LZ Granderson is a journalist and political analyst. He was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and the Hechinger Institute at Columbia University, and is a co-host of ESPN's "SportsNation" and ESPN LA 710's "Mornings With Keyshawn, LZ and Travis." Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @lzgranderson. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.

(CNN) "Breaking Bad," season four, episode six:

Skyler White, in an argument with her husband, Walter, tells him he's in over his head and expresses concern for his safety. Walter turns and responds with one of the most chilling lines in television history:

"I am not in danger Skyler, I am the danger."

LZ Granderson

That scene, that quote, is what I thought about when I learned Republican state leaders in Wisconsin and Michigan called emergency sessions in an attempt to pass a number of measures that will limit the executive power of the newly elected incoming Democratic governors (who unseated Republicans) and attorneys general while increasing their own. In Michigan, that Republican grab also targets a newly elected secretary of state.

Their Republican supporters, much like Skyler, may think the change of party in the governor's mansion is the pending "danger," but they are mistaken. The danger is here now, staring them in the face from the mirror. For history has shown that democracies like ours do not fall from outside attacks or osmosis. No, they are torn apart from within by the effective disenfranchisement of citizenry.