Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:57 pm
Rachel Maddow explained that Democrats are showing voters in the midterm election that not only is democracy better than fascism but that it delivers results that make your life better.
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Maddow said:
Look at the highest profile actions that President Biden and the Democrats have taken in the lead-up to this election. President Biden and Democrats passed legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs, to literally put a cap on the amount that seniors can pay out out-of-pocket.
Republican senators announced their plan to repeal it and make you pay more for prescriptions. President Biden came up to a plan to reduce people’s student loan debt. Again for millions and millions and millions of Americans, a hugely practical financial improvement in your lives. Republican states are suing to try to get rid of that. To make you pay more for your student loans. President Biden recently pardoned people with convictions of marijuana possession. And these kinds of initiatives from the Democrats, these are implicitly an argument for democracy, right? I mean, you see where I’m going with this.
The way you argue for democracy is not just by pointing the finger at people that want violence and fascism saying, whoa, that’s bad. That always works out badly. You have to make the positive case that democracy is a good idea. That democracy can deliver meaningful, practical improvements in Americans’ lives. So I think that’s why this election season feels so weird.
There is this mismatch from the two sides, right? Republicans going apocalyptic, end times, end of democracy, huge proportion of Republican voters, let alone Republican candidates, Republican voters saying unless their team wins they will not accept the election results as legitimate because election results no longer are the way Republicans want to do business in this country.Â
Democrats are showing that not only is democracy better, but that democracy improves lives. What Republicans view as a basket of midterm election goodies from Democrats is actually a series of policies that have had widespread popular appeal for years.
With each victory that Biden and the Democrats have delivered, they are arguing for democracy.
It is a smart strategy, not just in terms of practical politics but also in laying out the case that Republicans and Trump are wrong. The American system of governance works, and it deserves endorsement at the ballot box.
We’ll see in about three weeks if voters have gotten the message.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
