Opinion | No, the threat to democracy is not the same in both parties

Jason Willick argued in his June 5 op-ed, “‘Democracy vs. autocracy’ is the wrong framing,” that, on the basis of recent political psychology experiments, Republicans and Democrats remain fundamentally committed to democratic norms and procedures, and that the greatest threat to democracy derives from a misguided fear that the other party will cheat to win.

Mr. Willick’s argument represented a decontextualized reading of our political environment. One political party has based its strategy (from President Richard M. Nixon’s Southern strategy to the current anti-woke hysteria) on the privileging of White Christians and their worldview — and the concurrent demonization and disenfranchisement of others. One political party surrendered itself to an authoritarian cult of personality and actively or passively supported a multipronged insurrection against a legitimately conducted election then attempted to minimize its significance and protect those responsible. One political party elected more than 100 election deniers to Congress and will probably renominate an authoritarian as its presidential candidate.

Mr. Willick’s claim that anxiety about antidemocratic tendencies in the GOP is itself to blame for democracy’s discontents amounts to gaslighting.

Mark Rupert, Syracuse, N.Y.

Jason Willick argued that the risk of authoritarianism doesn’t come from hostility to democracy but from “Americans’ deepening attachment to democracy and their growing fear that it will be taken away.” But Mr. Willick did not provide a full picture of the current political reality.

Authoritarian threats at the state level play out in efforts to make voting harder, remove books from libraries and paint transgender Americans as inhuman.

In a democracy, voters are, ironically, free to choose authoritarianism. However, it is essential that voters make informed decisions. Framing our politics as a choice between candidates who support liberal democracy and candidates who seek authoritarian control is on the mark.

Chris Edelson, Washington

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