POver the course of four years, Donald Trump has systematically violated US constitutional norms, such as the independence of the judiciary or freedom of the press, and unwritten political traditions. Also [l’actuel président des Etats-Unis] Joe Biden campaigned on the return to normalcy, the rule of law, the restoration of democracy internally and internationally. Hence the holding of its virtual summit of democracies on December 9 and 10.
But when he preaches the good word, he is confronted with the decline of democracy in the world. Already in 2017, [l’organisation] Freedom House numbered only 45% free countries and noted that the holding of free and fair elections, recognition of minority rights, freedom of the press and the rule of law were under attack around the world. With the contagion of Trump’s bad example, autocrats felt free to attack democratic values and institutions a little more. It is against these drifts that President Biden wishes to fight, but he still needs to be able to set an example. However, international rankings, such as that of the Idea Institute, show the democratic decline of the United States (“Backsliding”).
Those responsible for this situation are the institutions which make possible the tyranny of a minority and the polarization, already old but accentuated during the Trump presidency. From now on, the Democrats are no longer political adversaries but enemies and the lie is allowed.
A partisan electoral division
Due to the history and priorities of the Founding Fathers, the Constitution of 1787, which is a compromise between small and large states – those in the slave South and those in the North opposed to slavery – gives small states a structural advantage. within the electoral college (for the presidential election) and in the Senate. Within the electoral college, a State is entitled to a number of electors equal to the number of its representatives and senators. However, to reassure small states and enshrine the principle of federalism in the Constitution, the latter provides that each state, whatever its size, is entitled to two senators, which confers a structural advantage on small states, many of which are rural and now dominated by Republicans. And with the filibuster, parliamentary obstruction, forty Republican senators have the possibility of blocking all legislative work even though they represent a minority of the population.
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