Vive la Démocratie!

Europe just showed us how it’s done

[PHOTO CREDIT: REUTERS - Abdul Saboor

Thanks to our friends in Europe, democracy is back from the brink.

And so is hope.

In the last week, there were major elections in the United Kingdom and France. In both, my uncle’s far-right fascist friends, led by Rishi Sunak and the vile Marine Le Pen, were handed massive losses.

In England, the Labour Party won in a landslide, ending 14 years of “conservative” rule that, from Brexit to stagnant wages, just about brought the country to its knees.

In France, Emanuel Macron built a coalition of leftists and centrists to stop right-winger Le Pen and her Donald- and Putin-loving would-be prime minister Jordan Bardella.

Both were huge victories for democracy, and both were huge losses for Donald’s brand of fascism. Perhaps most relevant to those of us across the pond right now, both shocked the chattering classes who seem increasingly eager to usher in the end of the free world. 

The fascists and pundits who keep trying to push their preferred narrative, tried to convince everyone that their victory was inevitable. Voters had another idea. 

We can do the same thing here this November.

I imagine you’re as sick as I am of the pundits and the corporate media doing Donald’s bidding and acting like our election is already over. Since the debate between President Joe Biden and Donald, the New York Times and way too many elected Democrats (who really need to take a time out) want us to believe that the die is cast, that Donald has won, and there is nothing Biden can do about it. 

Yes, it has been a rough couple of weeks. Well-meaning people are worried—and they’re worried because the stakes are astronomical. I was at the debate—I know Biden had a bad night, but what freaked those of us in Atlanta out much more was the CNN moderator’s horrific malpractice, and Donald’s unceasing fascism and bizarre lies.

Four days later, the Supreme Court of the United States demonstrated its willingness to overturn 248 years of adherence to the Constitution in order to make Donald a king. There are a lot of good people justifiably concerned about this election and the immediate future of our country—but continuing to beat up on Pres. Biden while giving Donald a pass is only making the job of saving American democracy harder.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated. As our British and French friends just reminded us, democracy is alive and well. As long as that is the case, we the people still get to decide our fate. 

On Monday morning, President Biden sent a letter to congressional Democrats and then called into Morning Joe for an interview.

His message was crystal clear — he is staying in this race and he is going to win. The first part is up to him. The second part is up to us. 

I’m proud to stand with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Perhaps more importantly, I’m proud to stand with people who love and are willing to defend democracy. Whether they’re in France or the United Kingdom or America, they are not willingly giving up their freedom. Pres. Biden and Vice Pres. Harris are our champions for freedom, and it's imperative that we unify behind them and make sure they get re-elected.

That’s how we’ll shock the pundits and Donald’s sycophants and enablers. After what we just saw in Europe, I’m more motivated for this fight than ever, and more certain that we can and will win. 

In England and France, voters from different parts of the political spectrum put aside their small disagreements in order to focus on the big picture—the fight between freedom and fascism. By rallying around the cause of democracy — and the fear of what the extreme right would do if they gained power — they have shown us the way.

Of course, in the wake of the results, MAGA followers have been whining that the results were rigged simply because they didn’t get their way--sound familiar? But the people decided because that’s how it’s supposed to work. If the newly elected officials fail in their mission to improve the lives of their constituents, or if they turn out to be corrupt, then voters will have an opportunity during the next election to make their voices heard again. That’s the beauty of democracies.

But that is the opposite of what the fascists want. My uncle wants to silence our voices. He wants to decide who has a say and what direction this country goes in. He wants to take away our right to vote and have our votes counted just as Putin has done in Russia. Donald is so close to an imperial presidency he can taste it. Only we can stop him.

Democracy’s great comeback started in Europe. Let’s keep the momentum going here by standing behind team Biden/Harris and doing everything to re-elect the only pro-democracy ticket on the ballot.

Besides, it’ll be fun to prove the pundits wrong while watching Donald slip into irrelevance.

We can do this—it’s up to us.