electoral college has a modest rules of 20 votes in the US Senate parlay populated state representing less of the 20% of the US population can produce a senate majority and states representing 11% of the population can produce enough votes to block legislation via a filibuster. additionally, the Supreme Court constitutes a third pillar because their partisan is interact, but nevertheless miss consequential given the nature of the electoral college, and the Senate Supreme Court justices may be nominated by presidency, lost the popular vote and confirmed by Senate majorities that represent only a minority of Americans. The fourth pillar is the electoral system that manufactures artificial majorities and sometimes allows parties with fewer votes to control legislatures. The outcome is the same in election with a 50.1% to 49.9% nailbiter or 80% to 20% landslide

Question 32

what sort of problems do counter majoritarian institutions pose for US democracy?

Answer 32

The emergence of minority rule matters not only because it allows losers to win. It also has insidious effects on public policies that affect peoples lives. Public opinion never translates perfectly into policy. Counter majority institutions have untethered views of the peoples elective representatives from the view that the people themselves.

Question 33

Chapter 7, since ratifying the constitution what are some key democratic reforms that the US has adopted?

Answer 33

The 19th amendment extended voting rights to women in the 1924 Snyder act extended citizenship and voting right staff to Native Americans in the 1965 voting rights act met minimal status for universal suffrage. We also partially democratized the upper chamber and legislative elections became much fair in the 1960s. Between 1962 and 1964 a series of Supreme Court ruling ensure that electoral maturities were represented in Congress and state legislators. The 23rd amendment gave Washington DC residence the right to vote in presidential elections the 24th amendment finally prohibited poll taxes in the 26th amendment lower the age to vote from 21 to 18.

Question 34

Chapter 7, what are key democratic reforms that other countries have adopted but the US has not

Answer 34

most countries that are now considered established democracy, dismantled their most egregiously counter, majority institutions, and took steps to empower majorities. First, they did away with suffrage restrictions. Indirect elections also disappeared. An electoral colleges gradually disappeared across Latin America. Most European democracy is also reform their electoral systems and the rules that govern how votes are translated into representation such as abandoning first past the post election systems. Additionally other emerging democracy is abolished their aristocratic upper chambers or made them more representative. Additionally, most 20 century democracy also took steps to limit minority obstruction within legislature, establishing a procedure known as culture to allow simple majorities to end parliamentary debate

Question 35

Chapter 7 why is constitutional changed so difficult in the United States compared to countries like Norway?

Answer 35

it is extremely difficult to make constitutional change happen because we require the approval of 2/3 majority in both the house and the Senate, which must be ratified by 3/4 of the states. Because of this, the United States has the lowest rates of constitutional change in the world. According to the US Senate, there have been 11,484 attempts to amend the US constitution but only 27 of them have been successful Americans constitution has been amended only 12 times since reconstruction most recently in 1982.

Question 36

Chapter 7, what factors led to the failure of the movement to abolish the electoral college of the late 1960s despite broad public and bipartisan support?

Answer 36

The Senate killed the reform and just like so many other pasture form efforts opposition came from the south. The electoral college is one of the south fever remaining political safeguards. Let's keep it, another senator promised to filibuster the bill, and another slow walk through the judiciary committee, delaying it by nearly a year. When this bill was introduced again, the bill was delayed, and then once again filibuster in the Senate.

Question 37

Chapter 8 a majority wants to build a multiracial democracy, but majorities don't rule what can we do?

Answer 37

reforms never happened when they are never considered so momentarily sat aside concerns about how to bring about change and consider three broad areas every reform. The first is upholding the right to vote. The second is ensuring that election outcomes reflect majority preferences. Additionally, empower growing majorities by weakening encounter majority and legislative and judicial institutions.

Question 38

Chapter 8, what are the short term strategies the author suggest for defending democracy?

Answer 38

One short term strategy is the containment strategy, which is to corral all democratic minded forces into a broad coalition to isolate and defeat anti-democratic extremist. This would mean, putting aside idea, differences and forging bro left right coalition to defend democracy. Another strategy for defending democracy is militant or defensive democracy . This allowed for the banning and restricting of insurrectionist or anticonstitutional speech, groups and parties. He's on very occasions to investigate extremist left and right wing parties.

Question 39

Chapter 8, what are the risks associated with the short term strategies mentioned for defending democracy?

Answer 39

One risk associated with containment is that democracy is at its heart about competition so short-circuiting it for so long to be self defeating but ultimately voters should be able to choose between them. The second strategy, a.k.a. militant or defensive democracy has been abused in the past, for example, it is repeatthe abused such as in the 1798 alien and sedition act and the imprisonment of socialist leaders, or the surveillance prosecution or even killing of African-American leaders and activist.

Question 40

Chapter 8, according to the authors, what lessons can be drawn from previous errors of democratic reform in American history

Answer 40

Americans tend to resist the notion that our constitution has laws or deficiencies that should be corrected or that any parts of it may be out of date. Many Americans embrace the constitution with an almost "religious devotion ". Just because an idea is not taken seriously today doesn't mean it shouldn't be taken seriously, but that it won't be in the future. Such as hiding slavery, or the woman suffrage movement. during the time the constitution was written, there wasn't a lot of presidencies that happened before it. Even though the reforms propose may appear radical they are already in place in advancement of established democracy, including highly successful ones, like Denmark, Germany, Finland, New Zealand, Norway. Constitutions were never perfect at their inception. There are after all human creations. Institutions that do not adapt, may limb belong for years and even decades.

Question 41

chapter 8, how might lessons learned from previous efforts informed future efforts

Answer 41

One change doesn't depend on the arrival of a single transformative leader, many of America's most important advances towards political and economic conclusion were made during the presidency of individuals. By the time we seen as unlikely reformers, non-radicals in their own right. Second, they required robust political movements. The first step in destruction was getting a reform on the public agenda, critical to the success of any reform movement is the ability of advocates organizers, public thinkers, and opinion makers to reshape the terms of political debate and gradually alter what other street as desirable or possible. third democratic reform also requires continuous, political pressure meaningful change is usually driven by sustained social movements, broad coalition of citizens, whose activism shows the debate and eventually the balance of political power on an issue. Third ultimately social movements can change politicians electoral calculations by creating new consistencies for reform and discredit the defenders this status quo. each major reform we take the kids and they all encounter Roblox along the way successful movements must cope setbacks, including electoral, defeats, internal divisions, and device of foreign war fourth mobilization was also critical other. Major constitutional performs also took time and wellness efforts. What is needed today is not only a democratic reform agenda, but a democratic reform movement capable of mobilizing, diverse citizens, and a sustained nationwide campaign to ignite imaginations to change the terms of public debate.