General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The next civil war is coming. It is almost inevitable. [View all]First Speaker
(4,858 posts)...and here's a simple example. 2016, 2020--we have another razor-thin election. What happens if the Repubs try and steal another one, especially if they have fewer popular votes? What if Scalia and Thomas are *still* on the Court, and decide again in favor of the Republican? Think it couldn't happen again? I do. Would the Dems just sit back and take it next time? I believe another crisis of that sort would seriously test our whole system, much more than 2000 did.
Or just look at the crazy laws the GOP is pushing in the states. The sheer hatred of the poor, the helpless, and of course women and minorities...what if they ratch up the attacks on voting rights? I believe there will be a breaking point if they do, and it might well trend towards violence. Stolen elections, suppression of voting...anyone think that couldn't lead to a Venezuela/Ukraine type of crisis here?
One more--nullification. This is openly becoming respectable in state GOP circles. This has not been an issue in the US since Appomattox. If it becomes one again, the very legitimacy of the Constitutional system will, in my opinion, be up for grabs. No President could tolerate it for long. Could you imagine the reaction of the Repubs, and the right in general, if a state *should* "nullify" a law, and the Kenyan Muslim Commie President should take action against that state? Think that's impossible? I don't.
I believe that today's GOP is quite literally trying to turn the US into a de facto one-party authoritarian state. Of course they don't *say* this--no one carries a sign saying, "I am a fascist". But their actions, especially in the state legislatures, certainly indicate this. And no one can deny their contempt for liberal democracy. Either they succeed, or they will have to be stopped. And if they keep rigging the game, "stopping" them by peaceful means might become impossible. When that happens, God knows what might occur in this country. But we are further down the path of authoritarian, Disneyfied "democracy" than I would have thought possible.