Red states racing toward authoritarianism
Whether Texas Gov. Greg Abbott makes good on his recent vow to pardon a man convicted of killing a legally armed Black Lives Matter protester remains to be seen. The killer had announced his homicidal intent on social media before the killing. News reports also noted he had posted racist content online and had sought contact with underage girls, the latter of which may complicate the governor’s messaging.
Regardless of how Abbott proceeds, the governor’s urge to pardon a killer for no discernible reason other than that the killer belongs to Team Red and the victim is claimed by Team Blue tells us how deep into the authoritarian jungle the Republican Party has penetrated. It’s reminiscent of Trump’s vocal desire to pardon those convicted of crimes committed during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The practice of keeping killers and thugs out of jail, and thus employable for political dirty work, is a quintessentially authoritarian one. Without it, Argentina’s dirty war, for example, could never have been so dirty.
Trump’s violent assault on rule of law hasn’t been replicated in any of the 50 states. There have been no attempted coups in state capitals, right-wing militia activity in Michigan notwithstanding. But in Republican-dominated states across the nation, the party is no longer ambling toward authoritarianism. Despite a functionally democratic, post-Trump calm in the White House, many states are racing toward an authoritarian future.
The legislatures of North Carolina and Wisconsin, whose rightward lurch has been underwritten by the U.S. Supreme Court’s endorsement of extreme gerrymanders, are emerging models of competitive authoritarianism where elections undermine, rather than validate, democratic choice. In red-state cities that vote Democratic, Republicans have compounded racial gerrymanders and vote suppression by disempowering opponents directly. Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi and other red states have been waging war on home rule to strip city residents of the power to select their own governments and policies. Republicans have removed, or tried to remove, elected prosecutors in Philadelphia, Tampa and St. Louis, effectively seeking to nullify local election results. Ohio Republicans are following the example of Arkansas and Missouri, where GOP legislators undermined the ballot initiative process to prevent citizens from enacting their preferred policies, including abortion policy. And from coast to coast, in Congress, statehouses and county seats, lying about the 2020 election remains a Republican rite, and a promise of future attacks on truth.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-red-states-racing-toward-authoritarianism/
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