Great work. The most sinister aspect is, as you said David, the lawlessness of the GOP legislatures. They must be receiving guidance from far-right organizations like the Federalist Society, and Bannon. And there’s nothing preventing them from doing it. One big fear I have is that in 2024 they will have plans in place to force their fake elector slates before the votes are even counted.
The talk about failed democracies in Europe reminded me of my letter, below, in Thursday's Columbus Dispatch about the failure of democracy in Columbus, Ohio. Unfortunately, that failure has been caused by corporate Democrats, who have shown no interest in correcting the problem.
Sadly, it makes one think that where Democrats are in power, they can be just as anti-democratic and authoritarian as Republicans. When that happens, they should be called-out too as a matter of fairness.
The progressive Democrat running for mayor, Joe Motil, could do much to correct the situation in Columbus if he were elected. But the system, including the Columbus corporate TV media, is quite rigged against him and any other challengers to the ruling establishment.
Dear Editor:
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther’s refusal to debate his opponent, Democrat Joe Motil, is the latest of his anti-democratic acts in public office.
When Gov. Mike DeWine refused to debate his Democratic opponent Nan Whaley last year, the Ohio Democratic Party called it “an outrage” and said debates are “a central part of our democracy.” Ginther surely deserves the same criticism.
Moreover, a Feb. 11, 2019 Dispatch editorial said Columbus is experiencing “a failure of democracy.” It pointed to a lack of candidates for city offices and said Columbus needs effective limits on campaign contributions.
Ginther has done nothing about those matters. And this year, six candidates for Columbus City Council are unopposed, and the four candidates on the ballot for Columbus School Board have no ballet opponent (only a write-in candidate is opposing them).
In 2021, the progressive Democratic group Yes We Can announced it would no longer run candidates for Columbus offices. The group said: “The Columbus Partnership and Mayor Ginther have successfully set up a Russian-style ‘managed democracy’” – preventing challengers from having any chance of winning.
Potential candidates are further deterred from running by Ginther’s punitiveness and his intolerance of dissent. The January 2022 issue of Columbus Monthly magazine listed five former local leaders who “paid a price” for clashing with Ginther and are no longer in the offices they held.
Ginther avoids mentioning the city’s dire condition of democracy. It cannot be expected to improve as long as he keeps getting reelected.
Terrific panel, David! Thanks for sharing it. Gen Z will especially appreciate and benefit from this conference. It needs to be shared with as wide an audience as possible.
Great work. The most sinister aspect is, as you said David, the lawlessness of the GOP legislatures. They must be receiving guidance from far-right organizations like the Federalist Society, and Bannon. And there’s nothing preventing them from doing it. One big fear I have is that in 2024 they will have plans in place to force their fake elector slates before the votes are even counted.
The talk about failed democracies in Europe reminded me of my letter, below, in Thursday's Columbus Dispatch about the failure of democracy in Columbus, Ohio. Unfortunately, that failure has been caused by corporate Democrats, who have shown no interest in correcting the problem.
Sadly, it makes one think that where Democrats are in power, they can be just as anti-democratic and authoritarian as Republicans. When that happens, they should be called-out too as a matter of fairness.
The progressive Democrat running for mayor, Joe Motil, could do much to correct the situation in Columbus if he were elected. But the system, including the Columbus corporate TV media, is quite rigged against him and any other challengers to the ruling establishment.
Dear Editor:
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther’s refusal to debate his opponent, Democrat Joe Motil, is the latest of his anti-democratic acts in public office.
When Gov. Mike DeWine refused to debate his Democratic opponent Nan Whaley last year, the Ohio Democratic Party called it “an outrage” and said debates are “a central part of our democracy.” Ginther surely deserves the same criticism.
Moreover, a Feb. 11, 2019 Dispatch editorial said Columbus is experiencing “a failure of democracy.” It pointed to a lack of candidates for city offices and said Columbus needs effective limits on campaign contributions.
Ginther has done nothing about those matters. And this year, six candidates for Columbus City Council are unopposed, and the four candidates on the ballot for Columbus School Board have no ballet opponent (only a write-in candidate is opposing them).
In 2021, the progressive Democratic group Yes We Can announced it would no longer run candidates for Columbus offices. The group said: “The Columbus Partnership and Mayor Ginther have successfully set up a Russian-style ‘managed democracy’” – preventing challengers from having any chance of winning.
Potential candidates are further deterred from running by Ginther’s punitiveness and his intolerance of dissent. The January 2022 issue of Columbus Monthly magazine listed five former local leaders who “paid a price” for clashing with Ginther and are no longer in the offices they held.
Ginther avoids mentioning the city’s dire condition of democracy. It cannot be expected to improve as long as he keeps getting reelected.
Terrific panel, David! Thanks for sharing it. Gen Z will especially appreciate and benefit from this conference. It needs to be shared with as wide an audience as possible.