(Todd A. Smith)
Another election cycle has come and gone, with the exceptions of some run-offs, and things did not go as planned for certain Republican politicians and conservative issues.
While former President Donald Trump would threaten American democracy by calling a loss fraud and trying to reverse an election loss, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) had the Freudian slip of all Freudian slips.
After some liberal propositions succeeded in Ohio, Santorum said, “Thank goodness that most of the states in the country don’t allow you to put everything on the ballot, because pure democracies are not the way to run a country.”
While every American can bemoan election results when things do not go their way, not allowing the American people to have a voice on issues that impact them daily is the opposite of what America stands for.
While there are times in history that I am glad that the majority did not rule because remember most of the American public did not support integration or interracial marriage, enough sane politicians and judges believed that racism, oppression and injustice was immoral illegal.
However, at a time when MAGA Republicans have violently attempted to overthrow our democracy like when they tried to overturn President Joe Biden 2020 presidential victory, criticizing democracy is something that no true patriot should do.
When many MAGA Republicans have openly said that violence is the only answer to get their way on political issues and voting is useless, Santorum and others have a responsibility to calm the waters and lower the temperature in this polarized and divided era of American history.
Furthermore, the fact that Santorum criticized democracy on Newsmax, which caters to the conservative crowd that believes in nonsensical conspiracy theories like when Democrats win it is because of fraud and cheating, makes his comments even more dangerous because many of those viewers have probably grown tired of democracy because fair elections do not get them the results that they often want.
Santorum, who has always appeared to be level-headed, had the opportunity to defend democracy on Newsmax.
While conservative cable networks like Fox News, OAN and Newsmax have audiences with a certain political affiliation and many media personalities might fear losing those viewers’ support, there is a time when people need to hear the truth more than they need to hear what they want to hear.
People like Trump tell his supporters what they want to hear even if it puts their supporters’ lives and freedom on the line.
But those networks need other conservatives to speak truth to power.
Conservatives need enough guts to know that telling Americans the truth is more important than their political jobs or media exposure because telling the truth will save our democracy.
However, knowingly lying to their conservative supporters could end America as we know it.
The real America is the personification of democracy.
It is the epitome of “we the people.”
The desire for democracy is what led to the formation of the United States of America in the first place.
People have died to preserve our democracy.
People have marched and died so that all citizens could have a voice at the ballot box.
And you have politicians and former politicians willing to take that away just because their side is not winning as many elections as they think that they should.
Obviously, taking our rights away is not the way for the Republican Party and conservatives to find more success at the ballot box.
As this country moves in a new direction, Republicans always bring up the past and wanting to go back and wanting to make American great again, which translates to make America hate again and/or make America White again.
Many talk about their disdain for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Many talk about their disdain for various minority groups just because they do not believe in the lifestyle that they choose.
And then they wonder why many of those people do not vote for them and the issues that they support.
In all honesty, I agree with some Republicans on some issues.
But if most of my community disagrees with me and votes a certain way, so be it.
I would not want to disenfranchise them for thinking differently than me.
I once had a conservative radio show host openly tell me that he did not think all Americans should be able to vote.
He was upset about the outcome of some elections and his response to things not going his way was to disenfranchise people that voted differently than him.
That is the definition of a loser.
To win, Republicans need to fight winning battles.
Even for a pro-life guy like me, abortion is not a winning issue for Republicans at the ballot box.
As a Black man who is conservative on a few issues, trying to rewrite the history of my people and not supporting diversity, equity and inclusion will guarantee that you will not get my vote.
And I know many other brothers and sisters feel the same way.
Nominating a presidential candidate that is openly racist and wants to be a dictator will not get my vote.
Nominating a presidential candidate who openly threatens Black women who are just doing their jobs by holding him accountable for his misdeeds will definitely not get my vote.
And taking my vote and rights away, which is what it means to get rid of a democracy, after all my parents’ and grandparents’ generations went through to get me my God-given rights will guarantee that I vote straight Democrat for the foreseeable future.
And until Republicans understand that Americans take their freedoms seriously, they will continue coming out of the losing end of a truly democratic election.
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