Nine decades after the publication of "It Can’t Happen Here,"
Sinclair Lewis’s dystopian novel about a fictional fascist dictator seizing power in the US,
the scenario it imagines seems less far-fetched than at any other point in the 250-year existence of the American republic.
Then, Lewis looked to Nazi Germany as a warning:
his wife was the journalist Dorothy Thompson, who had interviewed Adolf Hitler and subsequently been expelled by his regime.
Today, the authoritarian model can be observed in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary.
Fidesz was a centre-right party that became radicalised in power, and since then has deployed anti-migrant hysteria to build support,
demonised opponents as unpatriotic foreign puppets,
rigged the media in its favour
and trashed judicial independence, building what Orbán describes as an “illiberal democracy”.
It is a trajectory perhaps most strikingly pioneered by Putin:
you keep the trappings of democracy, with the substance gradually rotted away.
Shortly before the assassination attempt, Trump hosted Orbán
– who has endorsed the Republican presidential nominee
– at Mar-a-Lago.
Democratic culture in the US is stronger and more embedded than in Hungary.
But Trump is even more demagogic than Orbán, with a more extreme and motivated grassroots base.
Furthermore, he is more vengeful and radicalised than ever
– the relative moderates in his entourage have left in horror at his plans for the presidency.
The supreme court has a conservative majority, and a Trump presidential victory could easily be accompanied by Republican victory in both houses of Congress, meaning precious few checks and balances.
Trump has floated cancelling the US constitution and jailing his political opponents,
and his promise only to be a dictator on “day one” (and not after) is hardly reassuring.
Trump’s return to the White House is likely to be met with a response on the streets.
Any such protests could be used as a pretext to impose authoritarian measures, perhaps even martial law.
Trump reportedly told the top US military leader to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020.
You can see how it could spiral.
We don’t yet know the motive of Trump’s suspected shooter,
but the episode will be used by Republicans to shut down scrutiny of Trump and the danger he poses to the republic on the grounds that it is inciting further violence against him.
This is despite the fact that the vast majority of extremist violence in the US is perpetrated by rightwing elements.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/17/american-republic-democrats-us-trump-demagogue?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Chuck Darwin /
npub189…vstm6
2024-07-17 16:48:14
Author Public Key
npub189h30c785w27s474gju2947zgnmrrc695elyk5lguewsl232salqdvstm6Published at
2024-07-17 16:48:14Event JSON
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"content": "Nine decades after the publication of \"It Can’t Happen Here,\"\n Sinclair Lewis’s dystopian novel about a fictional fascist dictator seizing power in the US, \nthe scenario it imagines seems less far-fetched than at any other point in the 250-year existence of the American republic. \n\nThen, Lewis looked to Nazi Germany as a warning: \nhis wife was the journalist Dorothy Thompson, who had interviewed Adolf Hitler and subsequently been expelled by his regime. \n\nToday, the authoritarian model can be observed in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. \nFidesz was a centre-right party that became radicalised in power, and since then has deployed anti-migrant hysteria to build support, \ndemonised opponents as unpatriotic foreign puppets, \nrigged the media in its favour \nand trashed judicial independence, building what Orbán describes as an “illiberal democracy”. \n\nIt is a trajectory perhaps most strikingly pioneered by Putin: \nyou keep the trappings of democracy, with the substance gradually rotted away. \n\nShortly before the assassination attempt, Trump hosted Orbán \n– who has endorsed the Republican presidential nominee \n– at Mar-a-Lago.\n\nDemocratic culture in the US is stronger and more embedded than in Hungary. \n\nBut Trump is even more demagogic than Orbán, with a more extreme and motivated grassroots base. \n\nFurthermore, he is more vengeful and radicalised than ever \n– the relative moderates in his entourage have left in horror at his plans for the presidency. \n\nThe supreme court has a conservative majority, and a Trump presidential victory could easily be accompanied by Republican victory in both houses of Congress, meaning precious few checks and balances. \n\nTrump has floated cancelling the US constitution and jailing his political opponents, \nand his promise only to be a dictator on “day one” (and not after) is hardly reassuring.\n\nTrump’s return to the White House is likely to be met with a response on the streets. \nAny such protests could be used as a pretext to impose authoritarian measures, perhaps even martial law. \n\nTrump reportedly told the top US military leader to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020. \nYou can see how it could spiral. \nWe don’t yet know the motive of Trump’s suspected shooter, \nbut the episode will be used by Republicans to shut down scrutiny of Trump and the danger he poses to the republic on the grounds that it is inciting further violence against him. \n\nThis is despite the fact that the vast majority of extremist violence in the US is perpetrated by rightwing elements.\n\n https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/17/american-republic-democrats-us-trump-demagogue?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other",
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