Because that's how the system works.
Duverger's law, yadda yadda.
The US is a de facto two party system.
One party, really. Democrats and Republicans differ in two ways: one, is
public rhetoric about abortion, guns, and LGBTQ+ rights (note the use of the word
public); two, is Democrats kill legislation in backrooms and committee while Republicans
at least let it get to the floor (so they can filibuster it).
Even at their worst the Democrats simply aren't half as vile as Trump and the Maga movement.
Man, if you seriously believe this, boy howdy do I have some nice beachfront property in Kansas to sell you.
This is where that use of the word
public to which I brought attention comes in. Most Democrats don't believe they shit they say on the campaign trail and in front of the press, least of all about abortion, guns, and LGBTQ+ rights. Democrats as a party are every bit as -- if not more -- bigoted and troglodytic than Republicans on social/cultural issues, they just have the common sense to not say it publicly.
Then they turn around and stab their own voters in the back, by killing progressive legislation before it can ever make it to the floor, blame Republicans and rotating villains for it, and gaslight their voters into continuing to support them on vague hope the same people, elected to the same offices, will spontaneously some day actually follow through on campaign promises. And good luck actually primarying most of these shithead Democrats, because they are bar none the absolute masters of primary ratfucking and the landscape of contemporary party machine politics makes Tammany Hall pale in comparison.
The very fact Copmala Harris, the OG Quid Pro Ho, the Senator from CCA, was unilaterally coronated as the candidate for the highest office in the land without a single primary vote cast in her favor, being heralded as a progressive champion despite her entire fucking career to the contrary, should tell you 1968 can and should be now considered the halcyon days of Democratic machine politics.
I know this all from personal experience, specifically thanks to my history working for the Democratic party all the way from childhood straight through to my college years. I've been in the smoke-filled backrooms, and at least in terms of Indiana state politics in one incident I know where the bodies are buried. And that is not an hyperbolic or rhetorical statement. Hell in 2008, I was in the room when the Congress-asshole for which I was volunteering my time reassured his donors -- and the American Taliban voters he was courting to siphon votes from his Republican opponent -- Obama's pledge to codify Roe meant nothing because he and the rest of the Blue Dog caucus would ensure no bill codifying Roe would make it past committee (and they did).
In fact, that was the last day I ever donated so much as a microsecond of my time to a Democratic politician.
These people are garbage. I know more than one Democratic politician who's pissed over Trump, not because of anything he did but because he did shit they support and they're obliged to oppose it. January 6th wasn't a disaster for these people, it was a moment of reprieve and catharsis because it meant they no longer had to pay lip service to BLM in the wake of the Floyd/Taylor protests -- because "saving democracy" and "fighting right-wing extremism" meant they could continue full-speed ahead on increasing cop funding and eroding civil rights and liberties.
Trump and the MAGA people are
more respectable than your average Democrat. They are, at least, honest and up front about who they are and what they want. Democrats will lie to your face with a smile about how important gay marriage is, while setting the stage to overturn Obergefell and reinstate DOMA. Malcolm X and MLK, Jr., were absolutely right about them -- not that you
ever read a word they said about white liberals and white moderates in any educational level, outside
maybe a grad-level black history class.
The idea that the Republicans aren't a threat to democracy is just weird. Even if were were to ignore that Trump is almost cartoonishly vile, even if we ignore the coup then its simply a fact that he follows the same playbook as Putin, as Erdogan, and Orban and wherever those parties gain power democracy is always dismantled. That's just an objective fact. Their ideology and policies are incompatible with democracy, and their actions keep proving this. If all those parties are hostile to democracy then why should we pretend that the Republicans alone would somehow be different when they follow that playbook?
Oh, Republicans are absolutely a threat to democracy.
It just happens to be the case so are Democrats.
