The Modern Liberal

Now that they’ve discovered the notion that a political party, faced with a dangerous political enemy, should suppress all internal criticism of its putative leader lest she be “harmed” by that criticism, and that the party should refrain from fractious internal debates lest it be ill-equipped to defeat the enemy, I wonder if liberals are rethinking their views on Lenin.

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He at least called for “universal and full freedom to criticise” the party unless and until that criticism threatened “the unity of an action decided on by the Party.”

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I’m reminded of the language Justice Scalia used in the Bush v. Gore case in order to grant a stay to the Florida recount.

The counting of votes that are of questionable legality does in my view threaten irreparable harm to petitioner [Bush].

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[I]t’s being argued that democratic rules and norms should give way to—indeed, might harm—the personal needs and concerns of the candidate.

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Now we’re expected to consider how an insistence that we count all votes in Florida—or see a primary campaign through its end—helps or harms the fate, the personal fate, of the officeholder. Or would be officeholder.

There are many words for that type of political system. Democracy is not one of them.

  Corey Robin

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.