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Government

Aug. 24, 2022

Why I love democracy and you should too

Democracy should be coveted for the equal opportunity it affords its citizens, but also for its track record of success.

William W. Bruzzo

Law Ofc William W Bruzzo

Will is criminal defense lawyer in Orange County practicing civilian and military criminal law. He is a 1994 Graduate of the Naval Justice School and spent seven years in the United States Marine Corps which included positions as a judge advocate, company commander and the executive officer of an H&S Company in the 4th Tank Battalion. He was honorably discharged as a major. He is also a mentor at the Veteran's Court in the Orange County Superior Court.

There was a time (24 months ago) when it would have been unfathomable that roughly half the voting population of the United States would have been in favor of primary candidates who threaten to jettison our democracy for one man rule.

However, last week's primary elections from Arizona to Pennsylvania saw multiple 'election deniers' win their races for Senator, Governor and Representative. These candidates and the voters drew their cues from the events of Jan. 6, 2021, putting them closer to power. On that day, the former President extorted thousands of his followers to disregard the will of the voters in the 2020 election: "So, I hope Mike has the courage to do what he has to do, and I hope he doesn't listen to the RINOs and the stupid people that he's listening to." "Mike" is a reference to Michael Pence, the former Vice President who was at the time of the speech certifying the electoral college results which showed Joe Biden as the winner. The President wanted the Vice President not to certify the vote so he could remain President. The Vice President's role in certifying the vote is largely symbolic and Vice President Pence, much to the consternation of the President, asserted he had no power to deny the electoral college results.

Soon after that speech was made, thousands of the President's followers marched up to the Capitol Building attacking police officers along the way until they finally breached the building itself and succeeded in temporarily stopping the electoral college certification as the Vice President had to be rushed to safety. Later, after the building was cleared, the Vice President completed the certification process and Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election.

The former President was not the only politician who set the example for election deniers: Six Senators objected to the Arizona election result to include Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas, both lawyers. In the House, 121 representatives objected to the Arizona election result. House Representatives also disputed the results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada. Seven Senators, including Rick Scott of Florida, who is also a lawyer, objected to the Pennsylvania election result.

Notably, all of these politicians swore an oath to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States. Their objections were without basis in fact and there is no question that they betrayed their oath to the United States by making their objections and helping to spread the lie that the vote result was to be doubted.

Everyone will experience disappointment with an election result at some point in their lives, it's the nature of democracy. But when your desired candidate fails to prevail, is the solution to abandon democracy? For some Americans this appears to be their solution. While a few may have truly believed there was fraud in the election despite a lack of evidence, certainly most Americans knew the fraud claims were a false effort to subvert the result and not based in reality. Despite that, they went along with the lie. Numerous suits by supporters of the President seeking to expose massive voter fraud found nothing of the sort and a recount of the Arizona vote by a private entity sympathetic to the claims of the former President actually determined that Biden had an even greater lead.

Notably, an examination of history is not kind to the notion of one person rule: The Emperor of Japan, Mussolini of Italy and Hitler of Germany, all dictators of a sort, met unpleasant ends, as did their nations. Some Americans, including the former President, admire Vladmir Putin of Russia, a current dictator who jails his political opponents. While Russia is a nation abounding with natural resources and institutions of higher learning, it has a smaller economy than California, despite containing over three times the population. All of these dictators consolidated power with the help of racial and ethnic messaging and yet they were defeated or found their aims thwarted by a diverse and democratic nation that happens to also be the most powerful. I would submit that the latter is not a coincidence. Immigration to the United States, legal and otherwise, has brought a diversity of ideas, that combined with a government accountable to all, put a human on the moon while our Soviet rivals at the time had difficulty feeding their own people. Democracy should be coveted for the equal opportunity it affords its citizens, but also for its track record of success. Those willing to trade our democracy for a flash in the pan will condemn us to the litany of failed authoritarian states. It is not hyperbole that our nation's greatness currently hangs in the balance.

#368819


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