For the 14th year in a row, Freedom House -- a nonpartisan activist organization -- warns of a decline in global democracy. And it's not just the established authoritarians in Russia and China they're talking about:
Freedom House’s report, titled “A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy,” highlighted the “pressure” Trump is exerting “on electoral integrity, judicial independence, and safeguards against corruption” in the United States. Also of note is “the decline in fair and equal treatment of refugees and asylum seekers” under Trump’s watch — something that is “worrisome for a country that takes pride in its traditional role as a beacon for the oppressed.” [snip]
“Today, as authoritarians fortify themselves at home and extend their international reach, and as some elected leaders adopt a myopic, self-serving, and discriminatory view of their official responsibilities, the world is becoming less stable and secure, and the freedoms and interests of all open societies are endangered,” the Freedom House report noted. “The tide can be reversed, but delay makes the task more difficult and costly.” (our emphasis)Certainly, people who are tuned into the events of the past few years already see the erosion here in the U.S., for the reasons noted above and for the affinity Trump has for authoritarians like Putin, Xi and Kim. But we need to always remember that our own would- be autocrat is supported and enabled to the hilt by the rotted- out banana Republican Party, which makes the assessment of our democracy's decline all the more dangerous and real.
The 2020 election may be a last exit ramp for us; we will never have more clarity about the stakes, and the need for a unified Democratic Party to defeat the Trump Republican Party at all levels, than we have at this moment.
