Krugman *Why It Can Happen Here, NYT

[appalachiablue]

Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a friend of mine — an expert on international relations — made a joke: “Now that Eastern Europe is free from the alien ideology of Communism, it can return to its true historical path — fascism.” Even at the time, his quip had a real edge.

And as of 2018 it hardly seems like a joke at all. What Freedom House calls illiberalism is on the rise across Eastern Europe. This includes Poland and Hungary, both still members of the European Union, in which democracy as we normally understand it is already dead.

In both countries the ruling parties — Law and Justice in Poland, Fidesz in Hungary — have established regimes that maintain the forms of popular elections, but have destroyed the independence of the judiciary, suppressed freedom of the press, institutionalized large-scale corruption and effectively delegitimized dissent. The result seems likely to be one-party rule for the foreseeable future.

And it could all too easily happen here. There was a time, not long ago, when people used to say that our democratic norms, our proud history of freedom, would protect us from such a slide into tyranny..

Just look at what has been happening at the state level. In North Carolina, after a Democrat won the governorship, Republicans used the incumbent’s final days to pass legislation stripping the governor’s office of much of its power.
In Georgia, Republicans tried to use transparently phony concerns about access for disabled voters to close most of the polling places in a mainly black district. In West Virginia, Republican legislators exploited complaints about excessive spending to impeach the entire State Supreme Court and replace it with party loyalists.

And these are just the cases that have received national attention. There are surely scores if not hundreds of similar stories across the nation. What all of them reflect is the reality that the modern G.O.P. feels no allegiance to democratic ideals; it will do whatever it thinks it can get away with to entrench its power.
What about developments at the national level? That’s where things get really scary..if Republicans retain control of both houses of Congress in November — we will become another Poland or Hungary faster than you can imagine...

Many Trump critics celebrated last week’s legal developments, taking the Manafort conviction and the Cohen guilty plea as signs that the walls may finally be closing in.. But I felt a sense of deepened dread as I watched the Republican reaction: Faced with undeniable evidence of Trump’s thuggishness, his party closed ranks around him more tightly than ever.

A year ago it seemed possible that there might be limits to the party’s complicity, that there would come a point where at least a few representatives or senators would say, no more. Now it’s clear that there are no limits: They’ll do whatever it takes to defend Trump and consolidate power...

But why is America, the birthplace of democracy, so close to following the lead of other countries that have recently destroyed it?...

Read More, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/krugman-why-it-can-happen-here/ar-BBMwV72

[dem4decades]

1. So depressing. I can't read anymore.

[appalachiablue]

2. Fascist, military control of the US, by coup, was attempted once in 1933.

"When The Bankers Plotted To Overthrow FDR," NPR, February 12, 2012 *Book Review, "The Plots Against the President, FDR, A Nation in Crisis, and the Rise of the American Right," by Sally Denton.

It was a dangerous time in America: The economy was staggering, unemployment was rampant and a banking crisis threatened the entire monetary system. The newly elected president pursued an ambitious legislative program aimed at easing some of the troubles. But he faced vitriolic opposition from both sides of the political spectrum.

[Denton] She says that during the tense months between FDR's election in November and his inauguration in March 1933, democracy hung in the balance. "There was a lot at play. It could have gone very different directions," Denton says. Though it's hard for us to imagine today, she says fascism, communism, even Naziism seemed like possible solutions to the country's ills. "There were suggestions that capitalism was not working, that democracy was not working," she says. Some people even called for a dictator to pull America out of the Great Depression.

When Roosevelt finally took office, he embarked on the now-legendary First Hundred Days, an ambitious legislative program aimed at reopening and stabilizing the country's banks and getting the economy moving again. "There was just this sense that he was upsetting the status quo," Denton says. Critics on the right worried that Roosevelt was a Communist, a socialist or the tool of a Jewish conspiracy. Critics on the left complained his policies didn't go far enough. Some of Roosevelt's opponents didn't stop at talk. Though barely remembered today, there was a genuine conspiracy to overthrow the president.

The Wall Street Putsch, as it's known today, was a plot by a group of right-wing financiers. "They thought that they could convince Roosevelt, because he was of their, the patrician class, they thought that they could convince Roosevelt to relinquish power to basically a fascist, military-type government," Denton says..The conspirators had several million dollars, a stockpile of weapons and had even reached out to a retired Marine general, Smedley Darlington Butler, to lead their forces. "Had he been a different kind of person, it might have gone a lot further," Denton says. "But he saw it as treason and he reported it to Congress."..
- Read More, https://www.npr.org/2012/02/12/145472726/when-the-bankers-plotted-to-overthrow-fdr
______
~ "It Can't Happen Here," a semi-satirical 1935 political novel by American author Sinclair Lewis. Published during the rise of fascism in Europe, the novel describes the rise of Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, a politician who defeats Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and is elected President of the US, after fomenting fear and promising drastic economic and social reforms while promoting a return to patriotism and "traditional" values. After his election, Windrip takes complete control of the government and imposes a plutocratic/totalitarian rule with the help of a ruthless paramilitary force, in the manner of Adolf Hitler and the SS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Can%27t_Happen_Here

[AlexSFCA]

5. only not it's the president who is trying to overthrow democracy

theoretically should have higher chances of succeeding, unfortunately.

[dalton99a]

3. Great article.

[appalachiablue]

4. Courageous, Krugman gets right to the heart of it. People better wake up,

see what's happening here, in Europe and elsewhere--far right movements and governments now.

[agincourt]

6. Krugman should get even more respect than he does

He's often dismissed as a mainstream beltway political writer but I think he often has more edge and truth than a lot of the "boutique leftist" writers whom get more respect than they deserve. The first paragraph is excellent, though in my opinion in the Jim Crow south there already was a lower to mid intensity fascism going on.

[Blue_Tires]

7. k+r

I'm in no mood to hear any bullshit from casuals that "XXXX candidate doesn't excite them", or they "Don't feel motivated to go to the polls"...

THIS IS YOUR MOTIVATION RIGHT HERE IN THIS PIECE!!