The greatest threat to democracy isn’t what you think it is

The greatest threat to American democracy isn’t ISIS or Russia or even Canada (we’ve got our eye on you) but the latest iteration of the Republican Party. What may have been a grand old party in Lincoln’s days has turned into a rats nest of intolerant, anti-intellectual nationalists with a very undemocratic agenda of handing the reins of this country’s governance over to a handful of fascist billionaires.

Today’s Republican party has been put in a half nelson by rabid Tea Partiers who can’t tolerate the egalitarian nature of true democracy and who seem to prefer a feudal system. This goal just happens to align nicely with the desires of conservative “privatize everything” billionaires who, thanks to the Supreme Court, lavish money on sympathetic candidates and organizations.

Unable to win elections legitimately, Republicans at all levels of government are doing everything in their power to game elections in their favor, from gerrymandering to voter ID laws to election day shenanigans like sending democratic voters inaccurate information about poling places and times. They have to cheat to win, and they are more than willing to turn to the sinister arts of deception to get what they want.

And you can’t reason with these people. They don’t accept the existence of objective reality and have created their own imaginary world based in Ayn Randion greed, selective Christian beliefs and a pathological hatred of government. They are not interested in compromise and would rather die a martyr’s death than give an inch to the non-believers (sound familiar?). Their intransigence in Congress, coupled with their hatred of Obama, has nearly brought our government to a standstill. The popularity of Congress among Americans is at the lowest point it’s ever been.

What can we do when one of the two major political parties in America is a threat to our democratic principals? If America was working like it should, we would be able to demonstrate our desires through the ballot box, but, of course, America is not working the way it should, and the will of the majority is being usurped by the one percent and their truckloads of money. Unfortunately, Americans are too complacent and ill-informed to get up out of their La-Z-Boys and demand change. Until they are willing to stand up and be counted, Republicans will continue chipping away at our democracy until one day — surprise! Welcome to Oceania, Citizen 44659.