The Democrats are Behaving Like a Second GOP

On M onday, the Democratic contingent of the New York State Board of Elections decided to scuttle its own presidential primary out of concern, it insisted, for voters who might otherwise be exposed to the coronavirus at the polls. It was a mystifying explanation. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had, by this time, already promised mail-in absentee ballots for all voters, and state and local primaries were still set to proceed as usual. The real objective of canceling the presidential primary, it would seem, was to ensure that Bernie Sanders would not collect any delegates in the state where he had won 41 percent of the vote, or more than 820,000 votes, in the prior election. “What the Sanders supporters want is essentially a beauty contest that, given the situation with the public health emergency that exists now, seems to be unnecessary and, indeed, frivolous,” board co-chair Douglas Kellner said.

The likening of democracy to an outdated, vaguely embarrassing institution felt very GOP indeed: Republicans apparently no longer have cornered the market on voter suppression. In fact, over the past fortnight, there have been many instances in which the traditional lines of separation between the two parties have merged and blurred. In an election year, this seems like a foolish mistake for Democrats to make; in a crisis year, it feels like a dangerous one. Read Full Article »