A new Common Ground Democracy essay. At the conference for which this essay was written, the view was expressed by some that the only solution to the current presidential attack on the rule of law is for Democrats in 2028 to win another “trifecta” that gives them control of the White House and both branches of Congress, as they had after 2020. With that trifecta, according to this view, Democrats would then eliminate the filibuster and unilaterally impose a series of changes over the objection of Republicans. I, for one, do not share this view that only Democrats holding all power can save the Republic from tyranny. Democrats took that kind of unilateral approach in 2021 with their pursuit of HR1/S1 over the unified opposition of congressional Republicans, and not only was it a failure but also a missed opportunity to enact additional reforms using the bipartisan approach of the Electoral Count Reform Act.

Democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law will not be safe as long as only one of two major political parties supports these bedrock premises of American self-government. Instead, the necessary task as challenging as it may be is to rebuild the Madisionian system so that enough members of more than one political party are committed to sustaining its foundations. There needs to develop a coalition of Democrats and non-MAGA Republicans, plus independents, to adopt the reforms that will enable Democrats and non-MAGA Republicans (and others) to compete electorally for power within the structures and limits of the Madisonian system itself. That coalition and the reform it adopts are what will prevent MAGA Republicans or other potentially authoritarian factions from eviscerating the Madisonian system itself.