📩 Democracy, Power, & Questions, Oh my!

📨 From: Haley
📬 To: My Sister
🕓 Sent: March 18, 2025
📌 Subject: RE: Democracy, Gerrymandering, & Political Influence

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From her last email: “Democracy is tricky, because I believe in individual freedom above all else, but I acknowledge that we have to have a system, as humans, to live together in harmony. The Constitution is a great “system”, so I’m happy with our form of government, I just think it’s always needing enforcement as new technologies are always changing our world and people are always finding new tricky ways to get their individual desires fulfilled over their neighbors.”

With her focus on our constitutional democracy, I had a lot of questions, so that’s the focus here.

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Hey, thanks for taking the time to respond! I am enjoying the conversations too. I wanted to respond to a few of your points, but instead of just laying out a counterargument, like my last email, I want to really focus on questions that get to the core of these issues—because I think there’s a lot we actually agree on when we break it down.

🗳️ Topic 1: Trump’s “Big Win”

You mentioned that Trump’s 2024 victory was a big win based on historic voting results. I get why you’d say that, but when you actually break down the numbers, that framing doesn’t hold up.

✱ Trump’s 2024 victory was not a landslide. (source)

• His margin of victory in swing states was razor-thin—just like in 2016.

• Even though more people voted for him in 2024 than in 2016, that’s because turnout was higher across the board.

• His share of the popular vote was still historically low for an incumbent who regained office.

• He only won because of the Electoral College, not because he had overwhelming national support (this is a whole other issue we could talk about).

✱ Biden’s 2020 win was actually larger. (source)

• Biden won by over 7 million votes in 2020—Trump never won by that much in either election.

• If you’re calling Trump’s win “big,” then by that logic, Biden’s was even bigger.

I bring this up not to downplay his win, but because there’s this narrative that he won overwhelmingly—and that’s just not true. His victory was legitimate under our system, but it doesn’t mean the majority of Americans wanted him in office.

Question 1:
Wouldn’t a true “big win” mean winning both the Electoral College and a majority of the popular vote? And if he had lost under the same conditions, would you still consider that fair?

🗺️ Topic 2: Gerrymandering

You said you don’t hear much about gerrymandering and that if Republicans were doing it in a major way, the media would be all over it. I get that, but structural issues like this don’t tend to get the kind of coverage that scandals or election-day drama do.

✱ Here’s what we know from nonpartisan sources:

• Gerrymandering is a real problem, but its impact varies by state.

• Recent studies suggest that while both parties do it, Republicans have gained an estimated 2-3 extra seats in the U.S. House because of it.

• The bigger problem is at the state level—where gerrymandering can create uncompetitive districts, allowing one party to dominate even when they don’t get the majority of votes.

✱ For example:

• Wisconsin (2022): Democrats won 51% of the vote statewide but only got 38% of the seats in the State Assembly.

• North Carolina (2024): Republicans redrew districts to guarantee themselves four extra seats without gaining more votes.

• Ohio (2022): The GOP map was ruled an “extreme partisan gerrymander”—but Republicans ignored the court ruling and used it anyway.

Sources:

• Brookings Institution - The Gerrymander Myth

• National Academy of Sciences Study on Gerrymandering’s Impact

• Rucho v. Common Cause (2019): SCOTUS refused to ban partisan gerrymandering, saying the courts couldn’t intervene—even though Justice Kagan warned it was a “threat to democracy.

• Moore v. Harper (2023): This case almost let state legislatures override election results through extreme gerrymandering. It was only narrowly stopped.

Question 2:
If a party can win power without actually getting the most votes, is that democracy working as it should?

💰 Topic 3: Billionaires & Political Influence – Is It Really Equal?

You mentioned that billionaires fund both parties, and that’s absolutely true. But the real issue isn’t just who they donate to—it’s how that money is used.

✱ Things to consider:

• Democratic billionaires tend to focus on individual candidates and election spending.

• Conservative billionaires, like the Koch network and Peter Thiel, fund long-term ideological projects—think tanks, right-wing media, and court appointments that shape policy for decades.

• Republican-aligned dark money groups outspend Democratic ones by nearly 2-to-1.

✱ Examples:

• The Federalist Society, funded by conservative billionaires, spent decades shaping the courts, which is how we got a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade.

• Citizens United (2010) allowed unlimited dark money in politics, and Republican-aligned groups have taken advantage of it far more than Democrats. This is a scourge on our democracy and has arguably been the biggest threat to free and fair elections and policies that work to make life better for regular Americans.'

Sources:

• OpenSecrets - Tracking Dark Money in Elections

• OpenSecrets - Who are the biggest donors?

• Billionaire Donors & Political Influence Study

This isn’t to say Democrats are innocent—they also have wealthy donors. But when we talk about who is manipulating the system long-term to maintain power, the imbalance is real.

Question 3:
Wouldn’t we all be better off if elections were decided by voters, not billionaires?

🚩 Topic 4: Where do you draw the line?

You said you value individual freedom above all else, and I totally get that. But democracy isn’t just about individual liberty—it’s also about ensuring a system works fairly for everyone.

✱ So, now I have some serious questions for you:

Question 4:
At what point do we say that democracy isn’t working the way it should?

Question 5:
What would have to happen for you to say, “Okay, I’m actually worried about the direction of the country”?

✱ Like I said in my last email, if these things were happening in another country, would they be red flags?

• 🚩 A president defying court orders?

• 🚩 A government drawing districts to keep one party in power?

• 🚩 A Supreme Court ruling that presidents should have immunity from crimes?

• 🚩 A party passing laws restricting people’s bodily autonomy?

• 🚩 A political movement pushing to jail journalists they don’t like?

Because all of these things are happening right now.

I’m not saying we need to panic, but I am saying that if we wait until democracy is completely broken before we start paying attention, it’s too late. That has been one of the biggest frustrations since this election, that one side is trying to gaslight the other side into thinking everything that’s happening right now is normal and no cause for concern (and if you’re actually concerned about it, you’re laughed at and made fun of; I’ve seen this in our family’s own group chats basically talking about how funny it is to see “Dems” so upset). Elon’s comments about the “parasite class” and the ridiculous claim that Republican lawmakers town halls are being taken over by “paid actors,” assume that people on both sides aren’t upset about what’s happening right now or that only one kind of person’s opinion matters.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, I think we both want a government that:

✱ Respects individual freedoms but also protects basic rights for everyone.

✱ Is accountable to voters, not just the wealthiest donors.

✱ Ensures that election winners actually represent the will of the people.

We might not agree on every detail, but if we agree on those things, then I think it’s worth having these conversations about where the system is failing—and how we can make it work better. AND how we view politicians and our right and duty as citizens to call out things that threaten democracy regardless of political party. The Democratic Party is undergoing a huge revolution right now because of their feckless, spineless inaction in the face of impending constitutional crisis. Democrats are unhappy too, and almost nobody on the left is just towing the party line at this point. We all want a better country, but we need to be prepared for things to get dark and to be able to stand up for the least of us before it starts affecting the most of us.of us before it starts affecting the most of us.

I meditate daily on a poem I’m sure you’ve heard before, “First They Came” by Martin Niemöller, initially an antisemitic Nazi supporter, his views changed when he was imprisoned in a concentration camp for speaking out against Nazi control of churches. I’ve included some modern day commentary in there to make it more timely:

First they came for the Communists (Immigrants)
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Communist. (Immigrant)

Then they came for the Socialists (LGBTQ Community)
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Socialist. (LGBTQ)

Then they came for the trade unionists (Journalists)
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a trade unionist. (Journalist)

Then they came for the Jews (Women’s rights)
And I did not speak out,
Because I was not a Jew. (Woman in need)

Then they came for me, (Christians? Gun Owners? Small Business Owners? Protestors? Women? Libertarians?)
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts—love you tons! ❤️

For my readers, let me know what you think—in the comments, by email, or in your own conversations with the people you care about. Thanks for reading!