Could Democrats Back a Trump-Like Authoritarian?
Back when Trump was still new to office, and most of America had no idea what kind of ride the country would be in for, there was an odd debate happening centered around the concept of whether Trump was solely a Republican phenomenon or if Trump could have found success running as a Democrat. This debate ranged the spectrum from folks on Twitter putting forth Sean Penn as a Trump-like Democrat to this article from Jonathan Chait in The Intelligencer, where Chait concludes that Trump is a historical outlier. Chait, writing in a simpler time of 2017, uses some polling data and other common-sense, common-knowledge language to assure readers that not only is Trump an outlier, but he's a distinctly Republican outlier.
This week, Axios published poll results that make the certainness of his conclusion more suspect. Axios finds that "one in three Americans prefers strong unelected leaders to weak elected leaders and says presidents should be able to remove judges over their decisions." More specifically, 42% of Republicans prefer a strong unelected leader to a weak elected leader compared to 31% of Democrats. And 42% of Republicans think presidents should remove judges based on their decisions compared to 29% of Democrats. Republicans, at 39%, and Democrats, at 38%, are almost tied for agreeing that Governments should align with the majority's will over ethnic/religious minority rights.
Many will read this and conclude that the percentage of Americans who hold these stances represents a minority of the population. While that is correct, it shows that the potential for an anti-democratic leader exists no matter what party you belong to. Not to mention that one-third of Americans is still roughly 110 million people, which is not an insignificant number. It was not that long ago, five years to be exact, that many thought Trump was an outlier and that darker parts of his nature could be controlled. But what we saw over those five years should put that aberration language to death for good. Trump is no longer a deviation from the norm; he has remade the Republican party in his image. Indeed you could argue that the whole of the conservative movement is becoming Trump-lite when stalwarts like the Heritage Foundation join National Conservatism.
The plain truth is that right now, at this point in American history, it is possible for many Americans, regardless of party, to support an anti-democratic candidate so long as that candidate speaks to their needs. That is what Trump did. He identified a segment of the population that, while small, was large enough in the right areas to put him in the White House, and he spoke directly to them. It would be foolish to believe that someone could not do the same as a member of the Democratic Party. The only defense we have against these anti-democratic leaders is to continue supporting all Americans' rights, no matter how we line up with them. The Bill of Rights is for all Americans, regardless of race, gender, religion, or political party. Fortunately, a majority of Americans still agree with that principle. We are still a Republic, but can we keep it?
3 More Things
1) Yougov.com has new polling out that adds to the fire the heightened sense that political violence will increase in the future. In particular, their chart demonstrating that "many dire scenarios for the U.S. seem likely in the next decade to more Republicans than Democrats." 65% of Republicans believe there will be an economic collapse, and 49% believe there will be a total breakdown of law and order. But perhaps most troubling are the 48% of Republicans who believe the government will come for their guns in the next decade.
2) AP News, working with PBS' Frontline, has a profile of Michael Flynn and the shadow he is still casting over anti-democratic, far-right groups and their efforts to make America a Christian Nationalist haven. Flynn is undoubtedly trying to lead a movement as he backs political candidates intent on denying the results of the 2020 election and willing to do anything to avoid an outcome of Trump or someone like him losing in the future. As the article notes, it is striking and disturbing that a three-star general could lead this movement.
3) According to a New York Times story, the Justice Department is ramping up its Jan 6 investigation. The Times reports that the DOJ issued 40 subpoenas in a week and seized the phones of two top Trump advisers. (Potentially related to these subpoenas, My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell is reporting that the FBI also confiscated his phone while in a Hardee's.) At least some of the subpoenas published asked for documents that individuals had already turned over to the Jan 6 Committee.