[View here as a Twitter thread]
The problem isn’t (just) Trump.
Tony Schwartz says the president has too much power. This is only true because the GOP members of Congress are not acting as a check on presidential power.
2/ The GOP is obeying Trump as if he is an autocrat. Example: The House and Senate pass (overwhelmingly) a piece of legislation. Trump doesn’t like it because he wants a wall, so he exercises his veto power under Art. I, sec. 7.
3/ Instead of overriding the veto, as it has the power to do, the GOP folds. (Aside: this is why impeaching and removing Trump won’t solve the nation’s problems) More and more Americans are waking up to the fact that Trump was installed in the WH by a hostile government.
4/ The drafters of the Constitution considered the possibility that a president might be elected who was beholden to foreign interests. That’s why they included a remedy: Congress acts as a check on presidential power.
5/ At the first sign of corruption, fraud, or a foreign influence in the election, Congress SHOULD have stopped everything and conducted a meaningful investigation. Instead, members of the Congressional GOP attempted to obstruct and delegitimize any investigations.
6/ By the way, the only reason we’re even talking about whether a sitting president can be indicted is because Congress failed in its job. Had the president been removed when his involvement with Russia was uncovered, he wouldn’t be a sitting president at indictment time
7/ The GOP didn’t become authoritarian overnight. Over its 165 year history, the Republican party has gradually morphed from the anti-slavery party championing the values of liberal democracy to an authoritarian party. [More here]
8/ Profs. Levitsky and Ziblatt in their bookexplain what we’re seeing. From the beginning Trump exhibited warning signs of an autocrat. He (1) rejected democratic norms, (2) denied the legitimacy of opponents (i.e. says they are criminals) (3) tolerated and encouraged violence, and (4) he was willing to curtail civil liberties, i.e. free press.
9/ We now know, of course, that Trump has gone much farther. He has spent his life breaking laws. Levitsky and Ziblatt explain that Trump’s rise follows the usual patterns.
10/ In the 2016 primaries, many conservatives made the classic mistakes when confronted by an authoritarian leader grabbing power: they believed they could contain him & they believed he would further their own political aims. The true conservatives see their error.
11/ [For the difference between conservatives and authoritarians, click here] https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/status/1037367666518896640 …The rise of a strongman increases polarization, which creates discord, which plays into the strongman’s hands. Chaos is the would-be autocrat’s friend.
12/ Trump’s method is simple: manufacture a crisis. Then blame his “enemies.” Simple, but effective, particularly when the autocrat floods the zone with lies. Lots of people really do get confused. They wonder if the autocrat’s enemies ARE partly to blame. So what can we do?
13/ We’ve done the important part: Elect a House that will check Trump’s power. It seems to me helping people understand is most important. Also: Make your opinion known, organize for 2020, and don’t wear yourself out with the constant crisis and spectacle.
