When Putin rose to power, “it was necessary to at least nod toward the idea of freedom. Putin & his associates performed and appeared as if they were defenders and stewards of liberal democracy. Elections were held.” But it was an orchestrated illusion. 1/ https://www.themuckrake.com/main/postpolitics

Putin’s “technologists crafted illusory reality. There were opposition parties. Protests. Moments of political chaos. All of it crafted specifically to gift that illusion and to gift Putin his ultimate victory while appearing as a democratic champion.” 2/

“Russian citizens began to accept the deception. Their spirit was crushed. Apathy ran through the population.” 3/

“Knowing that Putin and his technologists lied to them, knowing the government was...gleefully engaging in its corruption, led to a loss of faith in democratic institutions and the individual’s ability to fight for justice or progress.” 4/

“Putinism broke many a citizen’s will.” 5/

“Trumpism has worked via the same principles. Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser, called it ‘flooding the zone with shit.’ Trump...lies so much at such a blistering pace that the difference between truth and lie is destroyed and only a hazy unreality remains.“ 6/

Trump’s “flooding the zone with shit” strategy “creates an environment within the country where everything feels questionable and so nothing can be more real than anything unreal.” 7/

“Over time, authoritarians destroy reality. They weaponize the unreality where they thrive. They break the will of citizens by questioning what it means to be right or wrong, what it means to be free or unfree.“ 8/

Authoritarians like Trump & Putin “plunge us into a chaotic question and then remind us that the answer to the question doesn’t matter.” 9/

“Make no mistake. We are being broken down. Each lie, each crime, each scandal, each abuse of human rights, each crime against humanity, takes us farther down a road of democratic oblivion.” 10/

“Journalists and pundits are missing the point. This isn’t politics as usual. It’s something different. It’s something much, much more dangerous. And we need to recognize that fact before we cannot recognize ourselves.” By @JYSexton 11/