Our Democracy’s Near-Death Experience

It appears that our democracy dodged a bullet — or, more precisely, multiple concerted efforts by the president of the United States to torpedo its very foundations. While President Trump rages relentlessly about election “fraud,” many Republican leaders continue to parrot false denials of the validity of President-elect Joe Biden’s clear victory. Yet, so far, our democracy has withstood the greatest stress test of our lifetimes.... So, bolstering our democracy depends in large part on the people of Georgia voting out their incumbent senators on Jan. 5. If the Senate flips to Democratic control, Congress will be able to apply the lessons of our democracy’s near-death experience. It would enact the For the People Act to combat corruption, strengthen ethics rules and improve voter access as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the protections of the 1965 legislation. Congress would pass the Protecting Our Democracy Act to constrain the power of future presidents who deem themselves above the law and finally adopt long-stalled legislation to shore up our election infrastructure against adversaries, foreign or domestic. Now is no time for self-congratulation or complacency. We must act with the unique urgency and courage of those who know they are living on borrowed time.