I want to strongly speak out against this view, which I hear from too many directions. The idea that fascism arrives one week from today if we don't win some pivotal battle has been a consistently demoralizing force in attempts to resist Trump and his attacks on democracy https://twitter.com/BrynnTannehill/status/1299305312256757761

The Authoritarian Slide is a dance with very many steps. Telescoping the slow process of ossification into authoritarian rule into one dramatic all-or-nothing battle may be motivating in the short term, but it leaves people with no psychological resources if that battle is lost

If Trump wins in 2020 (which I think is likely), then the elections in 2022 and 2024 will probably be free and fair, too, just much harder to win. Trump has shown no capacity for the fine detail work of subverting our democracy, he just sledgehammers it and will keep bashing away

My problem with the crisis-based approach to resistance is that people burn out quickly. This probably isn't the most important election of your lifetime, and democracy will still be in grave danger even if Trump is swept out in a landslide. It's a slow road in both directions

I wonder if some of the darker thoughts about an extralegal takeover of the country by a lawless leadership are just a way of avoiding the fact that we live in a country where about half the population likes what is happening and wants more of it

One final thought based on this excellent point. I remember the travel ban, when people filled the streets and airports in defense of neighbors and coworkers, and then we won a court injunction and the energy completely disappeared from the movement https://twitter.com/ckoppelman/status/1299440880777125890