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Trump's real goal

The Salon article referenced there is worth a read.

http://www.salon.com/2017/05/01/historian-timothy-snyder-its-pretty-much-inevitable-that-trump-will-try-to-stage-a-coup-and-overthrow-democracy/

I think this is on point:

Why is Trump not being held accountable for all of his failures, scandals and incompetence?

"Mr. Trump is primarily a television personality. As such, he is judged by that standard. This means that a scandal does not call forth a response; it calls forth the desire for a bigger scandal. It just whets the appetite for a bigger scandal because a television serial has to work on that logic. It’s almost as though he has to produce these outrageous things because what else would he be doing?

I think another part of it has to do with attention span. It’s not so much a lack of outrage; people are in fact outraged. But in order for a scandal to have political logic, the outrage has to be followed by the research. It has to be followed by the investigation. It has to be followed by an official finding."

Also, as to Trump attempting to seize power:

"The first is that I think it’s pretty much inevitable that they will try. The reason I think that is that the conventional ways of being popular are not working out for them. The conventional way to be popular or to be legitimate in this country is to have some policies, to grow your popularity ratings and to win some elections. I don’t think 2018 is looking very good for the Republicans along those conventional lines — not just because the president is historically unpopular. It’s also because neither the White House nor Congress have any policies which the majority of the public like.

This means they could be seduced by the notion of getting into a new rhythm of politics, one that does not depend upon popular policies and electoral cycles.

Whether it works or not depends upon whether when something terrible happens to this country, we are aware that the main significance of it is whether or not we are going to be more or less free citizens in the future.

My gut feeling is that Trump and his administration will try and that it won’t work. Not so much because we are so great but because we have a little bit of time to prepare. I also think that there are enough people and enough agencies of the government who have also thought about this and would not necessarily go along."

They are already trying to split the 9th Circuit, Trump is executive ordering everyting, trying to silence and discredit the press, etc. They are already trying to dismantle opposition -- it will continue and probably get worse.
 
The lack of opposition within the Republican Party is more troubling than Trump and his moves.
 
Strange similarities to other takeovers.

The Mussolini parallels are especially troubling. Here is an article from March about a biography and analysis of Mussolini that really illustrates how dangerous allowing him to do what he's doing without challenge would be. Some highlights for those that won't click based on partisanship:

I begin with Trump’s arrogant ignorance and incoherence:

“Other more critical contemporaries noticed instead the fluctuations in Mussolini’s ideas and the way he preferred to avoid in-depth conversations, sometimes excusing himself by saying that the details should be left to the experts. Here, they discerned, was a leader more interested in imposing his will than in harmonising his attitudes or policies. Here was a politician more interested in seeming to know than in knowing.” pg 142

“He understood that a totalitarian dictator had to be, or to seem to be, expert in everything.” pg 177

“Cowing the press was only one part of building a totalitarian dictatorship.” pg 177

Again, Trump’s ambition combined with a lack of coherence:

“and so readjusting his own history with his usual aplomb” pg 277

“‘Reactionary dictators are men of no philosophy, no burning humanitarian ideal, nor even an economic program of any value to their nation or the world. [George Seldes]’ They were ‘gangsters’ more than anything else.” pg 246 (this was written over a month before Trump himself came out and said that he doesn't stand for anything)

Trump, of course, is infamous for his ultra-thin skin:

“… he would flick through the French press and grow enraged at any criticism of Italy and himself.” pg 272

“… there were few things which annoyed Mussolini more than overt criticism.” pg 276

“This emotion [anger] had always been a prominent part of the Duce’s reaction to life .…” pg 280

While I am not even remotely suggesting that Trump is trying to install a fascist regime (he's not even close to intelligent enough to think of it, let alone implement it), he's surrounded by advisors that give off more than whiffs of such ideology.
 
As of right now what group of thought is more ridiculous?

1. Those who think Donald could actually become a dictator
2. Those who think there's no way Donald could actually become a dictator

Until the last month or so I would have never thought this was a question worth considering, but it does keep getting closer and closer in my opinion.
 
As of right now what group of thought is more ridiculous?

1. Those who think Donald could actually become a dictator
2. Those who think there's no way Donald could actually become a dictator

Until the last month or so I would have never thought this was a question worth considering, but it does keep getting closer and closer in my opinion.

hard to believe but you may have been smarter a month ago ;)
 
Rephrasing a bit, but until recently I didn't really understand how a dictator arising from a modern democracy was possible. The foundation is being laid before our eyes. To say it's not possible that Donald is interested in establishing an authoritarian regime based on his comments and actions, to me, seems a little naive.
 
Republicans want him to run government like a business. He's the dictator of his business.
 
Keeping abreast of the latest left/lib fashionable phobias is difficult for those who are not cardholders, psychiatrists, or fellow travelers. Could some of the members of our left/liberal hard core clarify what we should fear the most at this moment: the looming Trump dictatorship, the imminent Russian invasion/mind control, or the return of Hillary as the Fuhrer of the Resistance?
 
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