Saving Democracy

November 5/6, 2035

“If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning

I’d hammer in the evening all over this land

I’d hammer out danger, I’d hammer out a warning

I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this land, ooh”

Pete Seeger, 1949

Last night American democracy proved it was still breathing. On life support perhaps, but breathing nonetheless. Last night the American People themselves struck a blow against impending Fascist dictatorship. Not a fatal blow to be sure but one that gives us hope that in 2026 and 2028 we may bring the Great American Experiment in Constitutional Democracy back from the brink and breathe fresh life into it. And having been sore tested, it will be the stronger for it. As soul satisfying as the top level wins in California, New Jersey, New York City,and Virginia were, the lieutenant governorships and attorney general races in Virginia, and the Supreme Court in Pennsylvania wins are signs of a broader and deeper strength that can be built upon. Perhaps even more impressive were wins in places like deep red Mississippi where two state senate seats were flipped costing Republicans their supermajority which made the passage of bills their governor might veto all but impossible. Donald John won in 2024 in large part on the promise of bringing Americans’ costs down. That Democrats won in 2025 on primarily an affordability message is more than just a little ironic. A battle is won. The fight for the soul of America continues. Complacency is the ally of MAGA. Fight it.

That was last night. Today the Supreme Court seemed to be signaling their opposition to the Trump administration’s arguments about the president’s right to impose tariffs. I’m not holding my breath but the era of revenue raising tariffs may be on its way out. Ironically, the Roberts Court may save the administration from its own worst instincts.

In the Middle East, today, Israel received the body of the last American being held in Gaza by Hamas. While at the New York headquarters of the United Nations, the United States submitted a resolution creating a multinational force to keep the peace in Gaza.

And in Russia, in reaction to Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would be testing nuclear weapons for the first time in over 30 years, Vladimir Putin announced Russia would also begin testing nukes saying “I am instructing the foreign ministry, the defense ministry, the special services and relevant civilian agencies to do everything possible to collect additional information on the issue, analyse it at the Security Council and make agreed proposals on the possible start of work on the preparation of nuclear weapons tests.”