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Friends,

Before we start, take 20 seconds to watch this. All net. Yes we can.

We are good at rationalizing what we want. It's no coincidence that Democrats want majority rule, adherence to democratic norms, and voting rights: Democrats win under a system that favors majority rule.

Republicans do better under less democratic systems, which is why they suppress votes, flout democratic norms, and have spent the last four years stacking the courts, including the Supreme Court. If Trump is reelected, and especially if Republicans retain the Senate, we can expect the U.S. to slide further down the path to autocracy. If Democrats win, we can expect the opposite.

The stakes in this election go beyond policy, even beyond Trump's racism and anti-Semitism, to whether we keep our republic. Ezra Klein explains that "a party that wins power even as it fails to win over voters will quickly turn against democracy itself. And when that happens, it will use the power it has to make it yet easier to win power without winning voters. And so the Republican Party is." Conversely, if Democrats win, they will seek to retain power by making the U.S. more democratic.

A new study found that the Republican Party "has become dramatically more illiberal in the past two decades and now more closely resembles ruling parties in autocratic societies than its former centre-right equivalents in Europe...By contrast the Democratic party has changed little in its attachment to democratic norms."

What's wrong with America is that too many Americans have forgotten that democracy itself is a value worth fighting for. Too many Americans would be fine living in an autocracy where they went about their daily lives and let an entrenched, corrupt, wealthy few run the country and decide their fates--as long someone who looked or believed differently from them took the brunt of the oppression.

JDCA Chairman Ron Klein wrote that "It’s no mystery why Trump feels more comfortable with authoritarian rulers than with our democratically elected allies. Trump disdains the values and institutions that make our country truly great, and he admires those who exercise power for self-enrichment."

It all ends on Tuesday. The question is what ends: Trump's administration or our democracy.

Trump has normalized and politicized anti-Semitism. Emily Burack categorized the anti-Semitic tropes that Trump uses. Martin Weiner notes that the last time a U.S. president failed to repudiate proponents of rabid conspiracy theories that echo blood libels against Jews was...never.

It's not just Trump. As I wrote on Wednesday in the Times of Israel, the GOP is singing the wrong tune on anti-Semitism.

Trump said nothing at all on October 27, the two-year anniversary of the Tree of Life shooting, the worst anti-Semitic attack in American history. But Joe Biden published an op-ed and issued a statement. Biden understands us, he shares our values, and he'll fight for us. Trump's silence, combined with his history of anti-Semitism, spoke volumes.

Trump has brought Nazis into Republican politics. Racist conspiracy theories run rampant in the GOP. Anti-Semitic incidents hit a record high last year, the Department of Homeland Security reports that "white supremacists present the gravest terror threat to the United States," and Trump continues to use anti-Semitic rhetoric.

I used to call the GOP the anti-Semitic American right-wing equivalent of Britain's Labour Party because both were headed by anti-Semites. I was wrong. The Labour Party replaced its anti-Semitic leader and has now suspended him; the Republican Party re-nominated its anti-Semitic leader, and not one GOP member of Congress has criticized Trump for his anti-Semitism in four years. 

Joe Biden will not wink at white supremacists and anti-Semites. Jill Zipin writes that Biden "will not see 'very fine people' in torch-carrying mobs chanting anti-Semitic, racist, sexist and homophobic slogans. We will not have a president who is unable, when asked during a presidential debate, to renounce white nationalists or the Proud Boys, a group the Anti-Defamation League describes as extremist, some of whose members endorse white supremacist and anti-Semitic ideologies."

Qatar might get F-35s despite Israel's objections. So much for no daylight. Two veteran IDF soldiers wrote last week that Trump's achievements on Israel have been largely symbolic, with "no tangible benefits to Israel’s security." But the harm he's done is real, and Trump "cannot be trusted to intervene on Israel’s behalf in an hour of true need." Indeed, as Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) said, "the Trump Administration has made it clear that they’ll put lethal weaponry in just about anyone’s hands without regard to potential loss of life so long as the check clears."

Joe Biden marked the 25th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination on Thursday. Donald Trump said nothing. Have you noticed that Republicans have stopped with the "but does he feel it in his kishkes" now that even they can't deny the Democrats have a candidate who does and the Republicans have a candidate who doesn't?

What can we do? Republicans have gutted the Voting Rights Act, opposed campaign finance reform, and engaged in rampant gerrymandering and vote suppression. Don't despair. Let that motivate you to vote, make sure your like-minded friends vote, and get involved in the campaigns that matter to you.

If you care about fighting anti-Semitism, if you care about Israel, if you care about a good and decent America, if you care about our democracy, do all you can to elect Joe Biden. Join the JDCA 72-hour phonathon. Biden is the only sane choice in this election. If electing him means we have to win by a big enough margin to overcome the chicanery we know is coming, so be it.

I'm old enough to remember a guy who said "Yes we can." 

Do you live in Illinois? Be sure to vote YES on the Fair Tax constitutional amendment. If you have any questions or concerns that are not addressed in this excellent article by Elliot Hartstein, please contact me before you vote.

The New York Times is right: "Illinois, long plagued by fiscal mismanagement, undoubtedly has work to do on the spending side of the ledger. But that’s no argument against progressive taxation as the best way to raise the money it does need."

Last week's newsletter.

ICYMI. Want to read more? Read these:

Facebook Post of the Week. Aaron Keyak.

Tweet of the Week. Andrea Junker.

Honest Video of the Week. JDCA, Coda Campaign, and Bill Joel.

Uplifting Video of the Week. JDCA--God Bless America.

Video Clips of the Week. This Election is a Job Interview and Nationalist Geographic.

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The Fine Print: This newsletter usually runs on Sunday mornings. Unless stated otherwise, my views do not necessarily reflect the views of any candidates or organizations that I support or am associated with. I reserve the right to change my mind as I learn more. Intelligent, well-informed people may disagree with me; read opposing views and decide for yourself. A link to an article doesn't mean that I agree with everything its author has ever said or that I even agree with everything in the article; it means that the article supports or elaborates on the point I was making. I take pride in accurately reporting the facts on which I base my opinions. Tell me if you spot any inaccuracies, typos, or other mistakes so that I can correct them in the next newsletter (and give you credit if you want it). Advertisements reflect the views of the advertisers, not necessarily of me, and advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their advertisements. I read, value, and encourage replies to my newsletters, but I don't always have time to acknowledge replies or to engage in one-on-one discussion. Don't expect a reply if your message is uncivil or if it's clear from your message that you haven't read the newsletter or clicked on the relevant links. © 2020 Steve Sheffey. All rights reserved.