Republicans appear to be giving up on democracy

Feb. 29 − To the Editor:

People are asking, “What has happened to the Republican party?” For your consideration, these are my thoughts:

Democracy has not been kind to Republicans lately. Trump, for example, lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and was elected on the strength of the electoral vote.

When Republicans have won Congressional and Senatorial contests, it’s often the result of changing the rules to favor Republicans or gerrymandering, a skill Republicans seem to have developed to a degree that exceeds that of the Democrats.

Nor does the future bode well for members of the GOP: It’s anticipated that the United States will be a minority-majority country in about 20 years, with the expectation that those minorities are more likely to join the Democratic ranks.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Republicans appear to be giving up on democracy and seeking new ways to power, demeaning our democratic system and lauding authoritarianism.

The arch-conservative former Senator Rick Santorum opined recently that “pure democracy is no way to run a country.”

The white supremacist media personality Tucker Carlson praises authoritarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, declaring Hungary a country the United States should emulate.

More recently, Carlson conducted an interview with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, fawning over the world criminal.

And, of course, most notably is the example of Donald Trump himself, whose heroes are authoritarian dictators Putin, Xi Jinping of China and Kim Jong Un of North Korea, as he reserves his contempt for our traditional allies, the Western and other democracies.

Now Trump is running for president yet again or, perhaps more accurately, running for president-forlife.

The question is, are we going to be smart enough to reject him and his MAGA sycophants in favor of our democracy?

Terry MacDonald

Portsmouth