Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

By Burt CohenSociety & CultureNewsPolitics
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Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen episodes

  • The Day After: The War on Democracy Itself
    Reagan kicked it off: the emotional manipulation of the word “freedom” obscures political realities. On this show, recorded the day after the vote, guest Ken Nanus analyses the data and concludes that, unlike actual conservatives, anything standing in the way of an authoritarian, such as democracy itself, is defined as “the enemy.” It is expected Biden will achieve the necessary 270 but then what? Instead of addressing challenges and opportunities Republicans will still just blame “the others.” Nanus explains why he says they are not conservatives but have relied on use of actual terrorism. Yet if Biden does win, Nanus says he has unique and valuable navigational skills. How did we get here and what can we best do now?
     
     
    1 hr
  • Greek Fascist Party Convicted as a Criminal Gang
    They went from a tiny group at the fringe to the third largest political party in Greece. In the birthplace of democracy, after a five year trial, the most significant anti-fascist trial since Nuremberg, the Golden Dawn has been convicted. Their leaders are jailed. On this show Dimitris Kousouris who, as the photo shows, was himself the target of an assassination attempt as a student leader, tells the chilling tale of this racist, neo-Nazi gang. He says the police had always let Golden Dawn get away with violent attacks against leftists and immigrants. They often collaborated with and gave immunity to the fascists.  With roots in the virulent anticommunist Cold War, the fascists have ties throughout Europe. And perhaps with the United States; finding the sources of their money is the next step.
    58 min
  • What A Defiant and Bold Democratic Party Looks Like
    Even in a minority, fighting back carries a number of positives. On issues that matter to average Americans, Democrats have been pushed off course. Some thought the way to attract independents was timidity. As our guest Eleanor Eagan of the Center for Economic and Policy Research points out, current party leadership came to power in a different era. They couldn’t imagine getting the money needed any other way than from a few big money interests. The internet changed all that; the rise of millions of small dollar contributors. The modern aggressive far right Republicans has pushed Democrats to timidity and it is time to fight back. No matter who wins, Democrats have many tools at their disposal, including insisting on oversight of corporate power over government. Especially in the upcoming interregnum.
    1 hr
  • Supreme Court: The Power to Obstruct Democracy
    The framers of our Constitution intended the judicial system to be the “least dangerous branch” of government. They did not foresee today’s powerful national parties having the ability to short circuit democracy. As we see in action now, on this show American University law professor Robert Tsai says that without winning electorally the minority party, packing the courts can do a lot of damage our founders did not consider. “Originalists” are often actually the aggressive activist judges.  Republicans began their current strategy from their hatred of the Warren Court which desegregated schools. Today, Tsai says, it’s like a “system on speed to boost partisanship.” But congress the president, and the people have a lot of options to correct the move to the far right.  He says “we can renew democracy.”
    1 hr
  • Trump Floods the Mid-East with US Weapons
    It’s all about bragging. Trump said his “deal” between the UAE and Israel would create a half million new jobs. The true number is less than a tenth of that. On this show Pentagon arms expert William Hartung explains how the president’s son in law put the squeeze on certain companies in place of the Constitutionally required assent of congress on war policy. As a result at least 100,000 are dead and a million more on the brink of starvation as the Saudis use our bombs against the people of Yemen. Hartung points out that our weapons go everywhere, and where once the Saudis boasted women could now drive, those women are today in jail. The Saudis are more represseive than Iran. American influence in the future of the region is severely harmed, as the people in the client countries know the reality. Our weapons exacerbate the imbalance of power. The re-institution of the Iran nuclear deal by a new administration would be a positive step toward real peace and security.
    1 hr
  • Europe Going Its Own Way: Good for America Too?
    The European nations don’t need enemies like the US does. Since geography is destiny, they see a bizarre American President and have their own economic interests beyond dependence on weapons systems. On this show international journalist Patrick Lawrence describes what has led Europe to find its own two feet. Since 1945, America had been the envy of the world, now the world pities us. Our Covid response exemplifies these failures. With no military, Denmark is now more influential now than we were. They do solid business with Europe’s neighbor Russia. With Europe on its own, Lawrence sees real opportunities for a better more peaceful world ahead.
    1 hr
  • Voting in Indian Country, A View from the Trenches
    We know about voter suppression against African Americans but what about Indigenous Americans, Indians? The effort to disenfranchise the 2% of the national population is not a secret, yet nearly unknown. On this show author Jean Schroedel shares disturbing findings of her ten years of research on reservations. Today Covid 19 is being used to even more effectively deny Indians the right to vote. She says that if one has moved but failed to report it, that person could face five years for voting fraud. And the reality is that fixed addresses for many in Native American communities is not the norm. And as with African Americans, methods are implemented to frighten potential voters. For Indians, the past is ever present in their daily lives. But there is hope for change, new legislation may remove the barriers.
    1 hr
  • Trump: Mobster in Chief
    The often successful tactics and techniques of America’s crime syndicate have not gone unnoticed by Trump and his gangs. In his new article: “The Mobster in Chief: Will the November Election be Decided in the Streets?” returning guest John Feffer of the Institute for Policy Studies looks at the new power and appeal of taking the law into the hands to people who see themselves as patriotic Americans. Inspired by “mainstream” Fox TV, factions which used to be seen as the far right, see President Trump as the powerful outsider to the system he heads, a federal government they hate. Listen in as Feffer explains how this election is about contempt for the rule of law.
    1 hr
  • Restoring Democracy: It’s a Tough But Do-Able Fight
    The right wing Republicans outsmarted Democrats. Starting in 2008, they understood the path to grabbing and holding power goes through state legislatures. They could see that their white older male base is eroding and that they don’t need to compete fairly when they control redistricting. On this show David Daley, author of the bestselling Ratfucked: The True Story behind the Secret Plan to Steal America’s Democracy, discusses how we got here and how we can once again level the playing field. His new book is Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy. Daley says while Democrats tend to seek out a savior, Republicans do it differently. The hopeful news is that Americans don’t like cheating. We can make voter preference rule again.
    1 hr
  • How Trump’s “Patriotic Education” is Anti-American
    He called our current history education in our schools “a form of child abuse.” Teaching critical thinking and the real history of America would be shut down in Trump’s “Patriotic Education.” The popular 1619 Project and Zinn’s Education Project which dare to teach uncomfortable truths would not be allowed. Instead “patriotism education”would be restricted top just the mythic and celebratory aspects. Our guest professor Ben Railton, whose upcoming book is called Of Thee I Sing, the Contested History of American Patriotism, explains that the choice is not blind allegiance or treason, but that to effectively understand and deal with where we are right now kids need to be able to think critically.Trump’s version requires passivity.  That is not patriotism but blind nationalism. Railton is optimistic that this threat contains real opportunities.
     
    1 hr

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