Mellman: Legitimacy: A crisis of governance

Perhaps we have reason to be complacent about the persistence of our democracy. 

It’s lasted nearly 230 years, through war, depression, recession, cultural change and even civil war. Still not perfect, it has, with fits and starts and setbacks, gotten more so over time.

{mosads}I imagine the Athenians felt pretty comfortable about their democracy, too — it lasted for 250 years before falling into dictatorship.

Modern history suggests we cannot take democracy for granted. Nearly half of the world’s attempts at democratization have been reversed.

I’m not hinting that America is on the verge of authoritarianism, but there’s little question that the legitimacy of our government is eroding — and that legitimacy is critical to its smooth functioning.

While most of us grumble about our taxes at some point, we pay them. It’s not because we fear an IRS agent breaking down our door in the middle of the night; we recognize the right of our representatives to levy those taxes.

Similarly, we stop at red lights not because we assume there’s a police car hiding behind every tree, but because we grant authority to government to regulate traffic.

Kiefer Sutherland fans will recognize the importance of legitimacy from a recent episode of the new TV drama “Designated Survivor.” A fictional governor of Michigan regards Sutherland’s presidency as illegitimate and so ignores his orders, as does the commander of the state’s National Guard, which has been legally federalized. Drama and instability ensue.

Back in the real world, when Al Gore immediately accepted a highly politicized Supreme Court decision that deprived him of the presidency, despite the fact that he won the national popular vote and probably won Florida and the Electoral College, he not only made a dramatic statement about the legitimacy of the process, he also reinforced those norms with voters. With just a few words Gore could have created a crisis of governance. 

Nonetheless, the data make clear that the legitimacy of our government is wearing thin. Legitimacy can be measured across several dimensions, and it’s weakening on most.

Through much of the 1950s and ’60s, two-thirds to three-fourths of Americans said the federal government could be trusted at least most of the time. As recently as 2004, it was 47 percent. By 2008, just 22 percent of Americans trusted the federal government to do what is right at least most of the time.

In the ’50s and ’60s, a quarter to a third of Americans thought quite a few of the people running the -government were “crooked.” After Watergate, it jumped to the mid-40s. In 2012, 64 percent thought quite a few of those running the government were “crooked.”

In 2012, the number who believed elections make the government pay attention to what people think was cut in half.

In addition to examining these assessments, over time we can compare them across space. The results aren’t pretty.

Only 35 percent of Americans have confidence in their national government. That puts us 1 point ahead of South Africa and 2 points ahead of Mexico, and well behind countries as diverse as Switzerland, India, Indonesia, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Turkey.

Americans are even losing confidence in the vote count. 

In 2000, nearly 60 percent were very confident that votes across the country would be accurately counted. Today, it’s down to just 24 percent.

It’s hardly a portrait that screams legitimacy: corrupt politicians, inhabiting a government that is neither responsive to voters’ wishes nor trustworthy in carrying out its objectives, put into place by a vote count that may not reflect the true wishes of the governed. 

So when Donald Trump tells his supporters the election is “rigged,” he is stepping on fertile, but dangerous, ground.

It’s fertile, for him — many voters will agree, and have agreed for some time.

But it’s dangerous for our country, which relies on public acceptance of political decisions to move forward.

I’d feel better if I believed Trump put the national interest above his ego.

Mellman is president of The Mellman Group and has worked for Democratic candidates and causes since 1982. Current clients include the minority leader of the Senate and the Democratic whip in the House.