Authoritarianism and fear at the Trumpian GOP convention [View all]

[jpak]

http://pollways.bangordailynews.com/2016/07/20/national/authoritarianism-fear-trump-convention/

Has there ever been a scarier, more authoritarian vision of politics than the one shown at the Republican convention in Cleveland? If so, I can’t remember it.

The convention’s first night, dedicated to the theme of Make America Safe Again, promoted the ideas that crime has risen, immigrants are criminals and Clinton and Obama were part of dark deeds associated with American deaths.

In reality, crime is down in the U.S., immigrants are overwhelmingly law-abiding and the Benghazi attack has been investigated eight times and the fevered conspiracies have all been debunked.

On the second night, which was purportedly focused on the economy, there was almost no talk of jobs or anything that most American families grapple with around their kitchen tables.

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