Monday, January 3, 2022:  Is There Hope For The Flowers?
As we start 2022 the question on my mind is whether it is possible for the Republican Party to permanently snuff out American democracy? Is our country strong enough to withstand the onslaught from those who would turn our country into an autocracy run by a band of fascists whose only purpose is to make themselves richer and more powerful. I am not sure.

The sociopolitical cancer that infects our country has spread far and wide. You see the symptoms in the anti-vaxxers, the anti-abortion groups, the bible thumping, gun toting so called Christians, the federalist society anointed judges, and those in congress who either directly supported the January 6th insurrectionists or indirectly supporting them by failing to condemn those who participated in this blatant attempt to overthrow our duly elected government.

I know one thing. The fascists have been emboldened and are not going to stop their efforts to undermine our democracy any time soon. And why? Well to date there has been no consequences for the real forces behind the attempted coup. Sure, the little guys have been arrested and are getting jail time, but Trump and all is cronies are walking around giving justice the middle finger. Justice should be swift, but the chief architects of the anarchy have figured out how to game the system to avoid scrutiny and prosecution. If they get away with this attempted sedition, there is no hope. At the top of the list is Trump. He has managed to avoid any and all forms of accountability for his actions. You have to give this snake his due.

Jedediah Britton-Purdy highlighted the broader issue in his New York Times article of January 3, 2022 titled "To Save Democracy, First We Need to Make It Real."

"Today's Republican Party succeeds only because the Electoral College, the Senate and the Supreme Court all tilt in its favor. That system has handed conservatives a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court, despite the fact that only one Republican has won the presidential popular vote after 1988. A party doesn't have to persuade majorities that it has the best vision for the country. It only has to persuade a selective minority that the other side is a mortal threat. Its grasp on power may be too tenuous for the party to govern effectively, but it has offered conservatives a fine perch to weaken economic and environmental regulation, appoint conservative judges and launch attacks on the democratic system itself.

In a more democratic system, the Republican Party's extreme elements would have been sent packing long before they stormed the Capitol because they couldn't muster enough votes to win a national election. Instead, they have perfected minority rule as a path to political success. An antidemocratic system has bred an antidemocratic party. The remedy is to democratize our so-called democracy."

Given where we are at today, democratizing America will be no small task and may take years, but if we don't start now, there is a very good possibility that we will soon be a fascist state. Starting this work by focusing on voter rights has to be the primary goal for the Biden administration in 2022.