The answer: nothing good.
Consider a new study from Transparency International, an independent nonprofit group that, according to its website, “work[s] to expose the systems and networks that enable corruption to thrive, demanding greater transparency and integrity in all areas of public life.”
The United States comes in a tie for 27th place — with Chile. Both have a Corruption Perception Index score of 67.
The United States’ Corruption Perception Index score had been on the decline for several years. In 2015, the US was at 76. In 2016, 74. By 2020, the US was down to 67, where it remained in 2021.
“The country’s lack of progress on the CPI can be explained by the persistent attacks against free and fair elections, culminating in a violent assault on the US Capitol, and an increasingly opaque campaign finance system.”
Turns out that a former president — and undisputed leader of the Republican Party — actively undermining what was a free and fair election has consequences. Real and lasting ones.
The Point: American democracy withstood Trump’s attempt to override it in 2020 — but only barely. The scars from that attempt — and the ongoing work to raise questions about the validity of the election — remain.
