These days, we hear a lot about the United States crossing the Rubicon from democracy to authoritarianism. But where are we on the trajectory? KPBS spoke with people who study government and the law about the red lines they believe have been blurred or broken.
On Congress’s passage of the budget bill this month
Experts said if you measure the strength of a democracy by its ability to act on the needs, interests and wishes of its people, the bill fits right in.
A slight majority of Americans oppose the bill. It cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid, it’s projected that 12 million people will lose health insurance, and millions stand to lose food stamps.
In San Diego County, 100,000 people could end up uninsured and 60,000 without food stamps. Meanwhile, the bill provides trillions in tax cuts, largely to the wealthy.
San Diego Democratic Congressman Juan Vargas voted against it.
“People are beginning to understand what this is,“ he said. “What it represents really is one of the largest steps of taking money from people that are marginalized and giving it to people that don't need it. That's not good for democracy, that's against, really, we the people.”
San Diego Republican Congressman Darrell Issa voted for the bill, and said in a statement the legislation will drive the economy, advance national security and put money back into the pockets of the American people.
On cuts to universities, including UC San Diego
Universities under the Trump administration have faced new cuts and controls on what to research, what to teach, who to hire and whether foreign students are still welcome. Experts said that connects directly to democracy.
American universities are platforms for exposure to diverse perspectives and ideas, discovery and innovation that have enriched the country.
UCSD political science Professor Emeritus Sam Popkin said the U.S. simply does not produce enough chemists, physicists and other scientists to fill research demands without graduate students from other countries. He said he’s stumped by the Trump administration’s actions towards universities, combined with the shutdown of most USAID programs, which is predicted to cost millions of lives worldwide.
“I never thought we would go so low in some of these areas, but it doesn't mean we're not a democracy,“ he said. “The Constitution doesn't say we have to be generous. The Constitution doesn't say we have to really love all our neighbors.”
On the courts
Courts have acted as a backstop on some of President Trump’s executive orders seen as overreach.
Lower courts have blocked Trump’s freezing federal grants, limiting union bargaining rights and targeting law firms that have clients who’ve challenged the administration.
But experts say the wings of lower courts have been clipped by the Supreme Court’s recent ruling blocking a single district court judge’s power to stop enforcement of a federal policy deemed unlawful nationwide.
Legal analyst Harry Litman said that decision puts the U.S. in even more of a precarious moment.
“Congress ain’t doing anything. The executive is willing to do crazy stuff,“ he said. “You put that all together, you take the number one force for democracy, for the rule of law, for decency, that's been operative over the last five months and you take it out of commission. You take the star player off the field, as it were.”
Has the U.S. slid into authoritarianism?
Some political scientists believe the country has moved into a form of authoritarianism. The military has been deployed in Los Angeles in the face of protests over ICE raids. Politicians have been detained or arrested. Media and law firms have been targeted. The Supreme Court has approved deporting migrants to third countries without exhausting legal remedies first. All of that notwithstanding, Vargas describes what his red line is.
“When Americans look at this immigrant woman and say, 'oh yes she's here without documents, but she has three children.' And they have four men attack her with machine guns, holding machine guns, throw her to the ground, put her arms behind her, shackle her up. And she's crying for her children, and Americans say, 'that's great, that's what we want in our country.' That's when we crossed the Rubicon.”
Vargas said so far, most people view those scenes with terror and disgust. He believes ultimately, Americans will course correct the democracy ship, but worries there will be much more misery before that happens.
