Rachel Maddow Delivers A Dose Of Must See Optimism In The Battle For Democracy

Last updated on July 26th, 2023 at 09:31 am

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Rachel Maddow reminded viewers that in the face of an authoritarian threat, resistance and fighting back for democracy are contagious.

Maddow said in part:

Thinking about our own domestic challenges along these lines, running as we are, hard up against these basic questions of whether we’re sticking with the rule of law or moving instead toward authoritarian rule, knowing that our likely nominees for the presidency next year are effectively going to be setting up the presidency as a referendum on that guy or the law. Knowing that that’s what we are hard up against here in this country, looking at our domestic challenges right now, looking at images from our own history, and from Israel this weekend.

It’s days like this when it’s good to remember it’s not just the authoritarian right that is ascendant as a global trend. It is also resistance to authoritarianism that can be a global trend. That is a global trend. The fight back is ascendant too…Resilience matters. Resistance to this stuff trends too. It is also contagious. And emboldening. Thank god.

Video:

The American People Have Seen This Resistance And Resilience

When Roe was overturned, the American people resisted the theft of their rights. Americans came together during the 2022 midterm election to make sure that the far right did not get the unlimited power to steal liberties from our fellow citizens. 

Two years earlier, the American people came together to turn back and reject the authoritarianism of Donald Trump to elect Joe Biden.

In special election after special election, when a hard right MAGAist was running against American liberty, the voters resisted. In Wisconsin, voters said no to a Trump election denier and flipped the state Supreme Court. 

Authoritarians all need people to tune out, to give up, to not fight.

Autocratic power grabs fail when people come together to say no. The United States is under threat from a democracy-destroying far-right authoritarian movement, but take heart because when the American people stand tall for democracy, recent history has proven that the authoritarians lose.

Jason Easley

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