De la Torre: Saving democracy from populism

"Populist politicians, despite their ideological differences, thrive on polarization. They use an antagonistic discourse to position rivals as existential enemies. They identify their supporters as the only 'authentic' people in their nation and consider it their mission to save them while excluding others based on ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, or political grounds. While in office, they follow a playbook that seeks to concentrate power in the presidency. They wage war against the media. And use the law to punish critics. When faced with political loss, they seek to delegitimize democracy with claims of rigged elections and then embrace a continuing legacy of sowing distrust in democratic institutions." —Carlos de la Torre on Newswise

Carlos de la Torre is the director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida and the co-author of the newly released book "Global Populisms."

MORE: Mark Meadows faces contempt referral after failure to show for deposition —The Guardian

Ullman: Democracy on the brink

"The inability of government, regardless of which party is in charge, to respond in a timely fashion to the needs of the nation and public is breeding anger, hostility, resentment, and cynicism that spills over into daily life. Violent behavior on airliners; death threats to those with different points of views or politicians of the other party; massive purchases of firearms for self-defense; and a general coarseness in interpersonal relations are unmissable symptoms of a political cancer eating away at our democracy." —Harlan Ullman in The Hill

Harlan Ullman is United Press International's Arnaud deBorchgrave Distinguished Columnist and the author of "The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD: The Tragic History of How Massive Attacks of Disruption Endangered, Infected, Engulfed, and Disunited a 51% Nation and the Rest of the World."

MORE: Trump defends threats to 'hang' Pence —Axios

Whitman: Lessons from the election

"Republicans must eschew Trumpism—and keep him out of the race—if they hope to win independents going forward. Even though extremists on both sides shout the loudest, most voters find themselves in the sensible center and are looking for moderation with their votes. Both parties ignore this reality at their own peril." —Christine Todd Whitman on NJ.com

Christine Todd Whitman was the governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and served as EPA administrator under former President George W. Bush.

MORE: Sen. Richard Shelby to spend $5 million to boost former aide running to replace him against Rep. Mo Brooks —The Washington Post

Corbin: Disinformation, misinformation, and our social media problem

"We've got to manage the social media animal we permitted to get out of the cage that has taken dangerous control with unfounded conspiracies and other harm. As a start, it wouldn't hurt for critical thinking and logical reasoning courses to be offered in all K-12 and postsecondary institutions so people will learn how to discern fact from fiction and truth from conspiracy nonsense." —Steve Corbin on nwestiowa.com

Steve Corbin is a professor emeritus at the University of Northern Iowa.

MORE: Three out of four adults think Facebook is making society worse —CNN

Mancuso: Immigration and climate are intertwined

"Next year, voters will cast their ballots in the midterm elections. With the entire House and 34 Senate seats up for grabs next November, there will be a lot of talk about immigration, and rightfully so, as the immigration system is broken. But it's not entirely for the reasons you think. Migration patterns of people coming to the United States are being exacerbated by the climate crisis. … As politicians call for changes to America's immigration policy, they are missing the mark if they don't likewise advocate for climate policy. The influx of immigrants is a symptom of the larger problem of climate change. Thus, reforming immigration alone, without concurrently addressing climate change, is going to be like crossing fingers that sea walls will hold." —Mary Anna Mancuso in Orlando Sentinel

Mary Anna Mancuso is a political strategist and a spokesperson for RepublicEn.org.

MORE: Edward Alden: Immigration reform needs a new strategy —Foreign Policy

Nemat: A thin line separates democracy from tyranny

"If Western democracies are not on guard, their citizens can fall prey to the same kinds of leaders who now control Iran's political infrastructure. The revolutionary leaders were populists who promised to return power to the people after decades of monarchical rule, and for many disenfranchised voters in democracies who feel their elected officials have ignored their struggles, the populist messaging can have quite a strong appeal—even if it is just a ploy. But the risk is not only in losing civil or democratic rights, but in being punished for challenging the authority figures who have stripped citizens of those rights." —Marina Nemat on CNN

Marina Nemat is the author of two memoirs, "Prisoner of Tehran" and "After Tehran," and a fellow of the Renew Democracy Initiative's Frontlines of Freedom project.

MORE: Fatou Jaw Manneh: Our deepest fear for American democracy—and the world —CNN

Kasparov: We can renew democracy—or lose it forever

"All around the world, demagogues are pushing the same dangerous message: democracy is broken and should be discarded. Their attacks on democracy are only aided—even if unintentionally—by America seemingly losing interest in protecting the liberal, democratic order it helped create. … Democracy is a privilege, and we all have a responsibility to defend it. The American republic may have its flaws, but there is nothing wrong with American democracy that cannot be fixed by American democracy. Today, we can either be the generation that renews democracy, or loses it forever." —Garry Kasparov on CNN

Garry Kasparov is chair of the Human Rights Foundation and the Renew Democracy Initiative.

MORE: Jennifer Rubin: A new report shows how much work is needed to protect democracy —The Washington Post

The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse may focus on the specific acts committed in the environment of the unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that drew him there. The law will justly have it so. However, regarding what compelled him to go to Kenosha in the first place, he is entitled to no sympathy for having indulged himself in the ego-flattering notion promoted by specific media outlets of supposed injury from disdained or denigrated identity. His journey follows the same psychological path as that of a radicalized Islamist foreign fighter. The will to do violence against fellow citizens of a different identity (a "them") has been nurtured by such media outlets, for it finds a revenue-bearing audience and thus a political constituency. —Stephen J., Pennsylvania

I agree with Donna C. from California. People are criticizing Biden unfairly. Consider where the country would be if he had not won the election, or if the Jan. 6 coup had succeeded. We'd be on a fast track to totalitarianism. Consider all that has been revealed recently: extensive planning at the Willard Hotel to overturn the election, blanket pardons offered to insurrectionists, John Eastman's plan to destroy the succession process, etc. If Trump were still president, we would likely know none of that; the evidence would have been destroyed. At least with Biden in office we have an opportunity to save the republic. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from that effort. —Tim P., New Mexico

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.