General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: How close is America to a dictatorship? [View all]Jedi Guy
(3,175 posts)Trump lacks one vital thing that all dictators must have in order to gain/keep their grip on power: widespread support in the upper echelons of the military. The military tends to break conservative/GOP, yes, but I don't think for a moment that they'd blithely go along with it if Trump suspended all elections and declared himself President-for-Life. He may be somewhat popular among the rank and file, but I don't think there's much love for him among the officer corps.
The alarmism in this thread is kinda, well... alarming. I'm reminded of the breathless hysterics during the Bush years, when people were certain that progressives were mere days away from being rounded up and thrown into camps. I'm also reminded of the equally breathless hysterics on the right during the Obama years. The party/ideology out of power always has a tendency to hyperventilate about the other side bringing down the curtain on democracy.
The House looks to be firmly in Democratic hands for the foreseeable future, and House GOPers are abandoning ship and retiring. They're up to what, 20-something pending retirements now? The Senate may switch hands, but no guarantee. Ditto the Presidency, because when the economy is strong, the incumbent has that as an advantage, although it's worth noting that that applies to Presidents who don't have Dolt 45's horrific (and well-earned) unfavorable/unlikable numbers.
As an aside, it's worth noting, I think, that CNN ran a series not very long ago called the Fractured States of America. In that series, they had some interesting study results. One of the statistics I found interesting was that each side vastly overestimates the ideological extremity of the other. Another was that, when asked if the country would be better off if members of the opposing party "just died," 15% of Republicans said yes.
Anyone want to guess what percentage of Democratic respondents said yes?