The fall of American democracy is on the horizon

The New York Times and lots of other outlets are reporting that democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin will vote against the democratic bill to protect voting rights. In a letter to a local newspaper, , Manchin wrote “I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy.” What Manchin is unable to see, probably mostly because he is a radical right wing extremist, is that opposing protections for voting rights will further weaken and finally break American democracy. 

Manchin appears to be oblivious to the massive, anti-democracy voter suppression laws the GOP has been feverishly working to pass in nearly all states where they have to power to do so. Those voter suppression laws are knowingly and intentionally designed to shift power from less partisan election officials dedicated to free and fair elections to Republican Party hacks willing to subvert elections and deny voters their power to vote for anyone other than a Republican. 

This is how American fascism will rise and the fall of democracy, civil liberties and the rule of law. Joe Manchin gets a lot of credit for the disaster. he demanded GOP support, but he was not able to get any. That ought to have been a clear sign to him that the GOP has no interest in defending democracy or voting rights. Manchin is just too blind to see the lethal danger that is right in front of him. The NYT writes:

WASHINGTON — Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said on Sunday in no uncertain terms that he would not vote for the Democrats’ far-reaching bill to combat voter suppression, nor would he ever end the legislative filibuster, a written promise that imperils much of President Biden’s agenda.

The bill, which all the other Senate Democrats had supported and the party had portrayed as an urgent effort to preserve American democracy, would roll back dozens of laws being passed by Republican state legislatures to limit early and mail-in voting and empower partisan poll watchers. The measure, known as the For the People Act, would also restore many of the ethical controls on the presidency that Donald J. Trump shattered.

In The Charleston Gazette-Mail, the newspaper of the capital of his home state, Mr. Manchin, a Democrat, wrote: “I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster.”  

With Mr. Manchin’s vow, passage of the full For the People Act appears to be impossible, though parts of it could pass in other ways if Democrats are willing to break up the bill, a move that they have resisted. Mr. Manchin’s blockade of filibuster changes makes other Biden initiatives far less likely to pass, including any overhaul of immigration laws, a permanent expansion of the Affordable Care Act, controls of the price of prescription drugs and the most serious efforts to tackle climate change.  

“I continue to engage with my Republican and Democratic colleagues about the value of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,” he wrote, “and I am encouraged by the desire from both sides to transcend partisan politics and strengthen our democracy by protecting voting rights.” 

Given this new development, it looks like the only thing left for the Biden administration and democrats in congress is to pass legislation by budget reconciliation. But even that requires Manchin’s vote. If he refuses to go along without GOP support, of which there will be none, we will have seen about all that the Biden administration will be able to do in terms of major legislation. We are on the verge of going back to the 6 years of gridlock we enjoyed under two Obama administrations. That there was nothing but unified, lockstep GOP opposition to Obama for all 8 years he was in office seems to be completely lost on the bipartisanship-seeking but clueless, naïve Manchin. His conservative anti-democracy ideology blinds him and betrays the rest of us, pro-democracy conservatives included. 

Obviously, fascist conservative Republicans are rejoicing in Manchin’s state of mind. He has brought the American experiment to an autocratic end.

Questions: Is it fair to put a lot of the blame for the fall of democracy and rise of fascism on Manchin, because without him, Mitch McConnell would still be in control of the Senate and there would not even be a COVID relief law passed? Is it too early to project the end of meaningful democracy and elections and the rise of fascism because the game has not finished playing out yet?