Corbin: America’s democracy should not be a circus | Columnists … – Mason City Globe Gazette
Living in a democracy permits us to enjoy triumphant celebrations while having the fortitude to persevere during troubling times. Americas democracy should not be a circus, but it appears we are moving in that direction.
Having witnessed the current presidential atmospherics during the pre- and post-election and returning from a May 21-June 1 European trip where I visited with people from nine countries about USAs political environment, all agreed Trump lacks credibility and they cant trust him or the USA as to what well say or do next.
USAs president has produced a crisis that is unprecedented, including questionable Twitter statements, James Comey-Donald Trump interactions, FBI investigations into campaign collusion with Russia, Jared Kushners backchannel attempts, apparent violation of Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clause and controversies that surround Jeff Sessions, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Marc Kasowitz, J.D. Gordon, Rex Tillerson, Roger Stone, Michael Cohen, Tom Price, Paul Manafort and Carter Page.
Shall we continue the bloodletting by Trump foes on this scandal-tarred presidency or is it time to rein in democracy and prove to ourselves and the world the USA is not a circus? Its time to get serious.
Yes, Trumps behavioral style is self-serving, controlling and driven by narcissistic dreams of glory. Yes, Trumps daily press briefings have evolved into a reality TV show: Beat Up the Press.
Yes, of Trumps 663 campaign promises, he broke 80 of them in his first 100 days of office. Yes, Trumps promise to drain the swamp has turned into his cabinet being the wealthiest in presidential history; $12 billion collective net worth.
Yes, 442 of 556 key Trump administration positions still require Senate confirmation with no nominees identified. Yes, after Michael Dubke resigned as White House communications director, four successors declined to be considered citing the volatile administration has driven candidates away from normally highly coveted West Wing jobs.
Yes, even seasoned Republicans in Congress and conservative journalists are starting to use the word unfit for Trumps presidency, citing he might be unsuitable in terms of judgment, knowledge and personal stability.
Yes, PolitiFact reveals about 5 percent of Trump statements are accurate. Trump falsehoods have become no laughing matter for 326 million Americans, 28 million small businesses, 19,000 corporations and our 224 trading partners.
And finally, yes, not one significant issue confronting Americans, including reformations of health care, tax code, immigration, infrastructure, budget deficit, business regulations, education, urban development and militarychanges the country needshave seen the light of serious Congressional action.
Since Americas democracy and political system should not be made into a circus, intervention with Mr. Trump is needed. The intervention starts with Congress.
The sheer gravity of this circus drama demands our utmost attention. En masse, we must write, email or call (202-224-3121) our Representative and Senators and insist they deliver the following message to Mr. Trump: Do your job. Stop wasting time on frivolous things like your inane Twitter diatribe statements, visiting any of your 144 companies located in 25 countries and playing golf. Stop carping about the press. Release your tax returns. Request a special prosecutor to investigate campaign-Russia collusion allegations. Ask five Democrat and five Republican House of Representatives and five Democrat and five Republican Senators to meet with you and develop a plan focused on resolving a multitude of issues that affect Americans and our 224 trading partners. Grow up. Act like a leader and not a presidential campaigner. Become an honorable versus embarrassing president as a sense of tragedy is before us, Americas democracy is in jeopardy and we are not a circus act.
Steve Corbin is an emeritus professor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa. Reach him atSteven.B.Corbin@gmail.com.
Link:
Corbin: America's democracy should not be a circus | Columnists ... - Mason City Globe Gazette
- The Best and Worst of 2025s Fight for Democracy - Democracy Docket - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- Did 2025 mark the end of British parliamentary democracy as we know it? | Andy Beckett - The Guardian - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- The canary in the democracy mine is local journalism | Vince Bzdek - Colorado Politics - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- When Rituals Break: Why Deepfakes Threaten Democracy Differently in the Global South - Modern Diplomacy - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- USA: Supporting democracy defenders - ARTICLE 19 - Defending freedom of expression and information. - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- Opinion | Democracy is on the ballot in 2026 - The Cap Times - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- A Tribute to Blacklisted Lyricist Yip Harburg: The Man Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz - Democracy Now! - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- Is democracy always about truth? Why we may need to loosen our views to heal our divisions - The Conversation - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- Young People Arent Abandoning Democracy Theyre Waiting to Be Invited In - Bucks County Beacon - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- Trump is canceling the rule of law and U.S. democracy - The Japan Times - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- After Bondi Beach: Anti-Semitism is a threat to Australias diverse democracy - America Magazine - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- An Israeli media mainstay is crumbling. Will liberal democracy go with it? - The Forward - December 27th, 2025 [December 27th, 2025]
- DOJ Likely Pulled Photo of Trump from Released Epstein Files - Democracy Docket - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Times letters: Delayed elections and the threat to democracy - The Times - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Local democracy is holding strong, but rural communities are falling behind, new survey of Michigan officials shows - The Conversation - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Republicans Are Fully on Board with Trump's Attack on Mail Voting. But the Beltway Press Won't Say it - Democracy Docket - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Democracy on the Brink - Magnum Photos - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Trumps Hand-Picked Board Adds Trumps Name to John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - Democracy Now! - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Is democracy the worst form of government apart from all the others? We asked 5 experts - The Conversation - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Meet the Faces of Democracy: Karen Brinson Bell - The Fulcrum - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Jury Convicts Wisconsin Judge of Obstructing ICE In Precedent-Setting Case - Democracy Docket - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Suspect in Brown University Shooting Found Dead as Investigators Link Him to MIT Murder - Democracy Now! - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- After 2025, is there still reason to believe in democracy? Its up to the people. - Atlanta Civic Circle - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Democracy Watch: Candidates in the 2026 midterm elections toe the starting line, ready to race for party nominations - Asheville Watchdog - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- If democracy is at stake, a flawed redistricting effort is not the cure - Baltimore Fishbowl - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- ICC Rejects Israels Bid to Block War Crimes Probe in Gaza - Democracy Now! - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- In Mamdanis Win, New York Has Reclaimed Democracy From Those Who Sold It - Washington Report on Middle East Affairs - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- Another Infant Freezes to Death in Gaza as Israel Continues to Violate Oct. 10 Ceasefire - Democracy Now! - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- The year that could be Democracy and society - ips-journal.eu - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- How the Israel Democracy Institute abandoned both Israel and democracy - JNS.org - December 21st, 2025 [December 21st, 2025]
- John Roberts has badly weakened our democracy. Will he ever stand up to Trump? | Steven Greenhouse - The Guardian - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Rep. Gomez Introduces the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act - U.S. Representative Jimmy Gomez (.gov) - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- South Koreas Fractured Democracy: One Year After Martial Law - The Diplomat Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Democracy & Transition with President Bernardo Arvalo of Guatemala - Washington Office on Latin America | WOLA - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- U.S.-Backed Ceasefire Is Cover for Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza & West Bank: Sari Bashi - Democracy Now! - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Maureen Edobor Appears on Law and Democracy Podcast - Washington and Lee University - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Why we shouldn't give up on representative democracy just yet - European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Guarding Democracy from Within: The EUs Struggle Against Internal Democratic Backsliding - Stanford University - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Opinion: The AIPAC Backlash Isnt About Foreign Influence or Democracy - Washington Jewish Week - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- School boards are bastions of democracy, and libraries face funding cuts - WPR - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Democracy in action today with Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, certifying Novembers election results. Thank you to everyone who participated in our... - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Democracy Works: Fixing the information ecosystem starts with us - WPSU - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Cecilia Vicua: Democracy allowed a teenager like me to be free. When that was removed, it was like the end of the world - The Irish Times - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Making Noise in the Cold for Democracy! - HillRag - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- The Five Elections That Will Be Pivotal for Global Politics and Democracy in 2026 - World Politics Review - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- Amazon employees warn company's AI 'will do staggering damage to democracy, our jobs, and the earth - Fortune - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- The EUs Road to Censorship The Democracy Shield - Hungarian Conservative - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- EDITORIAL: Governor should sign bills that support democracy - The Daily Gazette - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- DEM Party urges Ankara to open dialogue channel with Kurdish leaders and allow Ilham Ahmed to attend Istanbul democracy and peace conference -... - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- What Democracy Really Means: Plato and Mill Still Have Something to Say - vocal.media - December 4th, 2025 [December 4th, 2025]
- My guide to populist-proofing your democracy before its too late | Timothy Garton Ash - The Guardian - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Can democracy survive without reading? - WBUR - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- We shouldnt expect democracy to last for ever - The Times - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Rebuilding the Arsenal of Democracy - Hoover Institution - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- The small fights for democracy are the epics of our time - Alabama Reflector - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Celebrating the Inter-American Democratic Charter: Advancing Democracy and Prosperity in the Americas - International IDEA - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Policy Violence: ICE Raids & Shredding of Social Safety Net Are Linked, Says Bishop William Barber - Democracy Now! - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Eugenia Mitchelstein on whether public skepticism of the press could actually be good for democracy. - Columbia Journalism Review - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Democracy Looks Pretty Ordinary And Thats What Makes it Extraordinary - Seed World - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Ending Violence Against Women: Strengthening Democracy Is Part of the Solution - International IDEA - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- This Week in Democracy Week 45: Trump Gets Away With Efforts to Overturn 2020 Election Again - Zeteo - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Stacey Abrams on writing, AI and democracy - Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- The Epstein Class: Anand Giridharadas on the Elite Network Around the Sexual Predator - Democracy Now! - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- This Week at Democracy Docket: Trumps Texas Gerrymander Blocked, and the GOP Calls ICE on Signature Gatherers - Democracy Docket - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Musings on the state of our democracy - Great Bend Tribune - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Memo to the Secretary of State: In the upcoming Honduran elections, democracy and US interests are at stake - Atlantic Council - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Governments and stakeholders reaffirm environmental democracy as cornerstone for tackling the triple planetary crisis - UNECE - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- The Guardian view on the peers lobbying scandal: Lords reform is a vital step for restoring trust in democracy | Editorial - The Guardian - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- From revolution to democracy - Plymouth Review - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- AI in Journalism and Democracy: Can We Rely on It? - Impakter - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Divided We Fall: Antisemitism and Democracy in Crisis with Moment Institute Fellows - Moment Magazine - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Democracy at the Microphone: A conversation with journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro - Massachusetts Daily Collegian - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Human Rights and Democracy - Netherlands and you - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Democracy Is in Trouble. This Region Is Turning to Its People. - The New York Times - November 23rd, 2025 [November 23rd, 2025]
- Americans like democracy, but dont believe it or US institutions are working well, poll finds - AP News - November 23rd, 2025 [November 23rd, 2025]
- Democracy in Peril: Chairwoman Salazar Highlights Urgent Threats to Honduras Elections - House.gov - November 23rd, 2025 [November 23rd, 2025]
- This is how democracy should work, hope to see this in India: Shashi Tharoor lauds Trump-Mamdani meet - Deccan Herald - November 23rd, 2025 [November 23rd, 2025]
- The democracy we want, and the one we see - Civic Nebraska - November 23rd, 2025 [November 23rd, 2025]
- How Has War Shaped American Democracy? - American Academy of Arts and Sciences - November 23rd, 2025 [November 23rd, 2025]
- Rebuilding Democracy in the Age of Brain Rot - The Fulcrum - November 23rd, 2025 [November 23rd, 2025]