No map provides all the detail one encounters when traveling a terrain; it is enough that it makes one’s chosen direction discernible. Our present national conflict will one day end, and when it does millions who will have swept Trumpism into the dustbin will then have to renew American politics, restoring to this society once again a healthy liberal democracy. Protect Democracy is one of many groups pondering how to do so. They are
a nonpartisan nonprofit with an urgent mission: to prevent our democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government. We do this by holding the President and the Executive Branch accountable to the laws and longstanding practices that have protected our democracy through both Democratic and Republican administrations. We have seen an unprecedented tide of authoritarian-style politics sweep the country that is fundamentally at odds with the Bill of Rights, the constitutional limitations on the role of the President, and the laws and unwritten norms that prevent overreach and abuse of power. The only limits to prevent a slide away from our democratic traditions will be those that are imposed by the Courts, Congress, and the American people.
Protect Democracy has a Roadmap for Renewal for legislative proposals to restore and fortify America’s liberal democratic tradition. That’s not all America will need – there are both educational and moral teachings to be reinforced – but it’s a solid start. All of these kinds of reforms together will amount to a Third Reconstruction.