From nojo at Stinque:
We were right about the idea: Self-government doesn’t run by itself. The veneer of democracy is not the substance. We laugh at despots claiming 98 percent of an election, because we know the whole thing’s a sham, rotten to the core. We applaud the sight of voters — elsewhere — exercising their franchise, holding up their purple fingers, claiming their stake in the future of their nation.
We want to believe that’s how it works. We really want to believe that’s how it works here.
David Frum — yes, we know, but these are the times we live in — tweeted a photo this week, one of his lines tagged on a board. It’s a good line, a very good line, something close to what we’ve been saying a lot lately:
“If conservatives realize they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism, they will abandon democracy.”
And here we are.