The administration and its in-house “richest man in the world,” is working to dismantle the result of 238 years of deliberative democracy, a system of government Americans have built through debate, argument, persuasion, and actual (not “reality” TV) deal making, a government that works for the people. Has our government been perfect? No. Does it have limitations and failures? Of course. Could it be better? Absolutely. But it’s the government that has been agreed to by representatives of all of us, who sit in the House and Senate.

Deliberative democracy requires discourse. Leaders share reasons for their actions and policies. Those who disagree also provide their rationale. Then, there are discussions and … shocker … often there is voting. (For more on the concept of deliberative democracy, see the book, Why Deliberative Democracy? by Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson, details below.)

But, instead of deliberative democracy, Trump and Musk offer us mere autocracy. Theoretically, the Congress and the judiciary can check their power, but this administration actively ignores the other branches. At times, it asks for consent of a Congress that the Republican Party controls (for example, to dismantle the Dept. of Education). Other times it attempts to dismantle the government by fiat (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and USAID). In the first case, the administration is expecting its lackeys in the Congress—the majority of Republicans who will support everything they propose—to rubber-stamp their plan. In the second case, the goal is to accomplish the destruction so quickly, in a sort of bureaucratic blitzkrieg, that no one can stop them. 

This is what Steven Levitsky, in two articles linked below (The Atlantic piece being a shorter version of the Foreign Affairs piece) calls “competitive authoritarianism”:

“Rather than fascism or single-party dictatorship, the United States is sliding toward a more 21st-century model of autocracy: competitive authoritarianism—a system in which parties compete in elections but incumbent abuse of power systematically tilts the playing field against the opposition.”

So, how do we get back to the deliberative democracy that—with all its faults—has the benefit of revealing the thinking of the people’s representatives? We fight and we work!

1. We protest and call out autocracy for what it is. One person stopping the Congressionally funded international aid of USAID is both unconstitutional and counterproductive. The money to be saved is minimal within the scope of the federal budget, but the lives destroyed by the gap in food and medical aid is enormous. This will diminish the global influence of the United States and its opportunities to do good. 
2. We work at local and state levels to lift up and elect leaders who will fight the autocrats in Washington, and who will provide aid and support at the state level for services being abrogated at the federal level. We help people with food pantries and other direct aid. We walk precincts and listen to our neighbors.
3. We elect a Democratic Congress. Because New Mexico has Democratic Representatives and Senators in Washington, you could say we’ve done our part. But, of course, every two years the entire Congress and a third of the Senate is up for grabs. In our case, that means our three House  seats and one of our Senate seats. We need to retain these seats. And we need to help other seats in the state and around the country remain in Democratic hands or flip into Democratic hands.

Join us! 

Additional Reading

• Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson, Why Deliberative Democracy? (Princeton U Press, 2009). (Read Chapter 1 for free from Princeton University Press, or order from Bookshop.org.) 
• Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, “The Path to American Authoritarianism: What Comes After Democratic Breakdown” (Foreign Affairs, March–April 2025: paywall-free link requires sharing your email address).
• Steven Levitsky, “The New Authoritarianism: This isn’t single-party rule, but it’s not democracy either,” The Atlantic (gift link; no subscription needed).