At the end of a sobering roundup of scholarly opinion on the state of American democracy, Thomas Edsall concluded in a way that scared the daylights out of me:
Far higher percentages of Republicans, many of them preoccupied by racial and tribal anxiety, believe “American democracy is under attack” (75 percent agree, 22 percent disagree) than Democrats (46 percent agree, 48 percent disagree). Republicans are also somewhat more likely to believe (57-43) than Democrats (49-51) “that, in the next few years, some elected officials will successfully overturn the results of an election in the United States because their party did not win.”
This level of anxiety is in and of itself dangerous, all the more so when it masks the true aim of America’s contemporary right-wing movement, the restoration and preservation of white hegemony. It is not beyond imagining that Republicans could be prepared, fueled by a mix of fear and provocation, to push the nation over the brink.
That’s right, a plurality of Democrats do not yet believe that “American democracy is under attack” and a majority of Democrats don’t believe that upcoming elections will be stolen. What on earth are they thinking?
I’m afraid that by the time the rest of the Dems wake up to what is patently obvious to anyone who’s paying close attention it will be far too late. In my most pessimistic moods, I worry we are already toast.