04-10-2017, 10:27 AM
So far as I can tell, endorsement of President Trump at this stage implies little more than that one likes his ideology and agenda no matter what else can and does go wrong. His personality, extreme narcissism bordering on sociopathy (and I am tempted to believe that pathological narcissism is lower-grade manifestation of sociopathy), scapegoating, self-dealing, nepotism, cronyism, recklessness, coddling of a dictator at the expense of democratic leaders, conspiracy theories, and overall lack of self control all indicate big trouble.
In those I said nothing about his ideology unless it was a higher regard for Vladimir Putin than for Angela Merkel. All of what I recognize as pathology in the Trump Presidency would be just as bad with a liberal. Maybe we liberals are more careful about the leaders that we follow.
Elections have consequences, and when our side loses we need to adjust to the consequences of some legislation that we dislike. So it was for Republicans when Democrats got the Presidency while holding both Houses of Congress. But at least President Obama ran a scandal-free administration, recognized the merits of precedent and protocol, didn't betray those who voted for him, and chose democratic associates over dictators.
This said, some personalities and behaviors pose great danger when a leader expresses them -- and Donald Trump makes Ronald Reagan look really good by contrast. I disliked Ronald Reagan at the time, and think that his Presidency is one of lost opportunities. But I never feared him except for some raw talk about foreign policy.
I question whether Donald Trump believes in the Constitution, let alone the heritage of give-and-take that makes democracy work. One-sided government that decides that the faction in charge is to be arbiter of all into the indefinite future is tyranny, whether by the late Agosto Pinochet or by the late Fidel Castro.
Do we have a dictatorship yet? No. Prominent people aren't disappearing just because they disagree with the President or his cronies. there is not yet a formal censorship. Politicized militias and youth groups aren't emerging. We have yet to have a rigged election by those in charge. See what happens in 2018, let alone 2020. Leaders with dictatorial style do not yield power willingly.
In those I said nothing about his ideology unless it was a higher regard for Vladimir Putin than for Angela Merkel. All of what I recognize as pathology in the Trump Presidency would be just as bad with a liberal. Maybe we liberals are more careful about the leaders that we follow.
Elections have consequences, and when our side loses we need to adjust to the consequences of some legislation that we dislike. So it was for Republicans when Democrats got the Presidency while holding both Houses of Congress. But at least President Obama ran a scandal-free administration, recognized the merits of precedent and protocol, didn't betray those who voted for him, and chose democratic associates over dictators.
This said, some personalities and behaviors pose great danger when a leader expresses them -- and Donald Trump makes Ronald Reagan look really good by contrast. I disliked Ronald Reagan at the time, and think that his Presidency is one of lost opportunities. But I never feared him except for some raw talk about foreign policy.
I question whether Donald Trump believes in the Constitution, let alone the heritage of give-and-take that makes democracy work. One-sided government that decides that the faction in charge is to be arbiter of all into the indefinite future is tyranny, whether by the late Agosto Pinochet or by the late Fidel Castro.
Do we have a dictatorship yet? No. Prominent people aren't disappearing just because they disagree with the President or his cronies. there is not yet a formal censorship. Politicized militias and youth groups aren't emerging. We have yet to have a rigged election by those in charge. See what happens in 2018, let alone 2020. Leaders with dictatorial style do not yield power willingly.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.