Waiting for Godot
A quote falsely attributed to Einstein informs us that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Alas, we seem to be ready for the asylum, regardless who initially posed this truism.
Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt emphasized the critical importance of informal norms and other guardrails for the preservation of democracy in their seminal book, How Democracies Die. Writing in 2018, when the Trump administration was already in full swing, they declare that “Democracy’s fate during the remainder of Trump’s presidency will depend on several factors. The first is the behavior of Republican leaders.”
Considering a number of scenarios, they suggest some of these leaders may try a strategy of containment, working with the president whenever possible, but “take steps to ensure that he does not abuse power.” The authors note a few examples of their restraining the president, but displaying loyalty most of the time. They believe a long-term solution to our drift away from democracy will require the significant reduction of societal polarization. Which “requires that the Republican party be reformed.”
Perpetual Insanity?
Ever since Levitsy and Ziblatt placed the future hopes for our nation in the hands of Republicans, numerous commentators have essentially predicted, implored, or hoped for the same source of salvation, believing that now, finally, the better angels of their nature will prevail. Yet we know today that whenever push comes to shove, the party leadership has adhered to the president.
The three most glaring examples are their refusal to take the impeachment process seriously, ignoring the charges and even refusing to hear witnesses. The second is ramming through a Supreme Court nomination weeks before an election. And the third and indeed the worst is their refusing (so far, at least) to accept the election of Joe Biden.
But even today, despite this long history of collusion, columnists and commentators appear confident that the “Cavalry will arrive in time” to save the day. Delusional, as Einstein might have said.
The Cavalry Has Arrived
Now many will object to my use of the old Western idiom, based as it is on the narrative in which the heroic soldiers appear just in time to save the white cowboys or settlers from the threatening Native Americans. This image is particularly repugnant since we know now far better than when the Westerns of yesteryear were filmed how the cavalry really behaved in the 1870s.
But that’s my point. The Republican leaders really are the cavalry of today, and they have arrived. But they are not here to save democracy. They still appear on the horizon to save the day for the favored white population threatened by a loss of their hegemony, by keeping people of color in their place and demographic and social forces at bay.
Perhaps it is time to find another source for our deliverance.