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Why are so many senior Republicans going along with this farce? Why are so many of their friends in the media enabling this assault on democracy? I've tried twice to explain this phenomenon, once in my book, published last summer: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621076/twilight-of-democracy-by-anne-applebaum/
Also in this article for the Atlantic, also published last summer: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/trumps-collaborators/612250/
Both have been criticized, from the right, as overly harsh accounts of people who are "just doing their jobs." But as Trump's clownish attempt to steal the election continues, as other Republicans imitate him, I wonder if they didn't go far enough.
Some on the right felt that I didn't write enough about authoritarian tendencies on the left: there are a lot of "both-siders" out there who like balance. As the author of three books about Stalinism, I am certainly aware that Marxism can lead to dictatorship. But...
In modern times, no senior Democrat, the only viable "left-wing" US political party, has sought to cancel votes, or overthrow legitimate elections. Certainly that is not what happened in 2016. @dandrezner lays out the comparison here: https://twitter.com/dandrezner/status/1329872103361966080?s=20
Republican officials are making emotional speeches about patriotism and the constitution in order to explain to their constituents why they must *certify the results of a legitimate election.* This speaks to the depth of the corruption inside the party https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1330270545678626817?s=20
And no, Republicans have not "always been authoritarian." Nor are all their voters, or even a majority, "authoritarian." But after 4 years of Trump, the partisans and the leadership have changed beyond recognition. They will remain a problem in US politics for years to come.
