Thousands of anti-Donald Trump protesters shut down 5th Avenue in front of Trump Tower as New Yorkers react to the election of Trump as president of the United States, November 9, 2016. (photo: Spencer Platt/Getty)
15 November 16
esterday
marked the fifth straight day of anti-Trump protests in cities across
the United States. Thousands marched to show their opposition to his
campaign pledges, which espoused bigotry, ignorance, and a disregard for
basic human rights.
His campaign promises, if carried out, will drive the
country deeper and deeper in the direction of racism and
authoritarianism. There is a real chance we’ll end up a long ways away
from anything resembling a civilized society.
Just a small sampling of Trump’s campaign promises include the pledges to ban Muslims, to require Muslims to register in a national database, to engage in mass deportations, to ship American citizens to Guantanamo Bay to be tried in military tribunals, to resume the use of torture, to “bomb the shit out of” Iraq and Syria, and finally to open up libel laws in the US, which essentially amounts to a serious crackdown on press freedom.
It goes without saying that these policies are beyond
horrific and should be resisted by anyone with a conscience. The almost
immediate protests following the election demonstrate that an enormous
number of Americans are not going to allow Trump to transform our
society into a haven for paranoia, racism, and hatred. These protests
seem to me the most healthy response possible to Trump’s victory.
Yet there is a rising chorus of Democrats, pundits,
and others calling for the American people to have an open mind about a
Donald Trump presidency. They criticize the protests, saying things like
“there was just a democratic election” and “the people have spoken.”
Sounds reasonable right? Well, we should recall that
democracy is an idea, or a set of values, not a process per se. A
process is democratic to the extent that people feel their voices were
heard and the process represents their views.
Both the presidential candidates’ unfavorable ratings were among the highest ever recorded. A majority of voters said they would be concerned or scared if either of the two candidates won, and exit polls show that a quarter of voters cast a ballot against one of the candidates rather than for one of the candidates.
The voters were forced to choose between two poisoned chalices.
There were no other choices. Significant obstacles
exist for third parties to gain access to ballots in all fifty states,
to get media exposure, and to defy the establishment’s constant
insistence that a third party can never win. As a result, the Green
Party and Libertarian party captured only a very small fraction of the
vote.
Despite the dismal votes for third parties, polls show that a majority of Americans believe a third major party is needed. Research from this year finds that 61% of Americans believe that neither political party represents their views.
In a healthy democracy, people would be able to vote
for politicians who represent their views. This wasn’t the case in this
election. Despite Trump’s election victory, exit polls show his policy
proposals were not popular. Seven in ten voters said they support granting undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. Of those who supported a path to citizenship, 1/3 voted for Trump. A majority of voters don’t want a wall built on the Mexican border.
Given this lack of democracy in the US election
process, protests would be warranted no matter which candidate took the
presidency. Yet, while Hillary Clinton would pose immense dangers to
freedoms and rights at home and abroad, Trump’s administration is
clearly more dangerous. His policies draw up eerie comparisons to the
dark and dangerous nationalism of the 1930s, which led to Europe and
much of the world being torn to shreds in the Second World War.
Another reason people may feel drawn to protest is the
lack of democratic process in the primaries, particularly in the
Democratic primary. The Democratic National Committee actively worked
against Bernie Sanders and took actions to favor Hillary Clinton.
The media also played an important role in making the
primaries and general election less democratic. US major media gifted
Trump an astonishing $4.6 billion
in free media coverage over the course of his campaign, according to
MediaQuant analytics firm. Meanwhile, an analysis by Thomas Frank found
that The Washington Post ran five negative op-eds on Bernie Sanders for
every positive story. In one infamous instance, the Washington Post ran
16 negative stories on Bernie Sanders in 16 hours.
Then there’s the problem that many Americans had when
they tried to vote in the election. Long poll lines, poorly trained poll
workers, Voter ID laws, the lack of use of a proportionally awarded
electoral system, low voter participation rate, and the massive
influence of money in politics resulted in the Electoral Integrity Project ranking US elections the worst among Western democracies.
In Wisconsin, an important state in this election, voter turnout was at 20-year low, and Milwaukee’s election chief said he believes the Voter ID law hurt turnout in impoverished wards.
There’s also a Republican system called Crosscheck, which Greg Palast has reported on.
Crosscheck is a system where people with similar names in different
states are purged from the voting rolls under the pretense it’s the same
person voting in two states. Those targeted are mainly people of color.
In both Michigan and North Carolina, both important swing states, the
number of those purged due to Crosscheck is larger than the margin by
which Hillary Clinton lost.
The lack of democratic process, combined with the very
serious danger that the this administration poses to our society, to
basic human rights, and to the world as a whole, means that protest is
likely the only option left to avert a forthcoming nightmare.
Paul Gottinger is a staff reporter at RSN whose
work focuses on the Middle East and the arms industry. He can be reached
on Twitter @paulgottinger or via email.
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