If the democrats lose the election, I fully expect them to roll over and let Trump take power. In that case, Trump would have the institutions on his side, even as he seeks to dismantle those same institutions going forward. Democrats constantly show themselves to be willing to play by the rules, even as Republicans show themselves to be willing to bend those rules.
If he loses the election, I expect there will be an attempt to take power anyways (again), but I think that attempt is likely to fail (again) when he doesn’t have the institutions on his side.
The degree of difference between the two potential outcomes is quite pronounced. You can say “Both sides bad” and you’d be right, but bad vs good is not a binary, it’s a spectrum, and there’s a huge degree of difference in how bad the two sides are.
If he loses the election, I expect there will be an attempt to take power anyways (again), but I think that attempt is likely to fail (again) when he doesn’t have the institutions on his side.
This is the bit that I don’t quite agree with. If the fascists are powerful enough to assert absolute power if they win, then they are also powerful enough to overturn the results if they lose. This is what has historically happened with fascism, you can’t get it to leave by playing nice. Either they are strong enough to overturn the election anyways, or they aren’t strong enough to overpower blue states in a GOP federal win.
Hitler gained power “legally” and then made changes to secure and increase it until he was a dictator
Mussolini was democratically elected, then secured and increased his power until he was a dictator
Trump will try to get elected, then try to secure and increase his power until he is a dictator
Most institutions follow the laws, so a person trying to seize power by force will have to fight much harder that someone that gains power through normal means, and then manipulates said institutions from the inside
Hitler lost the 1932 Election, the liberals sided with the fascists and conceded power. It was “above board,” but could only happen because of the embedded influence of the Nazi Party.
If the democrats lose the election, I fully expect them to roll over and let Trump take power. In that case, Trump would have the institutions on his side, even as he seeks to dismantle those same institutions going forward. Democrats constantly show themselves to be willing to play by the rules, even as Republicans show themselves to be willing to bend those rules.
If he loses the election, I expect there will be an attempt to take power anyways (again), but I think that attempt is likely to fail (again) when he doesn’t have the institutions on his side.
The degree of difference between the two potential outcomes is quite pronounced. You can say “Both sides bad” and you’d be right, but bad vs good is not a binary, it’s a spectrum, and there’s a huge degree of difference in how bad the two sides are.
This is the bit that I don’t quite agree with. If the fascists are powerful enough to assert absolute power if they win, then they are also powerful enough to overturn the results if they lose. This is what has historically happened with fascism, you can’t get it to leave by playing nice. Either they are strong enough to overturn the election anyways, or they aren’t strong enough to overpower blue states in a GOP federal win.
Hitler gained power “legally” and then made changes to secure and increase it until he was a dictator
Mussolini was democratically elected, then secured and increased his power until he was a dictator
Trump will try to get elected, then try to secure and increase his power until he is a dictator
Most institutions follow the laws, so a person trying to seize power by force will have to fight much harder that someone that gains power through normal means, and then manipulates said institutions from the inside
Hitler lost the 1932 Election, the liberals sided with the fascists and conceded power. It was “above board,” but could only happen because of the embedded influence of the Nazi Party.