Democracy Teeters on the Edge

Florida Veterans for Common Sense President, Gene Jones, gave the following talk to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Sarasota, FL on Sunday, July 27, 2025.  The title of the talk was Democracy Teeters on the Edge.

Thank you for inviting me to speak and for working with Florida Veterans for Common Sense. We are planning to present a play about the life of Thomas Paine on Oct. 25 here on your campus. We appreciate working with your congregation. Thank you.

Having the pleasure of knowing many of you, I’d bet that most of you agree that our democracy is under great stress.

Worse, an argument can made that we’ve already lost our democracy due to Trump’s successful attacks on so many institutions, the rule of law, and the Roberts’ Court Constitutional Coup.

It’s hard to measure exactly when democracies die. Most don’t die in a day as by a military coup—one day you have it and next you don’t. Most democracies fade away as a strong man takes more and more control over institutions until power is completely consolidated. The autocrat succeeds by forcing institutions like the media, universities, and even the legislature to bend to his will while casting aside traditional norms. Today, this is happening in America. We appear to be a democracy because we still have elections although eventually that may not matter.

Remember, elections don’t necessarily mean democracy. Russia and Turkey continue to have elections, but the outcome is predetermined. That hasn’t happened here yet, but we’re moving in that direction.

Let’s examine why

First, autocrats lie and mislead. Even before he came to power, Trump used lies to confuse and mislead voters. He started the false allegation that President Obama was not born in the United States. Then he claimed that he won the 2020 election and then initiated an insurrection at the Capitol to overthrow the results of that election. He continues to allege that he won the 2020 election although no one has ever shown any substantial evidence that Biden didn’t win by more than seven million votes.

Money in politics controls the message. Trump won the 2024 election with an influx of over $170 million dollars from the richest man in the world in the last months of the campaign. The campaign targeted low information, first time, and low propensity voters using right-wing influencers and social media. The influx of cash turned out enough voters to carry the day for Trump.

Autocrats always look for legal justifications for their power grabs. Trump is no exception. He asserts his actions are legal using a radical legal theory, the Unitary Executive Theory. It posits that the president cannot be checked by the legislative or judicial branch and that he can rule over the executive branch by whim. This theory sets out the far-fetched idea that our traditional Constitutional checks and balances are primarily intended to restrain the legislative and judicial branches that must defer to the President. In short, the three benches of government are not co-equal.

Using this justification, Trump uses administrative action to take away our rights and control institutions. Here are some examples.

Media

Trump imposes his will on the media by suing companies often with frivolous claims for millions of dollars.  Nevertheless, some companies settle these suits to not be in conflict with the administration which must approve matters like mergers or acquisitions.

Universities

Trump is imposing his will on universities. The administration does so by withholding millions of dollars in research funds. The schools then feel forced to make a settlement upon the promise by the administration that the research monies will be reinstated. These settlements can mean that the universities pay millions of dollars, limit free speech, and submit to government oversight of admissions and course offerings. In short, the government becomes an overseer.

Law firms

Trump even attempts to control private businesses like law firms. He has limited firms access to federal buildings including courthouses and pulled lawyers’ security clearances. To stay in business some firms have settled by paying millions of dollars and limiting the clients they can represent. Some have agreed to take cases the administration choses on a pro bono basis. Thank goodness, some firms have rejected these despotic demands and sued.

Bombing Iran

Trump excludes Congress from its Constitutional obligations. A good example is the bombing of Iran. The Constitution gives the Congress the power to declare war, not the President. Yet he acted unilaterally. In this instance not even the leaders of the intelligence committees were advised until the bombers were on the way. 

Whether you agree that the bombing was necessary for national security or you believe the bombing will be counterproductive is beside the point. Such a momentous decision should be made after full debate and careful consideration, not by one man.

As far we know there was no emergency to justify the bombing, and the administration certainly never declared an emergency.

Alien Enemies Act

To reach deportation quotas, Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to crack down on immigrants as this act allows people to be detained and deported without using normal court proceedings.

Until now, the act hasn’t been used since WWII when people of Japanese ancestry, and some others, were interred in detention camps.

This act has very specific requirements that must be met before it can be invoked.

1. A declared war, or
2. a foreign government undertakes or threatens an invasion, or
3. A predatory incursion.

Common sense says these criteria have not been met, but Trump nevertheless claims he can detain and deport people using the act because he says drug cartels are quasi-governmental entities invading the U.S.

Several District Courts found that the requirements of the statute were not meet, but Trump appealed to the Roberts’ Court using the shadow, emergency docket. In a few cases, the court limited the application of the act on due process grounds but has not decided whether Trump’s executive order complied with the statute. As a result, people are still being detained and deported without legal justification.

Federalized The National Guard

Trump has federalized the national guard against the wishes of a governor and deployed them and federal troops against our people.

Trump claimed statutory authority to federalize the national guard under U.S. Code Title 10, sec. 12,406. Again, the statute has specific requirements before it can be used. It requires that we’ve been invaded, that there is a rebellion, or that the President is unable to execute the laws with regular forces.

Trump claimed there was a rebellion in Los Angeles, and he was unable to execute the law, an absurd assertion on its face. Although there was sporadic violence, both the governor and local officials said law enforcement could handle the situation.

When Governor Newson sued to stop Trump, Trump argued to the judge that the district court had no right to whatsoever review his determination that the protests in Los Angeles were a rebellion or that he could not enforce the law. In short, Trump argued the courts couldn’t even consider whether his executive action was legal.

Nevertheless, the District Court Judge rejected Trump’s argument and concluded he could decide if Trump’s determination was supported by facts or not. The district judge found there wasn’t justification under the statute to federalize the guard and found Trump’s action illegal, but the 9th circuit court of appeal stayed the district court’s decision.

This decision causes a continuing problem for all of us. Until reversed by Supreme Court, if it ever is, Trump’s order provides that the federalized guard and troops can be deployed so long as the Secretary of Defense determines that it is in the national interest.

Do you think Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, will decide he doesn’t need to keep federal troops on our streets? He’s sent 200 Marines to Florida ostensibly to help ICE and the State of Florida with the detention camp in the Everglades.

Overwrites the Constitution, birthright citizenship

Perhaps Trump’s most egregious executive order attempts to overwrite the specific words of the Constitution in respect to birthright citizenship.

Bear with me because I’m going to read the exact words of the Constitution and the Executive Order so you see the difference.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is straight forward and uncomplicated. It says, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Trump rewrites the Constitution’s straight forward language to say, “Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States:  (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”

Several District courts found the Executive Order unconstitutional and stayed its enforcement. which was affirmed by appellate courts. Trump filed an emergency appeal to the Roberts’ Court.

With its “Shadow docket” the court used a sleight of hand to overturn the lower courts without addressing the issue of rewriting the Constitution. Instead, the extremists on the court focused on a side issue, whether district courts judges could enter universal injunctions with nationwide application.

The extremists ducked the fundamental issue by saying that they’d deal with the unconstitutionality of the Executive Order later.

This means that some babies born in states who were not before the lower courts will have questionable citizenship. To put it bluntly, this is a nutty decision confirming that the Robert’s Court is unwilling to check Trump. By not resolving the constitutionality of the Executive Order the court inexplicably allows the Executive Order to stay in effect.

Justice Sotomayor’s said in her dissenting opinion that the majority decision allows the Executive to continue enforcing unconstitutional policies against individuals who have not sued and allows the government to act unlawfully without accountability. The ruling undermines the very purpose of the Constitution, which is to ensure justice and protect rights universally. 

You have to wonder if the majority’s language suggests it will ultimately rule in Trump’s favor and disregard the plain language of the Constitution.

In short, don’t count on the Roberts’ Court to check Trump. As Justice Sotomayor said in one case “When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it.”

The high court has not issued final decisions in these cases. It’s likely, that the Supreme Court eventually will hear appeals in some of these cases and issue final rulings. But by then, even if the court finds a Trump’s actions illegal, it may be too late as the damage has been done.  An example is the executive order taking apart the Department. of Education.

So, where does that leave us? We are in a fight between democracy and autocracy—not between Democrats and Republicans. Trump has captured and controls the Republican Party. The traditional Republican Party is now the MAGA party. There is nothing conservative about it, it is now a reactionary, authoritarian party.

What is Florida Veterans for Common Sense doing?

We are participating in national protests such as the No-Kings protests. It may not seem that protests could accomplish much—but these protests show that people are willing to speak out and not be silent as our government slides into autocracy.  By showing the flag, we stop MAGA from expropriating it.

We are trying to educate ourselves and the public about the autocratic threat. For example, thanks to you letting us use your campus, we brought Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarianism, to speak here in Sarasota. 

At our monthly meetings, we bring speakers who are knowledgeable about saving democracy or combating climate change, which we also view as an existential threat.

We run advertising campaigns on social media—some in conjunction with other groups such as Floridians for Democracy that focus on the message that Trump’s autocratic government hurts veterans.

We point out the hypocrisy of the MAGA movement. MAGA politicians always talk support for veterans, but don’t follow up with action to help vets. A good example is the MAGA politicians who voted against the PACT ACT. The legislation that helps sick and disabled veterans who were exposed to toxic substances get VA benefits.

Let there be no mistake. MAGA hurts vets. The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs has already hurt the VA’s efficiency by cutting staff. MAGA’s ultimate goal is to privatize the VA.

On occasion we will get directly involved in politics. For instance, we endorsed Liz Barker for the nonpartisan Sarasota County School Board in the last election. We communicate with politicians to let them know our view on issues important to us from the veterans’ perspective.

We encourage our members to speak out by writing columns and letters to the editor. We encourage our members and supporters to post to social media. We provide our members and supporters a twice weekly notice that provides pertinent information and the notices always suggest some type of action.

We coordinate with other groups to maintain an environmental billboard in DeSoto County.

Our projects build community that benefits us all. For example, we have planted eight microforests in Sarasota and Manatee Counties to combat climate change. We help veterans and their families when they can’t get help from the VA or a social welfare agency for one reason or another.

So then, what you can do?

Get involved in local, state, and federal politics. Volunteers are always needed. If nothing else, donate money.

Let the MAGA politicians know that they will pay a price for supporting an autocratic government.

Demand a meeting with the MAGA politicians. Go to their offices and town halls. If they hide, sponsor your own town hall. Let the press know they refuse to meet with you.

Join street protests. You’re welcome to join with us. We’re in a psychological battle with authoritarians, so we must show we’re not bending the knee.

Trump wants us to think that that the battle is already lost and there is nothing we can do. He wants us to feel overwhelmed. Don’t succumb to that despair. Do something positive every day even if it’s only to talk to a friend or neighbor. The main thing is not to shut up, keep talking. 

Know your rights and have a plan. What happens if one of your friends or relatives are snatched off the street by masked thugs?

Support an organization that aligns with your values and has the resources to sue to preserve American values.

Faith based organizations have a particularly important role to play. It’s easier for you in a faith-based community to speak to others in that community than it is for secular people.

We know that many who support MAGA are evangelical Christians. We also know that traditional Christianity is being perverted by the New Apostolic Revolution and Christian Nationalism aligned with Trump. Help them understand what’s happening by talking to them.

Agitate to impeach Trump and the corrupt Supreme Court Justices. If MAGA can be turned out, we can do it.

The most important thing is not to give up and to continue work together.

 

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