MEMORIZE THE FOLLOWING

Today’s guest post is from David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo.

This is as succinct as it gets about what the next year is about. Memorize it so you remind yourself of what it’s all about on the (likely many) moments you will need such a reminder.

What Matters Most

The rule of law is on the ballot in 2024, and it trumps every other political and policy consideration.

It is the umbrella under which every other issue is addressed:
Want to restore abortion rights?

Want to openly debate Israel and Palestine?

Want to accelerate the energy revolution to head off the worst of climate change?

Good luck.

Because if Trump, as promised, harnesses the power of the federal government to attack his perceived political enemies, exact retribution for slights, overturn elections, eviscerate the right to vote, and continue the effort to lock in GOP minority rule, he will break the democratic mechanisms for adjudicating policy preferences, enacting new laws, and enforcing them.

Trump is promising a fundamental break with the rule of law and from that will flow a fundamental breakdown in democratic processes and institutions. It is as simple as it is hard to stay at maximum threat level for years on end.

If elections don’t count, if Trump and the GOP won’t accept defeat as an option, if a majority of the electorate can’t make its voice heard at the ballot box, then nothing else really matters.

It’s as stark a choice as the United States has ever faced.

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