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Three recent political realities have come together to create the conditions that dramatically increase the potential for a transition from democratic rule to dictatorship in the United States. The convergence of these elements threatens the very existence of our constitutional republic.
First, in Donald Trump, we have a candidate, neck-and-neck with his opponent in the presidential race, who has promised to act like a dictator. He has publicly threatened, if elected president, to implement policies heretofore considered unconstitutional and illegal.
Second, we now have a permission structure in place to enable him to carry out such threats. The recent majority decision in "Trump v. the United States" confers presumptive immunity on the president of the United States for virtually everything he does when performed as "an official act" as president.
Third, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 presents a blueprint to achieve what used to be considered illegal and constitutionally questionable acts of a president. Project 2025 was written by close advisors to President Trump who are slated to fill the highest positions in a Trump presidency. The proposals in Project 2025 are either identical to or track with elements of Donald Trump's publicly announced presidential agenda.
So, we have a potential president who wants to be a dictator. We have a Supreme Court that will permit him to perform acts that until now, were forbidden. And we have a full-blown plan to pull it all off. It's a perfect storm and its impact will trigger a swift transition to an authoritarian presidency.
In his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump is promising to: 1) concentrate the government's power in the office of the presidency; 2) weaken or dismantle checks and balances, the separation of powers, our independent judiciary, and our free press; 3) undermine the rule of law by prosecuting his political opponents and protecting his allies from criminal investigations; 4) restrict access to independent sources of news; 5) discriminate against marginalized groups; and 6) destroy alliances with democratic countries and align with despotic world leaders.
To paraphrase libertarian author James Bovary: "Autocracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner." If we are honest about it, whatever our political persuasions, when it comes to dining, all of us would rather be the guests than the meal. The choice the candidates themselves have given us for November 2024 in their own words is this: A vote for Harris is a vote for democracy. A vote for Trump is a vote for one-man rule. The final Republican replacement of Ronald Reagan with Donald Trump will be the difference between America's being a "Shining City Upon on a Hill" and being a kleptocracy, that is, a rich country's "Banana Republic." It not only could happen here, it IS happening here.
Like so many precious things in life, democracy may be a boon we take for granted and will miss only if or when it is gone. We often take good health for granted; that is, until we have difficulty moving, breathing, or carrying out our normal daily activities or are in we suffer physical pain. We don't give much thought to our financial independence until we can't pay our bills. We often don't fully appreciate those close to us until they are no longer near.
Let's hope it won't take losing our precious freedom in the November 2024 elections for us to appreciate it fully.
Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne Jr. recently described what we could lose in this way: "We could very well lose democracy's capacity to give voters opportunities to express their desire for change, to speak up against social and economic exclusion, to hold governments accountable - and to defend democracy itself." He ended his comments on our potential descent into autocracy by invoking the lyrics of singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell: "You don't know what you've got till it's gone."
But that doesn't have to happen. We, the people, can make sure it doesn't by registering to vote, casting our ballots, and voting for the candidate who pledges to protect and strengthen our democracy. Not the one promising to destroy it.
Tim Mannello is a retired hospital system executive and business consultant.