The Future of American Democracy
It’s the question everybody wants answers to. So what happens now? After record amounts of voter turnout, with an unprecedented amount of early ballots cast and a surge of youth turnout in key battleground states, the 2020 election forever changed how people vote, and who they vote for. Over the span of a few months, our government has seen a new Supreme Court, a new Congress, a new President-Elect, and a new democratic future. My name is Nick Silk and I’m a senior at the University of Michigan who’s been tracking these changes quite closely. On today’s episode, I’ll be joined by a number of special guests to discuss just how impactful these developments are, and if they’re just blips in the road of American democracy or signs of real, systemic change. After gaining insights from Democratic political experts and gauging the current Republican views on the fallout of this election cycle and the future guiding principles and leaders in the political landscape, I’ll sit down with other college students and young voters to talk about the things that give us optimism, pessimism, hope, fear, and all other emotions when thinking about our country’s new democratic path. These next four years, at the minimum, will be a rollercoaster of policy, activism, and reform. Rather than wait for them to happen, let’s talk about them now. Introducing: The Future of American Democracy.
First, I spoke with Trevor Daley. He’s president of Cerrell Associates, a Los Angeles-based public relations firm that conducts communications, public affairs, and government relations work across a litany of cities and industries. Before Cerrell, he oversaw external relations for Los Angeles World Airports and served as State Director and a key strategist for U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein. To begin our conversation, I wanted to gauge Trevor’s takeaways on the 2020 election and its voting trends.
Trevor: “This election was very unique, and I think across the board, people had their minds made up very early on. So, young people came out primarily to stop President Trump, not because they had passion behind President-Elect Joe Biden. I think that both parties are at a place that they have to do some of their own vision work and have to go back to figure out who they are and who they represent.”
What about elections moving forward? Is there any chance that the electoral college is one day abolished?
Trevor: “I would prefer to go by the popular vote, but in reality I don’t think it’s going to happen. For those things to change, you have to have a lot of political capital, and there’s not really any group out there that is going to take this and win in a measurable amount of time. There hasn’t been a consistent effort by large groups or funders, and I think Nick every time you have a president, the president usually is dealt with something, and this president is dealt with COVID and the economy right away. He’s going to use his political capital on those two things and if he has any left, he’ll work on fixing Obamacare and he’ll turn it into Bidencare.”
That led into my next question. The new administration is certainly going to have a lot on their plate. But what will be their legislative priorities?
Trevor: “Well I think #1 is how he deals with two aspects of COVID-19. The first aspect is getting the numbers to a very controllable level and then looking at how people have access to a vaccine. The second part is the economy – Biden is going to have to really quickly figure out how he can maneuver a package deal that was already passed in the House, that has stalled in the Senate, that is going to get real dollars directly to people, and then secondly to small business owners. #2 is how do we look at the world stage and how do we get back into policy alignments like the Paris Climate Accord and the Iran Nuclear Deal, and then how do we look at China, North Korea, and Russia. #3 is what’s happening with the environment. And Nick, if you look at what he laid out as his cabinet picks it kind of aligns. He did Secretary of State first, a lot on intelligence, and then also former Senator John Kerry – he’s having him as a lead role on the environment.”
Finally, I wanted to know what non-legislative changes might occur. Here are some differences Trevor hoped for between the Trump and Biden presidencies.
Trevor: “I want the chaos to stop. I think it’s really important for people your age and younger to realize Donald Trump is not a role model and he’s not somebody that shares the values of decent, hard-working, respectable Americans. I really want there to be a restore to self-respect, respect for others. I think that’s a big deal. So I hope that Harris and Biden are going to have those grreat points in the four years that really rise people up and spotlight people’s greatness, not divide people.”
In many ways, this is how most Democrats feel. Hopeful for the future, and thankful that a new administration is taking over. But what do Republicans think? They might’ve lost the White House, but there’s a lot more to discuss about their future.
“I think we’ll look back at this election even if we lose, and maybe even more so if we lose, as a launching point for the Republican Party to be a majority party in the future.”
That’s what Rick Santorum, the former Republican Senator, had to say in a conversation with the Napa Institute, and he’s not wrong. Despite losing the presidential election, 2020 saw some pretty big wins for the Republican Party. The Senate races ended up being much more in favor to Republicans than any pre-election polls predicted. Many races that were expected to be close and sometimes even tilt to the Democrats ended up being Republican blowouts. The House of Representatives also had surprising Republican swings. After Democrats gained control of the House in 2018, many pundits thought they would extend their lead in 2020. Instead, Republicans flipped 8 seats, kicking out several first-term Democrats. Though Democrats ended up keeping their House control, Republicans gained a lot of influence and power, and set themselves up nicely for a 2022 run. Lastly, Republicans won almost every important state-level election where redistricting was at stake. By keeping power in many state Senates and Houses, Republicans are now set to control the redistricting of 188 congressional districts. Why is this important? Well, it gives gerrymandering power to Republicans, who will be able to redraw the congressional districts in ways that favor their party and hurt Democrats well beyond Biden’s time in the Oval Office. Yet questions exist on what the Republican Party will actually look like in the coming years. There’s no doubt Donald Trump changed the standards and direction of the party. Now, after his loss, Republicans have to decide if they will follow in his footsteps or divert to the more traditional conservative values. Immigration, foreign relations, climate change, the national debt, and domestic terrorism are only a few of the policy issues that have been prioritized differently in the past 4 years than any previous administration. The long-lasting impact of these changes, from the perspectives of both voters and elected officials, is uncertain. What’s also uncertain is just how involved Trump will be in the Republican Party. He has huge support and approval amongst them. After all, 72 million Americans voted for him this year. Stuart Stevens, the former chief strategist of presidential candidate Mitt Romney, thinks Trump’s influence may last longer than we think. In an interview with the NPR-affiliated podcast “Here & Now”, Stevens had to say this:
“You know I think the Republican Party is sort of like the subprime mortgage crisis. It’s a lot easier to predict how it ends than how long it takes, and it may take longer than we think. I think it’s pretty clear that Trumpism is alive and well and is going to dominate the Republican Party. There is no viable anti-Trump movement in the Republican Party.”
So Stevens, like many other Republican pundits, is unconvinced that Trump will be gone from our lives come January 20, 2021. This notion is probably strengthened by the fact that many Republican leaders are big supporters of the 45th president. There’s the guys you know, like Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsey Graham.
“I’m going to stand with President Trump. If a Democrat were doing this it’d be cheered on, and we’re not going to let the media intimidate us into exploring whether or not these contests were fairly had.”
What you just heard was Graham giving his support to Trump post-election, essentially having the belief that Trumps’ claims of election fraud are valid and that he shouldn’t concede. Looking to the Republican Party’s future, there are lesser known names that have been allies to Trump and have larger political aspirations. Jim Jordan, Devin Nunes, Jane Timken, and Josh Hawley stand out as future Republican leaders, with policy goals and values similar to the ones set by Trump. With a new administration coming in, it’ll be interesting to see who steps up to the plate for the Republican Party, whether it’s familiar names or previously unheard-ofs. Either way, there are many possibilities for the Republican Party moving forward, and the decisions they make will be key to shaping American democracy for decades to come.
The future of American democracy won’t really be determined by a specific party or policy though. It’s going to be determined by the younger generations, by us. I know it’s a cheesy line, but we are in fact the future. And so to gain first-hand insights from the younger people who ARE activists and working to shape our country’s political landscape, I spoke with some of my fellow Public Policy and Political Science students here at the University of Michigan about their views on America’s political future.
Describe your feelings on the political future of America in one word.
Student #1: “Anxious.”
Student #2: “Grim.”
Student #3: “Polarized.”
Student #4: “Apprehensive.”
What are you excited about for the future?
Student #1: “I’m excited to see the “Squad” has been reelected and I think it’s really promising that Joe Biden is committed to working on the climate.”
Student #2: “Having an administration that is able to gain and retain respect around the world.”
Student #3: “Getting back to an actual climate agenda, not abandoning the rest of the world in this global battle.”
Student #4: “The House of Representatives is becoming more representative of the American people.”
What are your concerns?
Student #1: “I think I’m concerned about the mindset that a lot of people have of returning to normal, because I think it’s really important to be able to criticize administrations no matter whether they’re Democrat or Republican.”
Student #2: “Joe Biden dying.”
Student #3: “If it remains Republican control in the Senate then I’m just afraid of gridlock in Washington and nothing happening.”
Student #4: “There’s going to be a stronger movement to create a universal vision for Democrats, and that’s going to mean letting go of a lot of the more progressive ideas that Democrats have and focusing on moving more centrist and losing out on a lot of important legislation.”
What policy issues do you think are most important, or should be prioritized, in the new administration and moving forward?
Student #1: “An issue that I’m very passionate about is immigration, and I think that making sure that the policies like the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy which was passed by the Trump administration is repealed right away, and that the protections for undocumented students and the Dream Act and DACA are all very well protected. I think that it’s important to shift the rhetoric that has been established these last 4 years.”
Student #2: “First thing has to be climate. I think that should be every government’s first priority.”
Student #3: “Reforms in the field of government accountability need to be enacted. Norms and principles aren’t enough. There needs to be mechanisms to hold government officials, such as the president with so much power, more accountable for their actions.”
Student #4: “Bolstering the options that people have for medical access and insurance in the United States should be a top priority, especially with COVID.”
Do you think our democratic system is broken?
Student #1: “Yes.”
Student #2: “Yes.”
Student #3: “Yeah.”
Student #4: “Yes.”
Well, why?
Student #1: “There’s a lot of things wrong with having a two-party system. I just think it’s important to have things that make it a little bit more representative and fair.”
Student #2: “I don’t know of a time when people were as divisive as they are now..”
Student #3: “Let’s take the electoral college for an example. It’s a winner-takes-all system with the majority of states, so I don’t think it’s very inherently democratic when the majority of votes in an election essentially gets discarded.”
Student #4: “It’s not democratic. The voice of the American people isn’t well represented.”
Lastly, what are good ways for younger people to get involved in politics and democratic efforts?
Student #1: “Being a part of a grassroots organization where you can get on the ground and talk to people about issues that you care about and kind of work from a bottom-up mentality. I think that is really a great way to get involved.”
Student #2: “Local elections are something that any youngster can get involved in and participate, and have just as big of an impact.”
Student #3: “Emphasizing the importance of civic duty in public schooling and private schooling.”
Student #4: “Advocate for what you believe in, and advocate in contraction for how you want your view of the political system to change, and make it happen.”
That final point is something I want to re-emphasize, so I’ll let you hear it again through Trevor Daley’s words.
Trevor: “People think generally that it takes too much work to make a difference, and I don’t think that’s true. People should figure out how they can get more involved, stand up, take a stance. I hope that people just don’t wait for the next protest. I hope that people rise up and figure out what they can do today.”
The past few months have brought on a flurry of questions about our country’s democratic future. What’s going to happen, who’s going to lead it, and how are we going to get better. Still, we can begin to answer these questions, and guide these solutions towards the values, goals, and ideals of our generation, today. Just like Trevor said. So here’s what I recommend to you. If you want things to change, start making it happen today.
Special thanks to Trevor Daley and my university peers for taking the time to speak with me. And thank you for reading through this episode and the inaugural season of Democracy Unmuted. We hope you enjoy it.
