I call it recency bias. Bagginski is saying we've never been a democracy. He's not wrong, just not altogether right.
Republicans have underperformed Democrats in national elections 6 years in a row. Where you see a small margin in favor of Democrat and Bagginski sees some conspiracy to keep the people under The Man's thumb, I see a trend in this country away from what had been 200 years of white power. I don't think any of the three of us is wrong. Bagginski has a point. I just don't agree that because the far left has no chance that means democracy has been defeated.
I see the trend as going in a good direction for our nation's democracy. Although Democrats have outperformed expectations over Republicans over the past three national elections, I've been very nervous about the past two elections. I didn't think our democracy would survive another four years of Trump. But he didn't win in 2020 and Republicans were foiled again in 2022. They have one more grab at the throat of democracy in 2024 and then the national demographic shift will make it so that elections will no longer be as close as you say. After 2024, it will go harder and harder for them each election after that.
If the democrats can gain the presidency, house and senate, then other measures like HR-1, voting rights, anti domestic terrorism laws and new FCC powers help accelerate that trend. So could statehood for DC and Puerto Rico and other measures including educational ones could be implemented, civics and history for starters. These along with generational changes in the white population exposed to the internet and broader culture can aid the demographic changes ongoing.
Change can happen faster than many think, once a tipping point is reached, because social and technological change has gotten ahead of political change, which has remained static for some major issues. The reason the courts have so much power is because of legislative failure to address these issues, because of legislative gridlock caused by the republican's lack of interest in solving problems or realistic solutions.
The best indication they are losing is they need to lie, cheat and steal to win, resorting to domestic terrorism and violence. Conservativism is at an ideological and economic dead end and has been replaced by fascism, trickle down economics is not popular and neither is extremist rhetoric. They are on the losing side of history and know it, America should not just hang on until the population changes though, but fight to get there, because things are close enough to be dangerous.
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