The movement to strengthen democracy in America is not struggling because its enemies are too strong. It is hobbling because its friends are too many.
I have spent decades inside the machinery of social action movements. I have convened rival cancer organizations under a single coalition, mobilized over a thousand corporations to withdraw from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine (earning a #6 ranking on Vladimir Putin’s “Enemies of the Russian Federation” list), and activated hundreds of top business leaders to address urgent governance reforms after the scandals of 2001.
I have rallied business leaders in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, convened 100 leading CEOs right after the 2020 election controversy to certify the authenticity of the election results and avert a constitutional crisis; brought together the same group plus voting rights advocates in 2021 to defuse voting suppression initiatives, and ensured multi-sector collaboration during the 2008 financial crisis.
In such causes and others, I watched the risk of the same pathology unfold: a critical cause, staffed by genuinely dedicated people and organizations, slowly strangled by the proliferation of groups claiming to serve it. The weeds did not kill the garden. The flowers did.
That same pattern is now threatening the most consequential civic effort of our time. America has witnessed a proliferation of voting rights groups with sound justification and demonstrable results, but there comes a point when there may be too much of a good thing. Worse still, a kaleidoscope of pro-democracy advocacy groups can end up siphoning funds in diffuse directions and confusing the very constituents they seek to inspire.
The United States alone has roughly 180 overlapping voting rights advocacy groups, 5,000 cancer control organizations, 17,145 civil rights and social justice organizations, roughly 30,000 organizations addressing global hunger, and 33,000 environmental activist organiz
