Notices by Thomas Zimmer (tzimmer_history@mastodon.social)

At every turn, the response to the rise of Trumpism has been hampered by a lack of political imagination – a lingering sense that “It cannot happen here” (or not anymore, anyways), fueled by a deep-seated mythology of exceptionalism, progress gospel, and willful historical ignorance.

There should not have been any doubt about the intention of the Trumpist Right. They desire to erect some form of plebiscitary autocracy, constantly invoking the true “will of the people” while aggressively narrowing the boundaries of who gets to belong and whose rights are recognized.

A serious look at U.S. history would have suggested that there was really no reason to assume some innate democratic national disposition. While it holds no secret key to predict the future, America’s past experience - which includes plenty of state authoritarianism - urges us not to be complacent.

What does the U.S. look like in five or ten years?
 
I was asked to reflect on this question, alongside other scholars. In a stable democracy, the range of plausible outcomes should be narrow. But for America, it now includes complete democratic breakdown and full-blown authoritarian rule.
 
https://wapo.st/44bN4i6

The "Is it a constitutional crisis yet?!" discussion is so absurd: Of course you can construct increasingly esoteric definitions for why this current moment doesn't meet your exact criteria yet. But meanwhile, this is where we are: Masked agents of the states abducting people for writing op-eds.
https://mastodon.social/@jeffjarvis/114234078752622532

The political conflict isn’t over, nor is the outcome determined, or democracy destined to be extinguished for good. But let’s finally discard whatever residual notions of “It cannot happen here” or “They won’t be able to go that far” are still floating around. It is all happening right now.

There should not have been, at any moment, any doubt about the intentions of the Trumpist regime. Not just Trump, but also those in charge on the Right. Whatever moderating influences still existed in 2017, they are gone. The extremists are fully in charge. Who is going to stop them?

I open the piece with some snapshots that illustrated how far down the path to authoritarianism we already are. Now I could write a whole new opening paragraph with even more aggressive authoritarian assertions, all from just the past five days. Things are moving so fast.

It has been two months.
 
I wrote this on the weekend, about that space between (no longer) democracy and full-scale autocracy where America now exists, reflecting on why the Trumpists have been able to so swiftly overwhelm most of the country’s (evidently weak) democratic defenses:

https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/what-authoritarianism-means

Trump was unlikely to consolidate authoritarian rule, Levitsky and Way argued, and wouldn’t be able to install full-scale authoritarianism. Not because of some innate democratic disposition, but because American institutions and civil society seemed better equipped than in places like Hungary.

In mere weeks, the Trumpists have managed to turn America from a democratic system – albeit one with significant flaws – into one that no longer deserves to be counted among the world’s democracies. America has crossed into competitive authoritarianism already. But where does it end?

I revisit “The Path to Authoritarianism,” a crucial essay Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way published in Foreign Affairs in early February. It captured their expectations at the outset of the Trumpist regime – a powerful warning that has nevertheless been overtaken by events already.

It was reasonable, two months ago, to expect some measure of democratic resilience.

But if those tasked with defending democracy refuse to put up a proper fight, then how much does it really take to bring the system down?

The constitution doesn’t mean anything if no one enforces and defends it.

Turning the purely ratings-driven platforming of a spectacle that only helps the far-right demagogue who once before tried to abolish democracy and constitutional government as a necessary civic service to get Libs and Lefties to leave their echo chambers is utterly cynical and insulting. 1/

https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1656813612491501568?s=46&t=1xecvNVImNo8TKt3oEvqnA

Since I finished this piece not even 48 hours ago, the regime has openly defied several court orders, Trump has announced he will go after the people Biden preemptively pardoned and declared those last-minute pardons "void," and... well, let's discard any residual "Won't/Can't go that far" notions.
https://mastodon.social/@tzimmer_history/114172306014401440

I dive into the concept of "competitive authoritarianism" in the piece. Whatever the exact label we use, we need to fully grapple with the fact that America has now crossed into territory that is no longer democratic, not even "flawed" or "in peril." America is something else now.

This is not a victory for "centrists" or "moderates" over "the Left" or the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. This is a faction of accommodationists, people entirely incapable of imagining anything but politics-as usual, and outright collaborators sabotaging those who wish to fight back.

Yesterday, ten Democrats in the Senate collaborated to advance the Republican spending bill.

Accommodation and acquiescence. Learned helplessness and preemptive surrender. Retreat and complicity.

In the midst of an unprecedented assault on the constitutional order, the nominal opposition party fails to use the one key tool in its arsenal to push back. What a disaster.

Utterly unconscionable – though hardly surprising – for the New York Times to print such vile fabrications, completely untethered from empirical reality, and to keep platforming a man who would spread such extremist propaganda as one of their most prominent columnists.

I know I am repeating myself, but: I have lost all patience for any version of “just Trump being Trump” nonsense. This is real. And it is an emergency.

The authoritarianism, the grievance-fueled desire to exert dictatorial power, the lust for imperial hemispheric domination - that is all real.