Last week The News & Observer published my op-ed on the failing grade North Carolina received for our elections and democratic health. Boy did it touch a nerve. Hundreds of comments poured in and the article went viral on social media. After thousands of retweets, reaching over 5 million accounts, I stopped checking the stats. There were features in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, Huffington Post, Politico, even PerezHilton.com. Paul Krugman, Howard Dean and Fareed Zakaria tweeted it out to their millions of followers. The story ran around the world. On Christmas Eve the op-ed became the lead on the Twitter home page. Perhaps I should not have been so surprised. North Carolinians are exasperated as they watch the erosion of their democracy. We yearn for real change but feel impotent in the face of frozen power. More than ever, people are hungry for ideas on how to reverse the decline. There were thousands of comments online and I received over 100 emails directly. The vast majority agreed that our democracy was in trouble and thanked me for seeking to marshal evidence rather than use bluster. However, a small minority were very angry. There were online threats and abuse on my voicemail. I was told to go ‘back to Africa’ (I am not from Africa), I was told I was worse than cancer, feces, a fraud, a moron and corrupter of young people.
A few respondents wrote, “America is a republic, not a democracy.” A ha! They gloated, end of argument: We need not abide by democratic principles because we are a constitutional republic. Coincidentally, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest shouted this at a protester at the General Assembly on December 15. I am not sure if I am in awe of the chutzpah, or appalled at the level of ignorance. Saying the USA is not a democracy because it is a republic is like saying, ‘that’s not a dog, it’s a Labrador Retriever.’ About two thirds of the world’s full democracies are republics, the rest constitutional monarchies. They are all representative democracies, not direct ones – even accepting that the Swiss like a referendum every now and then.
The second criticism was, ‘two wrongs make a right.’ Democrats had abused their power when in office so it’s fair that Republicans abuse power now. It’s certainly true that historically both Democrats and Republicans have been culpable in democracy’s decline but it is also true that in North Carolina recently the Republicans have been most egregious in their contempt for democratic principles. The fact that both parties manipulate elections for partisan gain and wring as much power as they can from their turns in office has caused our institutions to atrophy and ugly polarization to seize the public sphere.
What we need is a Tar Heel Spring to restore the pride of North Carolina. Not merely a reawakening of our democracy but an invigoration of our self-confidence as active citizens shaping the state that we love.
Full Article: An overwhelming response on N.C. Democracy article | News & Observer.