“Now is the time for leaders in all walks of life—for citizens of all political backgrounds and persuasions—to come to the aid of the republic.”

Warning that the Republican Party—which “remains under the sway” of former President Donald Trump—poses a “serious danger” to U.S. democracy, a group of writers, academics, and political activists spanning the ideological spectrum published an open letter Wednesday imploring Americans to come together despite their differences to “defend the things we value in common.”

[pullquote]”The threat to liberal democracy has never been greater in our lifetime.”[/pullquote]

“Some of us are Democrats and others Republicans. Some identify with the left, some with the right, and some with neither,” the letter states. “But right now we agree on a fundamental point: We need to join together to defend liberal democracy.”

“Liberal democracy depends on free and fair elections, respect for the rights of others, the rule of law, a commitment to truth, and tolerance in our public discourse,” the authors assert. “All of these are now in serious danger.”

READ the letter and the names of the signatories. They are ringing the alarm. Many of us have been ringing it for a long time. Either we will have a democracy (however imperfect) or we won’t. It’s that serious. Where do you stand? https://t.co/wKSBBRqiMK

— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) October 27, 2021

The letter continues:

The primary source of this danger is one of our two major national parties, the Republican Party, which remains under the sway of Donald Trump and Trumpist authoritarianism. Unimpeded by Trump’s defeat in 2020 and unfazed by the January 6 insurrection, Trump and his supporters actively work to exploit anxieties and prejudices, to promote reckless hostility to the truth and to Americans who disagree with them, and to discredit the very practice of free and fair elections in which winners and losers respect the peaceful transfer of power.

The signers—who run the gamut from leftists including Noam Chomsky and Adolph Reed Jr. to right-wing figures like Max Boot and Mona Charen—”vigorously oppose” GOP-led voter disenfranchisement laws, as well as efforts to overturn elections.

They also urge the Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress to “pass effective, national legislation to protect the vote and our elections, and if necessary to override the Senate filibuster rule.”

“We urge all responsible citizens who care about democracy—public officials, journalists, educators, activists, ordinary citizens—to make the defense of democracy an urgent priority now,” the letter implores. “Now is the time for leaders in all walks of life—for citizens of all political backgrounds and persuasions—to come to the aid of the republic.”

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  democracy, Politics, united states