Has the regeneracy arrived?

[SomeGuy]

Quote:I will check it out...though I should say that I have pored over many a scholarly book on the subject of fascism so far this millennium.

Like I said, you've read it before.  I'm sure you'll recognize it when you start reading it.

Quote:On the previous forum, I started a thread titled "Donald Trump: The Real Danger That He Poses."

I remember, that was where we previously had this discussion.  Think of this one as a recap, now that the election is over.

Quote:I was wrong in that I ruled out his winning the Republican nomination, much less the presidency.  My real concern at the time was not so much that Trump was a fascist, per se, though his demeanor and pronouncements certainly give some evidence of fascistic tendencies.  What deeply troubled me was that there was a core constituency susceptible to his dangerous message, if not now, then later on down the line.  Which is why I saw him as more of a proto-fascist (he who paves the way for the real thing).  Some in the media (Andrew Sullivan, and Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame) went even further than I, calling Trump a neo-fascist.  

Turns out that that core constituency--however you want to characterize them--was sufficiently large to get Trump elected.  He now exercises maximal--though hopefully not absolute--power.  He will soon have all three branches of government behind him, at least until the mid-term elections.  (So much for "checks and balances.")  Of course, the Constitution is the ultimate check on his power.  Let us all hope that it does not come down to that.

I did not take Trump seriously for a long time, and was equally dismissive of his chances, both on that thread and in RL.  And I say this as a man who ended up voting for him.  I agree that he is filling the space that in the hands of a more serious demagogue could lead to, you know, actual fascism (or, rather, its 21st century American equivalent.  The situations here and in Weimar Germany are by no means identical).

I think what would be worthwhile for you to consider is that having a Donald Trump in that role is by no means the worst case scenario.