Heather Cox Richardson

One of the things that the radical right has done very effectively is it has taken every liberal and said they are of the left.

One of the things that the radical right has done very effectively is it has taken every liberal and said they are of the left.

And the difference between the left and the right in the United States and the liberals in the United States are that people on the right do not believe in American democracy because they believe it's messy and you shouldn't let poor people vote because they make poor decisions or uneducated people vote because they make bad decisions.

And the difference between the left and the right in the United States and the liberals in the United States are that people on the right do not believe in American democracy because they believe it's messy and you shouldn't let poor people vote because they make poor decisions or uneducated people vote because they make bad decisions.

And the difference between the left and the right in the United States and the liberals in the United States are that people on the right do not believe in American democracy because they believe it's messy and you shouldn't let poor people vote because they make poor decisions or uneducated people vote because they make bad decisions.

And they want to get rid of American democracy and replace it with a form of either oligarchy or authoritarianism, which is what we're seeing right now.

And they want to get rid of American democracy and replace it with a form of either oligarchy or authoritarianism, which is what we're seeing right now.

And they want to get rid of American democracy and replace it with a form of either oligarchy or authoritarianism, which is what we're seeing right now.

People on the left want to do the same thing because they believe that the democracy as we have it in the United States is too sexist and racist and was conceived under such racism and sexism that it too needs to be dismantled and something else to replace it with.

People on the left want to do the same thing because they believe that the democracy as we have it in the United States is too sexist and racist and was conceived under such racism and sexism that it too needs to be dismantled and something else to replace it with.

People on the left want to do the same thing because they believe that the democracy as we have it in the United States is too sexist and racist and was conceived under such racism and sexism that it too needs to be dismantled and something else to replace it with.

The vast majority of us, Republicans or Democrats or independents or, you know, Martians who want to preserve democracy believe that the guardrails of democracy, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the laws that have followed since are flawed in many ways for sure, but that that framework needs to be preserved. And that has nothing to do with partisanship.

The vast majority of us, Republicans or Democrats or independents or, you know, Martians who want to preserve democracy believe that the guardrails of democracy, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the laws that have followed since are flawed in many ways for sure, but that that framework needs to be preserved. And that has nothing to do with partisanship.

The vast majority of us, Republicans or Democrats or independents or, you know, Martians who want to preserve democracy believe that the guardrails of democracy, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the laws that have followed since are flawed in many ways for sure, but that that framework needs to be preserved. And that has nothing to do with partisanship.

So one of the things that the right very effectively did after about 1990, and really Newt Gingrich was a master at this, was to say that all those people who believe in democracy, including Republicans, remember Republicans in name only, were somehow on the left.

So one of the things that the right very effectively did after about 1990, and really Newt Gingrich was a master at this, was to say that all those people who believe in democracy, including Republicans, remember Republicans in name only, were somehow on the left.

So one of the things that the right very effectively did after about 1990, and really Newt Gingrich was a master at this, was to say that all those people who believe in democracy, including Republicans, remember Republicans in name only, were somehow on the left.

That is, exactly. That is the left trying to destroy the framework of American democracy. And I think it's really important for those of us in the middle, regardless of your political background, leanings to say we care about democracy.

That is, exactly. That is the left trying to destroy the framework of American democracy. And I think it's really important for those of us in the middle, regardless of your political background, leanings to say we care about democracy.

That is, exactly. That is the left trying to destroy the framework of American democracy. And I think it's really important for those of us in the middle, regardless of your political background, leanings to say we care about democracy.