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Richard Behan's avatar

Moore v. Harper is merely that last nail in the Republican Party's coffin for democracy. Yes, the case is "...antithetical to the Framers' intent," as Judge Luttig says: the vote of the people should decide the presidency, not state legislatures. But the "Framers' intent" had nothing to do with democracy. The vote of the people was limited at the time to those who were male, white, free, over 21, and most importantly, owners of property: "freeholders" was James Madison's word. This amounted to 2.5% of the population, a crypto-nobility. The Framers' thought this right and proper, unequivocally and unanimously. Popular democracy to them was unthinkable.

Not until 1971 was the last of the restrictive voter qualifications removed, and universal suffrage attained. It took almost 200 years to overcome the "Framers' intent." We built a popular democracy in spite of the Framers' intent, not because of it.

Within a decade of this noble achievement--beginning in the Reagan Administration--the Republican Party undertook its destruction. (Outlined in detail here: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/10/19/democracy-defenseless-and-midterms-can-kill-it) Moore v. Harper is just the final stroke.

Yes, SCOTUS should by no means authorize Independent State Legislature theory, but far more important is the defeat of the Republican Party in the midterm election. "Vote early and vote often!!"

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SUE Speaks's avatar

Who would have thought, before Trump, that our electorate is so weighted with people who would vote against their own interests? What a revelation Trump has been. And, we aren't dealing with the wealth inequality that's causal to this, where so many people are so pissed off that they'll vote for what's outside the system they are in. We stay on the surface trying to keep our democracy, where what to do about the underlying causes that most threaten it should be front and center.

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