Is American Democracy Failing? September 12, 2017

Many Americans Don’t Vote Only 60 percent of eligible voters nationwide participated in the 2016 presidential election. Turnout in Texas was less than 52 percent

Most Votes Doesn’t Always Win George W. Bush in 2000 Donald Trump in 2016 Because of the Electoral College, the presidential candidate with the most votes doesn’t always win. Both George W. Bush in 2000 and Donald Trump in 2016 were elected president despite losing the popular vote.

Congress is Dysfunctional Because of partisan gridlock, Congress seems incapable or unwilling to perform its basic functions, including passing a budget, confirming nominations, or even keeping the government operating.

To Do List for Congress Renew Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), FAA, and Flood Insurance Program (September deadline) Raise the debt ceiling (December deadline) Adopt a budget for 2018 (December deadline) Address DACA program (March 2018 deadline) Provide long-term disaster relied (no deadline but help is needed ASAP Adopt tax reform (no deadline but it is a priority for the Trump administration) Provide funding for an infrastructure program (no deadline but generally regarded as necessary)

Russia and the 2016 election There is strong evidence that Russia subverted the outcome of the 2016 election. Russia and the 2016 election

Russian Interference Russian President Vladimir Putin Who is this guy? The Russian government hacked into the computer systems of the Democratic Party, the Hillary Clinton campaign, and Clinton’s campaign manager and released embarrassing e-mail messages to Wikileaks who published them. Some of the most embarrassing e-mail messages were apparently fabricated. The Russians also planted a series of phony news stories on social media designed to hurt Clinton. Who is this guy? Russian President Vladimir Putin

Hacking Into Voting Systems The FBI has found no evidence that the Russians were able to hack into voting systems to change results, but there is evidence that they tried. They may have disrupted voter registration rolls in certain counties.

What Do the Russians Want? Russia has sought to expand its influence in Eastern Europe. It has annexed Crimea and parts of Georgia. Russian troops are fighting in eastern Ukraine with the apparent goal of annexing part of that country.

Economic Sanctions The United States and the countries of Western Europe imposed economic sanctions on Russia to punish it for its aggression. The sanctions have hurt the Russian economy and Putin wants them lifted.

Why Would Russia Favor Trump Over Clinton? As secretary of state, Clinton was an architect of the sanctions against Russia whereas Trump seems to admire Putin. The Russians may have judged that the inexperienced Trump would be a less effective American president than Clinton. Trump may have financial interests in Russia that he would want to protect. We don’t know because he has refused to release his tax returns. There are unverified reports that the Russians have compromising videos of Trump with prostitutes in Moscow that could be used to blackmail him.

Did the Trump Campaign Conspire with the Russians? There is growing evidence that the Trump campaign and the Russian government conspired to affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

June Meeting In June 2016, Donald Trump Jr., Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and campaign manager Paul Manafort met with several Russians with ties to the Russian government. Trump and the others lied about the meeting until the press was about to publish a memo detailing the event. Donald Trump Jr. Trump and the others were eager to meet the Russians because they understood that the Russians were going to give them damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

Mike Flynn General Michael Flynn, Trump’s choice for national security adviser, was on the Russian payroll, a fact he omitted in his application for a security clearance. Flynn resigned under fire in February 2017 after admitting he lied to the vice president about meeting with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

Trump Fires FBI Director In May 2017, President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. During a meeting on May 10 with two Russian officials, the New York Times reported that Trump boasted about firing Comey, describing Comey as "crazy, a real nut job” and that he [Trump] "faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off.” Former FBI Director James Comey

Robert Mueller Robert Mueller Acting Attorney General Rob Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller has hired a staff of experienced prosecutors. Robert Mueller

Trump and Mueller The Washington Post reports that Trump is furious that Mueller is allegedly investigating his involving in the Russian interference scandal and looking into Trump family business connections with Russia.

Trump is apparently looking for an excuse to fire Mueller.

Latest Development We now know that during the presidential campaign Donald Trump’s personal lawyer emailed Vladimir Putin’s personal spokesperson seeking help to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

This is a developing story that we will explore as the semester goes forward.

What You Have Learned In what ways is American democracy failing? How did the Russians interfere with the 2016 election? What evidence is there that the Trump campaign may have collaborated with the Russians? How has President Trump responded to the investigation??