National Emergencies, Chicken hats, and more
A fascinating week of conversations 'On Democracy'
Could South Korea Happen Here?
I asked that question last week as I watched the events unfold when the president declared martial law and chaos ensued and continues. After Parliament voted down his efforts the military stood down and the fallout began.
We have since found out that the Commander of the Special Forces was charged with taking over the National Assembly and removing the members and their staff but decided it was an unlawful order and refused. In addition, he did not issue live ammo to his men as he saw scuffles with civilians. His brave actions saved things from escalating over a cliff.
The Parliament convened to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday but were thwarted by the ruling party refusing to attend and depriving them of enough votes. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets demanding accountability.
So, could it happen here.
Luckily I was tipped off to an effort by the Niskanen Center and 34 other cross-ideological groups including the ACLU pursuing reform of the National Emergencies Act with two efforts before the Senate now. I wanted to know how our laws are different than South Korea’s and if that kind of a situation could happen here so I was fortunate to speak with Soren Dayton, the head of governance at Niskanen.
The answer is…no…but maybe. As it turns out the current NEA has a million holes in it and has been used by both parties to push through special interest items. Trump used it to transfer funds from the DOD to his border wall and Biden used it to cancel student loans.
It was a really educational chat on the latest ‘On Democracy with FPWellman’.
Chickens, WWEducation, Press Act and Virginia elections
The new On Democracy Sunday was just as much fun as I hoped as well as informative. My panel guests were the indomitable actress and activist Heather Thomas and teacher, writer, and organizer Sari Beth Rosenberg. We talked about the collective exhaustion we’ve all felt since the election as well as the need to find community and issues you care about as we move into defense against the next Trump Administration.
We also talked about chicken hats and how insane it is that Linda McMahon has been tagged for the Department of Education.
I was then joined by guest Milo Vassallo the Executive Director of the The Media and Democracy Project (MAD) to discuss the Press Act that is in front of the Senate now that includes protections for journalists and their sources. The effort is part of MAD’s ongoing mission to fight misinformation, disinformation, and threats to the 1st Amendment.
Finally, Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer came on for the interview to discuss special elections that are occuring in the Commonwealth on January 7th that if won will give Democrats a large enough majority to pass protections for abortion care and more. That’s before the off year elections for Governor, Lt. Governor, and AG as well as the entire House of Delegates and much of the Senate. Virginia has become a key bellwether state and there is a chance to send Republicans a strong message next year.
Check out the whole show and join us LIVE next Sunday at 11:00 AM ET/8:00 AM PT for another great show.
Another informative and broad-ranfing episode.
Think how different the country would look had Democratic leadership spent half the time and energy as Fred in educating the electorate as to the stakes and opportunities.
The courageous disobedience of the professional military officers is possible here but, due to the lack of a culture of honor here, seems less likely.