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Republicans have used many tools to legally reshape the electorate to benefit themselves. Everything from restrictive voting laws to voter suppression efforts to gerrymandering has become part of the GOP's electoral manipulation toolbox.
After Barack Obama’s victory in 2008, the Republican Party shifted from trying to win elections with ideas to trying to win elections by changing the composition of the electorate.
In this context, a historically unpopular president and his party have reached their logical next step by attempting a mid-decade gerrymander.
As Sarah Jones said on WPCT’s Chew’s Views, now is the time for Democrats to do whatever is necessary to protect democracy:
At this point, I'm not sure how anyone can be against Democrats doing what they have to do to keep our democracy, because it's very clear that if we don't get power back in the US House in this midterm election. Things are going to get much worse than they are right now, and that is not a positive direction.
And so I, and I say that as somebody who I have been an institutionalist the entire time I've been writing, so I think it's 15 years now. I, this is the opposite of where I was until the second Trump term, when it was clear that America is broken and that the institutions aren't gonna save us. And I think, President Joe Biden really tried to shore up all those institutions, and he did so much good work to do that, that he won't get recognized for.
And I saw that he was in like the lowest position in one of the polls. It's just really sad how Americans have been so misled about what's going on in their government. But at any rate, so I don't know what the exact argument is, but and I see a lot of Republicans saying, oh, Democrats do it just like us.
And that's not true either. CNN came out and said that's not true. Republicans really started this in 2010. That was the backlash to President Barack Obama and to Obamacare, which has now saved so many people's lives.
And again, like that's another example. 'cause progressives were part of that backlash. They abandoned him over that. And that's part of how, what I'm, I wish that the Democratic Party that liberals and progressives could look at that, look at 2010 and say to yourselves, do we wanna redo that? We have to learn how to come together when it's important.
It's good to have vigorous debate. That's part of being a big tent party. That's part of being a coalition of people who are challenging ideas instead of worshiping a person. And it's not a cult and that's really important, but I think there's a big failure on the part of the base, basically to recognize when it's time to come together and put aside individual desires, individual issues that are keeping people divided.
Democrats have realized that they have to be in power before they can protect democracy. Getting back into power should be the first and only goal. Moral victories and principles don’t count when democracy is on the line, and that is why the entire party must come together and do whatever it takes to win in 2026.
What do you think? Should Democrats be doing whatever it takes? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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