by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
The sense I get is my prediction that America in late 2024 to early 2025 will face the existential choice of civil war or autocracy is holding up. There’s a chance the Cyber Ninjas “proving” Trump “won” in Arizona or Speaker Trump might force the issue earlier, but, in general 2024-2025 seems to be it.
I’m so involved in my own center-Left echo chamber that it’s easy for me to forget that there are people who actually support Trump’s bullshit. They’ve become a lot more self-conscious about it, but they still support him. Not everyone, obviously, New Right talking head Jesse Kelly is all in on “Trumpism without Trump” and whenever you call him on some racist or asshole thing this would entail he just shrugs and says, “Welcome to the New Right!”
Anyway, this leads me to think a lot about what the endgame of an autocracy would be if we pick that option instead of civil war. What’s going to happen is Twitter and people like Norm Ornstein will grow apoplectic that our democracy has finally died. Meanwhile, MAGA New Right people will become quite smug.
Just as with Putin’s United Russia Party (I think that’s it name) the Republican Party will be the infrastructure for the autocracy and that’s it. At first, nothing will change. But then, in fits and starts the vice grip of autocracy will follow its function and the media will be purged. It will grow so difficult to vote that voting rates plunge.
There will be the occasional mass protest here or there that is promptly ignored. And, all my rhetorical quips about people — like me! — being pushed out of windows by ICE will be a pretty cold, hard realty.
And it will be taken for granted as just “life in America” like gratuitous gun violence. At some point, wealth liberal job creators will have seen enough and they will leave the country entirely. Until, of course, President Pompeo gets mad and makes it almost impossible to either get a passport our get out of the country.
Form. Follows. Function.
I guess what I’m trying to say is — when autocracy comes to America it’s going to be surprisingly popular. At least with those who still identify as Republican. That’s what they want, they want an autocracy. The only time they will grow unhappy with this new arrangement is when it becomes personal. Then they will get upset — in private — and regret what they allowed to happen.
Too late, shit for brains.
I have to accept that given what a loud mouth I am, that once I don’t have the luxury of living in a liberal democracy I’m going to run afoul of our new autocracy rules. I joke a lot about getting pushed out a window, but, sadly, that could very well be my fate if we have a President Pompeo or Cotton or Hawley or even DeSantis.
All the people who thought I was hysterical about that possibility over the years will shrug and say I had it coming.
