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Secret Ballots are the Solution [1]

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Date: 2025-03-01

There once was a time when legislators could disagree with each other, and with their president, and still retain a working relationship. Legislators could negotiate with each other, and with president, by offering mutual bribes (sorry, by trading support for each others’ bills), and perhaps there were some veiled threats exchanged as well, but this is the first time, as far as I know, that a president and his minions are actively and publicly threatening anyone who votes against his policies. Consequences of stepping out of line are at least a lavishly-funded primary opponent and possibly even violence against the legislators or their families. “Nice grocery store you got here, it would be a shame if it burned down.” It is time to institute some protection. I suggest secret ballots on all important votes. I’m sure even Republicans senators would admit that if the cabinet appointees had been considered by secret ballot, at least five and likely closer to ten would have been rejected. Indeed, it is amusing to imagine the scorn with which 90% of those nominees would have been greeted on the Republican side, had they been offered by a Democratic president. Senators cannot be expected to vote their consciences, or even the desires of their constituents, when they are receiving letters from groups encouraged (and pardoned) by the President threatening the lives of their families.

Republicans are scared shitless of Trump, and Democrats either have no power or are (still!) unwilling to wield it. Remember how Tommy Tuberville single-handedly stopped all appointments for over a year because he was pissed off about military abortions? Where is the Democrat willing to do that now? We have much more important things to be pissed off about. I understand, cabinet nominees are exempt from filibusters and appointment stops, but there must be something left. Tuberville stopped military promotions. Isn’t Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff a promotion? Why aren’t we stopping that?

Secret ballots are the only way to get Republican lawmakers to vote the way they think they should. It is what got John Thune elected as majority leader, and it could allow the Senate to block some of Trump’s more egregious actions. Every Senator would have cover and be able to claim that they voted for Trump’s policies/appointments, even when the numbers show that they didn’t. It could save their seats and their families. Of course, the downside is that when it comes to election time, voters would not know how their representative voted so they could not evaluate whether to re-elect them. There would have to be some reveal process as elections approach, but we are far away from that now and we cannot expect the legislative branch to save us from someone willing to take unconstitutional actions unless their votes are hidden from the dictator-in-chief.

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