I’ve written this new Washington Post column. A snippet:

“[T]he key point is that something like Alaska’s [new electoral system] can liberate America from the threat of Trump and his recruits dismantling democracy. If they no longer can control which Republicans get on the November ballot, so that all voters and not just partisans who show up for primaries get a chance to weigh in, then Republicans can feel free to counter Trump’s authoritarian tendencies.”

I’d add here that, because the current electoral system is responsible for the particular political parties we have, and because we are all collectively responsible for the choice to keep our current electoral system rather than changing it, we therefore are all responsible (at least in part) for how each of the political parties conducts itself within the existing electoral system. In other words, to be blunt: if we are aghast at how the Republican Party is behaving (as we should be), we should realize our role in maintaining the electoral system that enables the Republican Party to act as it does.