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Kathmandu: Political instability, rising unemployment, widespread corruption, poor service delivery and a looming economic crisis may have dismayed many people in Nepal. However, there is something to cheer about as well Nepals grassroots democracy has taken root.

On May 13, Nepal will hold its second elections for 753 local governments. The first election of local governments under the new constitution which was promulgated in 2015 and adopted a three-tier system of government was held in 2017. However, Nepal plunged into a deep political crisis after the dissolution of the House of Representatives in December 2020; much before the expiry of the term.

Due to the fragile political situation, there were fears of the derailment of local elections, posing a threat to the newly-established federal structure. Due to pressures from civil society and the media, however, major political parties, irrespective of their differences, agreed to hold elections for local governments on time.

Elections in six metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitans, 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities will be held under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system.

The ruling alliance partners, the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist Centre), led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and the CPN (Unified Socialist), chaired by Madhav Kumar Nepal, were not in favour of delaying the local elections due to their relatively weak organisational structures. Later, the Nepali Congress agreed to forge an electoral alliance, and those parties decided to hold elections on time as well.

The Election Commission also took a firm stance in favour of holding elections before the expiry of the terms of the incumbent leadership. The main opposition, CPN- Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML), also warned against attempts to delay the electoral process.

Also read: Debate: First Past the Post Means India is Only a Namesake Democracy

Local governments in Nepal are empowered by both rights and resources. The constitution grants 22 exclusive political and administrative rights to local governments. Similarly, there is a long list of concurrent powers that the three-tiers of government can implement in coordination with each other. Holding the elections for local governments on time is, then, imperative to strengthen local democracy and governance.

Growing pains

Due to a lack of experience and knowledge, many local bodies failed to perform well in their first term. It was the first time in Nepals political history that a totally new setup was instituted from the grassroots level.

For the first time, local legislatures were allowed to draft the necessary laws for the provision of services. Additionally, the concept of federalism was, itself, new to Nepal and came into practical operation only after the 2017 elections. If elections are held on time, leaders will gradually overcome the challenge and learn how to make this system function effectively. It is widely expected that local government leaders will perform better than they did in their first terms.

Despite these shortfalls, the first elected local governments, under the new constitution, have performed relatively well in terms of providing services to the people over the last five years. People now can get all services at their doorsteps, unlike in the past, when they would need to visit the capital, Kathmandu.

Their work has laid a good foundation for the future and timely polls are needed to keep up the pace of the work. Holding elections on time means creating a robust institution at the local level.

Women in government

These local governments have also begun to bear fruit in that they are contributing to grooming female leaders at the local level. According to a study conducted by Asia Foundation, in the 2017 elections, 91% of second-ranking positions such as those of deputy mayors in municipalities and vice-chairpersons in rural municipalities were won by women. However, men won 98% of the top posts; of mayors and chairpersons.

Similarly, women were elected as members of ward committees, in line with the mandatory legal provisions. Additionally, scores of women from marginalised communities, mainly the Dalit community, came to power in the elections. As per the law, every ward committee should have at least one Dalit member.

This increased representation of women is likely to continue after the second elections, although there are concerns that the number of women could dwindle due to the electoral alliance among five parties.

As per election law, parties must field at least one female candidate if they are contesting both the top two posts of chief and deputy chief. However, this rule does not apply if the parties field a candidate for only one of the top seats. Even though they are in an alliance, political parties can show that they are contesting only one of the top seats and, therefore, take advantage of this loophole in the law.

However, most major political parties have picked female candidates in vital metropolitan cities.

Also read: Will Differences on MCC Grant Break Nepals Ruling Coalition?

For instance, the Nepal Congress has nominated Srijana Singh as its mayoral candidate for Kathmandu Metropolitan City; the CPN (Maoist Centre) has nominated Renu Dahal as a mayoral candidate for the Bharatpur Municipality. Similarly, the main opposition, the CPN-UML, has nominated female candidates for the deputy mayors seat in Kathmandu as well as other places. All these exercises contribute to more and more female representation in Nepal politics.

As women already constitute 33% of the representatives in federal houses, the number of female representatives is increasing, even at the grassroot level.

Female leaders often face the criticism that they can only fight elections because of reservation. However, this is gradually changing as the number of women fighting elections directly against male candidates is increasing across the country. In the future, women will not have to rely on quotas to join politics and, as such, the representation of women at the local level is likely to create a new debate on the reservation policy.

The first five-year term has made women leaders confident that they can perform equally with men. Ahead of the candidate selection process, dozens of women who served as deputy mayors for the last five years openly claimed the top position, stating that they could now take on the leadership of local governments. Now, they can claim the tickets for provincial and federal parliamentary elections as well.

The increase in the number of female representatives has also helped minimise corruption and the provision of effective services to locals. Local governments led by women appear to be paying more attention to health, education, and womens issues. After the 2017 elections, 18 of the 753 local governments were led by women and these local bodies saw fewer complaints of corruption and irregularities.

Since a large volume of funds has started trickling down to local government coffers, timely elections will facilitate development at the grassroots level. Some local governments provide quality health and education facilities at the local level. Similarly, infrastructure development has taken off. Senior citizens, orphans, and the poor and marginalised receive incentives from the local government. Moreover, the school enrolment rate has increased due to the measures taken at the local level.

The May 13 local election is, therefore, vital to strengthen inclusive and participatory local democracy.

Kamal Dev Bhattaraiis a Kathmandu-based journalist and political commentator.

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Timely Local Polls in Nepal Mean the Return of Grassroots Democracy - The Wire

The more Ive gotten to know her, the more Ive come to think that Wang Tzu-Hsuan exemplifies some of the best qualities of the younger Taiwanese Ive met here in Taipei: open-minded, serious but not too serious, spontaneous, and thoughtful. At 33, she is unlike most surgeons in Taiwanwho are typically older, and maleand while many of her medical-school classmates sought more lucrative careers in the United States, she opted to stay, out of a sense of duty. When shes not busy in the operating room or meeting with patients, we catch up over food or drinks and talk about whats happening in the world, which for us in Taiwan, where pandemic rules still bar foreign visitors, feels quite far away.

I was taken aback when Wang told me over dinner at a local Japanese-style izakaya restaurant that shed decided to broaden her skill set from her usual thyroid, liver, pancreatic, and intestinal surgeries to include traumanamely bullet and shrapnel wounds. Gun and bomb violence are almost nonexistent in Taiwan, but having spent her whole life unworried about the possibility of China attacking her homeland, she said she had begun to think about how she could help if the worst happened. Although the threat from China has always been there, she said, it has also always seemed so distant for us.

Not anymore. Seeing the devastation that Russian bombs and missiles have wrought upon once-tranquil Ukrainian cities spurred Wang to approach local volunteer groups to figure out how to prepare a generation of surgeons who have never experienced war for the realities of conflict. The Chinese Communist Party seeks to annex Taiwan, which it claims despite having never ruled it, and eliminate Taiwanese identity. With a densely concentrated population roughly the size of Floridas on a mostly mountainous island that is little bigger than Maryland, any invasion attempt by China would incur substantial civilian casualties.

Wang is not alone, either. Many Taiwanese are looking at Ukraines current reality as something that could befall their homeland. A number of Taiwanese friends and interviewees have told me theyd stay and fight, while others have described family plans to secure citizenship elsewhere, just in case. The former commander of Taiwans military has called for the formation of a territorial defense force to deter Chinas ambitions. The war has intensified political discourse too, and Taiwanese politicians are using it to rationalize their views of China: For President Tsai Ing-wens Democratic Progressive Party, it justifies the past five years of buying weapons from the U.S. while expanding largely unofficial diplomacy with other democracies; for many members of the opposition party Kuomintang, an on-and-off frenemy of the Communists over the past century, heightened concerns over an invasion attempt by Beijing highlight the risks of getting too close to Washington.

Both Taiwan and Ukraine democratized in the 1990s, following years of brutal authoritarian rule. Today these two young democracies, as well as those in Central and Eastern Europewho share similar historiesare most directly affected by Russias and Chinas expansionist pushes. Whereas the threat to democracy posed by the Beijing-Moscow alliance is more ephemeral in older and more established democracies such as the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and Japan, in Ukraine it is manifested in widespread death and destruction. In Taiwan and the European countries of the former Soviet bloc, it is viscerally unsettling.

Indeed, if there is a front line in the emerging global standoff between democracy and autocracy, it lies at the borders of these younger democracies, where peoples and governments are changing their behavior in real ways and making tangible sacrifices to maintain their freedomsfrom a peacetime surgeon in Taiwan preparing to deal with conflict, to countries adjoining Ukraine donating weapons to aid the fight against Russia.

Whether Ukraine and Taiwan get the support they need to remain sovereign is likely to be a defining geopolitical question of this generation, extending beyond regional political dynamics. Countries in both Europe and Asia appear to see this clearly nownote how quickly the Biden administration enlisted Asian allies such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and even Singapore to sanction Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Their willingness to show concern about faraway Ukraine suggests that they think one day they could be looking for similar support from Europe, should China enter into a conflict with one of them.

The revanchist violence that Vladimir Putin has unleashed on Ukrainians has yet to come to Taiwan, but it has jarred the collective consciousness nevertheless. There have been multiple protests outside the de facto Russian embassy in Taipei, a solidarity march through the center of the capital, and a rush to send money and nonmilitary aid to Ukraine. Tsais move to sanction Russia and cut it off from crucial Taiwanese semiconductors is perhaps the most confrontational shes been with any major power. (For his part, Putin declared in a joint statement with President Xi Jinping on February 4 that Russia considers Taiwan an inalienable part of China.)

Just as much as Russias invasion of Ukraine has stoked fears here in Taiwan that a Chinese attack might be more a matter of when than if, the whole-of-society Ukrainian response has also inspired Taiwanese to think that, should Xi make a move, it wouldnt necessarily end in Chinese victory. I think Ukraine has shown us all a lesson that people in their own countries have to be willing to fight for their democracies and freedom, if it really comes down to it, Albert Wu, a historian who relocated back from Paris last year, told me. Their bravery and resistance has been a real inspiration to us all.

Ukrainians I know who live here have made similar observations. I hear from Taiwanese friends saying that Ukraine is currently fighting for Taiwan as well, and that means a lot, Oleksander Shyn, a university student living in Taipei, told me. Because if Ukraine loses, and if the Ukrainian people end up in Putins hands, it might inspire China to do this here. So while most people around the world are wishing us peace, many Taiwanese people are wishing us victory.

The Russian invasion has awoken many of Taiwans leaders and its people from a collective slumber, a less-than-urgent attitude toward the threat from Beijing rooted in decades of a poorer China being ill-equipped to pull off what would be the largest amphibious invasion ever. But Chinas rapid economic development, and consequent naval buildup, is tipping the scales in Beijings favor.

Last month, Taiwans defense minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, proposed extending military conscription for men from the current four months to one year. In a mid-March survey by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, 75.9 percent of respondents supported the idea. One senior legislator from Tsais ruling party has floated the idea of mandating conscription for Taiwanese women for the first time.

Thinking has been changing at the diplomatic level too, with a growing awareness in Taiwan and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe that the threats they face are part of a global struggle. In recent months, Taipei has seen a flurry of visits from lawmakers from Lithuania, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, and Latvia, all of whom became democracies in the 1990s after being controlled by Moscow. Alongside those was a visit from Jakub Janda, a Russia expert who arrived here late last year from Prague. The 31-year-old Czech think-tank director and reservists mission: to establish a Taipei office for the European Values Center for Security Policy, founded in 2005 to protect Czech democracy. Now back in Prague, Janda told me that the struggles against Russian expansionism in Europe and Chinese expansionism in Asia have converged. After the initial Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory in 2014, Janda said, his think tanks focus shifted to protecting European democracy from Russia. By 2018, Beijings growing influence in Central Europe led the center to include China in its remit.

Today it is clear, Janda said, that Ukraine and Taiwan are not disparate geopolitical tinderboxes, but rather different fronts of the same battle against a new bloc that occupies eastern Ukraine and Crimea, has taken over and militarized disputed islands in the South China Sea, and subsumed Hong Kongs democracy. Both Russia and China have territorial disputes with Japan. Moscow has put former Soviet states on alert, while also making vague nuclear threats in Europes direction. Meanwhile, Beijing is testing the resolve of India, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia to defend their territory.

To either side of the Atlantic, the repercussions of a successful Russian invasion of Ukraine are obvious: Countries once under Soviet sway would face a greater threat from Putin, who might continue his adventurism to shore up support as the Russian economy suffers from sanctions. Citizens in Western democracies are less aware, however, of the importance of Taiwans continued sovereignty to the current security order in Asia, and beyond.

Geographically, China would control key sea lanes through the South and East China Seas, significantly increasing its ability to exert military pressure across the Western Pacific and political influence around the globe. Technologically, Beijings jurisdiction over the worlds most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities would put China in a commanding position to establish dominant military advantages, expand global economic dependencies, and set the standards for humankinds technological future.

Politically, the loss of Taiwan would validate and propel Beijings narratives of the inevitability of American decline and the superiority of Chinas ruthlessly efficient autocratic system over the incoherence and disunity of Western-style liberal democracy, says Ivan Kanapathy, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments who previously served as the National Security Councils deputy senior director for Asia and as a U.S. military attach in Taipei. It would, he told me, represent an epochal strategic shift of global power and influence.

As in Ukraine, the most important factor in Taiwans survival is the willingness of its people to defend its hard-earned democracy. Wang, the surgeon, told me that shes already shifted from wanting to avoid getting involved in politics to feeling a sense of responsibility for doing so, and hopes that other Taiwanese do too.

I want to be more brave, and am more willing to speak up about my feelings for my country, she said. No matter what happens, I will choose to stand up for Taiwan.

See more here:
The Lessons Taiwan Is Learning From Ukraine - The Atlantic

Of course, the West loves to castigate this Asian giant for the mystery and secrecy surrounding membership of the Chinese Communist Party, which is true to a large extent. But the fact remains that more than any other political system in the world, advancement in the Chinese Communist Party is largely based on merit. Big money and corporate entities have limited influence, as opposed to what obtains in Western democracies.

Two years prior to the 1976 U.S. election, a Gallup poll listing 31 candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination did not include a little-known governor of Georgia named Jimmy Carter. Even a year later and after he emerged from a crowded race to win his partys primary election and later the presidential election, with a narrow margin, Mr Carters support among Democrats was still abysmally low. But Jimmy Carter was a better presidential candidate than he was a president, and Ronald Reagan defeated him in a landslide election on January 20, 1981, winning 489 out of the 538 electoral votes and ending Carterscolourlessone-term presidency. Thereafter, Democrats felt that something needed to change in the structure and process of the primaries from where their partys future presidential candidates would emerge, if only to avoid the chances of throwing up another Jimmy Carter.

According to a New York Times article in 1981, Governor James B. Hunt Jr. of North Carolina was asked to head a new 29-member amorphous Democratic rule-changing group. The group was made up of both the young upcomers and the experienced, and charged with the task of writing rules that will help us choose a nominee who can win and who, having won, can govern effectively. That was howsuper delegateswere invented in the Democratic Party.

A New York Times editorial describedsuper delegates as party bigwigs of 712 Democratic leaders, legislators, governors and the like. They can vote for any candidate at the nominating convention, regardless of whether that candidate won the popular vote. These unpledged delegates make up 30 percent of the 2,382 delegates whose votes are needed to win the nomination, and could thus make all the difference.What that means, simply put, is that the Democratic Party has an establishment structure in place that equates a single establishment vote with thousands of citizens votes.

The Republican Partys primary too is anything but perfect, especially with its winner-takes-all state primaries. That was how Donald Trump won about 60 per cent of Republican delegates, but only about 44 per cent of the votes. If the Republicans had allocated delegates in proportion to their vote, they would have had a contested convention and Trump would not have proceeded to become the 45th president of the United States.

The two examples above of how American presidential candidates emerged from both parties are far from democratic, yet they remain integral parts of the processes in the worlds most celebrated democracy. The West love to brag that they have patented a certain liberal democratic process that is best for the world. But is that a goal already achieved or it remains at best an aspiration?

Comparing and contrasting the American democratic system with the Chinese communist model, there are a couple of other interesting facts that could be jarring. For the U.S. Congress, the turnover rate in any given election is around ten per cent or even lessThe turnover rate of the Central Committee, on the other hand, is roughly about 62 per cent, on the average, every five years. With this, the Chinese communist system tends to achieve that which American democracy promises.

In China, the Politburo Standing Committee is the countrys real decision-making body. This is how the system works: In mid-October every five years, delegates of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from across the country meet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The party has about 2,300 delegates but this is sometimes less, since delegates could be disqualified for a wide range of reasons.

Those CPC delegates go on to elect the powerful Central Committee, which has about 200 members. This Committee in turn elects the Politburo, and from that the Politburo Standing Committee is chosen. The Politburo currently has 24 members, while the Politburo Standing Committee usually has about seven members, although these numbers have varied over the years. The Central Committee also elects the Partys top leader, the general secretary who becomes the countrys president. The announcement of Chinas new leaders takes place at Beijings Great Hall of the People. The 13th National Peoples Congress of the Peoples Republic of China was elected from October 2017 to February 2018 and will be in session in the five-year period of 2018 to 2023.

Of course, the West loves to castigate this Asian giant for the mystery and secrecy surrounding membership of the Chinese Communist Party, which is true to a large extent. But the fact remains that more than any other political system in the world, advancement in the Chinese Communist Party is largely based on merit. Big money and corporate entities have limited influence, as opposed to what obtains in Western democracies.

To getinto the party and state official system, you must pass Chinas civil service exam, which is administered to individuals, irrespective of their social standing. To serve the Chinese government, everyone has to pass a five-hour test. Topics that folks get tested on include advanced verbal skills, logic, maths and world knowledge.

For those who pass, promotion is then based on an elaborate ten-tier ranking system.

Comparing and contrasting the American democratic system with the Chinese communist model, there are a couple of other interesting facts that could be jarring. For the U.S. Congress, the turnover rate in any given election is around ten per cent or even less. One congressman got elected 30 times and spent 60 years in the House. These politicians become too powerful in the game and the only way to replace them is if they resign their positions voluntarily. The turnover rate of the Central Committee, on the other hand, is roughly about 62 per cent, on the average, every five years. With this, the Chinese communist system tends to achieve that which American democracy promises. The Chinese also have term limits, which help to ensure that new leaders emerge, mostly on the basis of performance, rather than privilege.

Before the West and the rest of the world start preaching to China about theneed to embrace liberal democracy, let us work on getting the system right. Democracy, for sure, remains the best idea of governance but the way it is currently being practiced, leaves much to be desired.

This piece was inspired by the Sunday, May 1 segment of 90minutesafrica. It is a new talk show hosted on Sundays across several social media platforms and anchored by two of my friends, who are veteran journalists, Dr Chido Onuma and Mr Rudolf Okonkwo. In the audience in that particular episode were Nigerian media deities likes Azu Ishiekwene, Kadaria Ahmed and Simon Kolawole.

I was particularly struck by Kadarias narration of how her effort to shed a little light on the conduct of Nigerias hitherto opaque party primaries and infuse a more robust participation therein was rebuffed by the leadership of the two major political parties. As far as these parties are concerned, the methods of choosing who flies their flags in an election remain an internal affair that should not be subjected to the intrusive eyes of media practitioners and non-party members. Yet, Nigerians are expected to choose from the few who emerge through this less-than-ideal process, who ultimately will hold the key to their future.

Political parties have become all too powerful in most liberal democracies of the world, even when nowhere in the constitutions of many nations is this tremendous amount of power exercised even remotely alluded to. The party nominating process truncates democracy since it offers few of the protections associated with the grand idea of one man, one vote. In the United States of America, voters in early caucus states like Iowa and New Hampshire have far more influence than voters in later ones, even when they constitute less than one per cent of registered voters nationwide. In Nigeria, the delegate selection process cuts the voter out entirely. This is why during most presidential elections, voters are forced to choose between two terrible candidates.

In a recent article titled, Nigerias party-political season of philanthropyprimaries,the former chairman of Nigerias Human Rights Commission and now a professor in Human Rights Law at Tuft University, Chidi Odinkalu wrote:Political parties are supposed to chaperone competition for access to the mandate to superintend the public good. In Nigeria instead right now, they are to conduct auctions to buy and sell the country. I cant agree more, though this aberration is not unique to Nigeria. As it is in Nigeria, so is in America, though less crude and in your face.

Before the West and the rest of the world start preaching to China about theneed to embrace liberal democracy, let us work on getting the system right. Democracy, for sure, remains the best idea of governance but the way it is currently being practiced, leaves much to be desired.

Osmund Agbo, a public affairs analyst is the coordinator of African Center for Transparency and Convener of Save Nigeria Project.Email:Eagleosmund@yahoo.com

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Party primaries: If democracy is the goal, then the Chinese might be closer, By Osmund Agbo - Premium Times

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During MSNBCs "The ReidOut" Friday night, Democratic pollster and strategist Fernand Amandi urged Democratic voters to understand that if Roe v Wadeis dismantled later this year, "theocracy" is on the ballot in the upcoming midterm elections.

"The ReidOut" substitute host Jason Johnson began the segment by prompting Amandi on whether the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion portending the end of Roe v Wadewould help Democrats in the polls.

"Where do we need to look,because theres just polling out now,thats just broke this week, where would we need tolook in polling across thecountry to think or to realizethat that ruling is actuallygonna help Democrats? Or doesit not really end up having thatmuch of an impact on criticalSenate races in Wisconsin andFlorida and Pennsylvania?" he asked.

"We in the research communityare all looking at the genericcongressional ballot, andobviously the state horse races where theSenate races are taking place,but in the generic congressional,which right now is not lookinggreat for the Democrats," Amandi continued.

ELIZABETH WARREN EXPLODES ON 'THE VIEW,' CLAIMS POLICE COULD INVESTIGATE MISCARRIAGES IF ROE OVERTURNED

Demonstrators protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

"If we see movement there andsignificant movement, Im talking three, four, fivepoints, that will start toindicate they may haveoverstepped their boundaries," he added, speaking of potential polling in the wake of the leak.

Moving on from the polls, Amandi then urged voters to wake up to the stakes of the upcoming midterm elections, especially considering the potential end of Roe v Wade.

"But Jason, let me tell you and America one of the greatconcerns about this revelationthis week.For 50 years, since Roe v Wade wasmade law, theyve been workingfor this moment to undo this," he said.

He continued, "But at the same time for 50 years,they have been warned, if youdo this step you will incitethe women of the United States to come after you en masse andyou will never hold office again."

Voting booths (iStock) (iStock)

REPS DEAN, SWALWELL WARN WHAT ROE OVERTURN COULD MEAN FOR INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE

Amandi then gave his stark warning. "And that is why right now, it isso fundamentally important,democracy is no longer on theballot anymore for 2022. Itsnow theocracy thats also onthe ballot."

The pollster then sounded the alarm about what would happen to Americans if Republicans made gains in Congress in the upcoming elections.

"If they win the majority ofany control of Congress, anyhouse of Congress, they aregoing to use that as a mandate tosay all of the protections thathave happened the last 50 years,weve been now told by theAmerican people, you can undothose," Amandi declared.

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Maria Pea holds a rosary and sign out outside a building housing an abortion provider in Dallas, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP Photo/LM Otero)

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Democratic pollster: Potential overturn of Roe v Wade means that 'theocracy' is 'also on the ballot' - Fox News

The riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is often cited as one of the lowest points for democracy in U.S. history. (Getty Images)

To the editor: Nicholas Goldberg bemoans the challenges facing democracies and cites a few examples of our nation's inability to tackle big things, including the Jan. 6 insurrection, legislative paralysis in Washington and the U.S. response to climate change.

Democracy is not to blame in any of these cases. Republicans are.

The former president, a Republican, drew throngs of followers to Washington on Jan. 6, and he whipped them into a frenzy and almost subverted the peaceful transfer of power.

Were just a dozen Senate Republicans to support climate legislation, President Biden's Build Back Better bill, which he calls "the largest effort to combat climate change in American history," would likely pass. But not one does.

As to legislative paralysis, the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, famously said a year ago, "One-hundred percent of our focus is on stopping this new administration."

I'm disappointed Goldberg didnt identify the threat by name, suggesting our woes are a systemic problem. Yes, two Democratic senators held up passage of voting rights legislation, but it must be noted that not a single Republican supported that bill.

The country is polarized, and money in politics is a huge problem. But if democracy is threatened in the United States, the blame must be fixed squarely on Republicans.

Mike Diehl, Glendale

..

To the editor: Goldberg's assessment is very depressing, but it's also spot on. He's so right about the fundamental flaws in our system, such as the makeup of the Senate and the electoral college.

But what can be done in the way of remedies? It's those very flaws that keep allowing the Republicans to control the rules, precluding any prospect for change.

Zena Thorpe, Chatsworth

..

To the editor: Goldberg's column is both interesting and frightening.

Countries in Northern Europe have achieved a better form of democracy, while our political system is failing. The blame falls on big business corruption, absence of term limits and a very antiquated Constitution.

Story continues

My solution would be a system of "benevolent dictatorship" benevolent in that people's needs would be provided for, freedom of expression would be allowed and there would be equality of opportunity; and a dictatorship in the sense that things would get done.

Alas, this is exceptionally rare in history. Even in some cases when a dictator starts out as benevolent, they end up corrupt. So we will keep on struggling with no imminent solution.

Aavo Koort, Santa Barbara

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Letters to the Editor: Democracy is declining only because the GOP is killing it - Yahoo News