Will September 23, 2020 go down as the day Democracy died in the United States? Yesterday Donald Trump made it clear he would not commit to a peaceful transition of power. Dartmouth professor Brendan Nyhan declared this a “democratic emergency,” telling MSNBC (watch above):
“This is straight out of the textbooks of how countries slide out of democracy and into authoritarianism. The peaceful transfer of power is the core of democracy. We depend on losers acquiescing, stepping down and recognizing their defeat, that is the core of democracy itself. Donald Trump has told us what he would do under those circumstances, the question is what will his allies do. This is a time for choosing, for every person of good faith in either party to decide whether they are for democracy or not.”
Do Republicans believe in democracy?
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) September 24, 2020
We are now hearing from two Republican senators. The first to speak out was Mitt Romney (R-UT).
Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus. Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) September 24, 2020
And this morning Senator Marco Rubio wrote this on Twitter.
As we have done for over two centuries we will have a legitimate & fair election
It may take longer than usual to know the outcome,but it will be a valid one
And at noon on Jan 20,2021 we will peacefully swear in the President
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 24, 2020
And now the Senate Majority has issued this statement.
The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th. There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) September 24, 2020
And just a couple members from the House of Representatives are sharing their thoughts.
Regardless of how divided our country is right now, when elections are over and winners are declared, we must all commit ourselves to the Constitution and accept the results.
— Archive: Steve Stivers (@RepSteveStivers) September 24, 2020
The peaceful transfer of power is enshrined in our Constitution and fundamental to the survival of our Republic. America’s leaders swear an oath to the Constitution. We will uphold that oath.
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) September 24, 2020
While a handful of GOP politicians are speaking out, Josh Marshall from the Talking Points Memo asks, “what are you going to do about it?”
And Former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro writes, “In one day, Trump refused a peaceful transition of power and urged the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice to hand him an election if the results are contested. This is fascism, alive and well in the Republican Party.”
It's really stunning to see so many Republicans defending a peaceful transition of power without saying a single word about Trump or how dangerous it is he threatened otherwise. Cowards, all of them.
— Zack Ford (@ZackFord) September 24, 2020
The story of the 2020 election won’t be about republican vs democrat, the polls, or how much was spent.
It’ll be about how the president openly sought to win the election through unelectoral means.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 24, 2020