Homefront Battles for Democracy (America, April 2023)

Luis Martínez-Fernández
Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:00:00 -0700
Opinion

In my Dec. 10, 2022, column, I wrote about the global authoritarian wave gaining strength since around 2006 and cresting after 2016; I recognized democratic countercurrents expanding over the past four years, but also warned about dangerous antidemocratic crosscurrents flowing inside the world's democracies.

We are in the midst of a cold war between clearly delineated blocks of democratic and authoritarian nations that is only one misfired missile away from exploding into a global conflagration.

In the American homefront, we are witnessing continuous clashes between democratic countercurrents and authoritarian crosscurrents. Salient instances in the past 10 days alone include the expulsion (and later reinstatement) of two 20-something black state legislators from the Tennessee House of Representatives; the broad-margin election of progressive judge Janet Protasiewicz to Wisconsin's Supreme Court and immediate, unfounded Republican demands for her impeachment; and Republican Rep. Jim Jordan's attempts to interfere in Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's case against former President Donald Trump, and Bragg's lawsuit against Jordan and his committee.
Updated: Sat Apr 15, 2023

In my Dec. 10, 2022, column, I wrote about the global authoritarian wave gaining strength since around 2006 and cresting after 2016; I recognized democratic countercurrents expanding over the past four years, but also warned about dangerous antidemocratic crosscurrents flowing inside the world's democracies.

We are in the midst of a cold war between clearly delineated blocks of democratic and authoritarian nations that is only one misfired missile away from exploding into a global conflagration.

In the American homefront, we are witnessing continuous clashes between democratic countercurrents and authoritarian crosscurrents. Salient instances in the past 10 days alone include the expulsion (and later reinstatement) of two 20-something black state legislators from the Tennessee House of Representatives; the broad-margin election of progressive judge Janet Protasiewicz to Wisconsin's Supreme Court and immediate, unfounded Republican demands for her impeachment; and Republican Rep. Jim Jordan's attempts to interfere in Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's case against former President Donald Trump, and Bragg's lawsuit against Jordan and his committee.

Case No. 1: Playing Musical Chairs in the Tennessee House of Representatives

On Thursday April 6, the Republican supermajority of the Tennessee House of Representatives voted to unseat African American Democratic Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones for violating house floor decorum rules. The fact that Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, had engaged in the same acts of protest but was allowed to remain in her seat did not go unnoticed.

The Republican majority's excessive punishment temporarily deprived the legislators' combined constituencies (around 130,000 voters) of their rightful political representation. They violated several democratic principles including respect for the will of voters and respect for political minorities. But as established by state law, local councils have the power to appoint replacements for ousted or incapacitated legislators and Nashville and Memphis, respectively, reinstated Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson. By April 12, when the music stopped, both were back in their respective seats. Democracy prevailed!

Case No. 2: Preemptive Impeachment in Wisconsin

On the evening of April 4, Wisconsin voters elected progressive judge Protasiewicz to the state's highest court. She beat conservative former justice Daniel Kelly by a whopping 11-point margin. In Trumpian fashion, Kelly refused to call the winner to concede, instead using the occasion to savagely disparage her and her campaign.

By all accounts, this was a high-stakes election. The liberal judge's election swings the state Supreme Court's balance away from conservative control for the first time in 15 years and signals a certain repeal of recent Republican-backed anti-abortion legislation and the redrawing of a deeply gerrymandered electoral map that despite a nearly 50/50 electoral split has given Republicans overwhelming control over both state legislative houses and the state's congressional delegation.

Member-elect of the Wisconsin Senate Dan Knodl immediately threatened to impeach Protasiewicz, which would be an egregious abuse of legislative power. How could he even conceive of doing that before the justice has been sworn in and before she could even engage in "corrupt conduct in office" or commit "crimes and misdemeanors"? (Wisc. Constitution, Article 7, Section 1). Ironically, Knodl's election gives Republicans a supermajority that could carry out his threat.

Case No. 3: The Distinguished Gentleman from Ohio versus the Manhattan DA

The separation of powers is one of the foundational principles of American democracy. In civics classes, children are taught that the Legislative Branch enacts the laws; the Executive enforces them; and the Judicial interprets them. The system also provides checks and balances to keep any branch from amassing too much unchecked power. But those checks and balances, including legislative oversight, can be abused to the detriment of democracy.

A case in point is Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan's investigation of Manhattan Attorney General Bragg, a Democrat, for allegedly mishandling the prosecution of former president Trump. On April 6, Jordan subpoenaed former Assistant DA Mark Pomerantz as part of his congressional investigation and has signaled a willingness to subpoena other witnesses, including Bragg. Five days later, Bragg sued Jordan and other members of his committee in federal court for attempting to "intimidate and attack." Regardless of any merits the congressional investigation may have, Jordan's actions are a clear interference on a Grand Jury process underway.

All three cases outlined above represent ongoing clashes between democracy and the abuse of democratic institutions. The first (reinstatement of Tennessee's lawmakers) has been solved in favor of democracy with the apparent result of making the Republican majority think twice before committing similar actions of abuse of power. The second (the election of Judge Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court) is another victory for democracy, as it will lead to the redrawing of the current unfair electoral map and consequently the almost-guaranteed defeat for her would-be impeacher, senator-elect Knodl. As for the third case (Bragg v. Jordan) we will have to wait to see how it goes.

Luis Martinez-Fernandez is the author of "When the World Turned Upside Down: Politics, Culture, and the Unimaginable Evenest of 2019-2022," a collection of his syndicated columns. Andrew Kishuni provided research support for this column. To find out more about Luis Martinez-Fernandez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www. creators.com.