{"id":22159,"date":"2024-07-02T17:32:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T00:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=22159"},"modified":"2024-07-03T16:04:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T23:04:41","slug":"it-can-happen-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2024\/07\/02\/it-can-happen-here\/","title":{"rendered":"It Can Happen Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m not the first to make this observation. Trump’s rise echoes a famous 1935 novel called (ironically) It Can’t Happen Here<\/a>, by Sinclair Lewis. Wikipedia:<\/p>\n

The novel describes the rise of Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip, a demagogue who is elected President of the United States, 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 via self-coup and imposes totalitarian rule with the help of a ruthless paramilitary force, in the manner of European fascists such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Americans brag about their system of checks and balances in our government, but look how quickly some of those balances are being chipped away. Note how in this book’s description, and in authoritarians who have come to power in the last decade or two, how they appeal to “traditional” values.<\/p>\n

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NY Times, 1 Jul 2024<\/strong>: Trump Amplifies Calls to Jail Top Elected Officials, Invokes Military Tribunals<\/a>, subtitled “A post that Mr. Trump circulated on Sunday called for Liz Cheney to be prosecuted by a military court reserved for enemy combatants and war criminals.” [shared link]<\/p>\n

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Former President Donald J. Trump over the weekend escalated his vows to prosecute his political opponents<\/a>, circulating posts on his social media website invoking \u201ctelevised military tribunals\u201d and calling for the jailing of President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer and former Vice President Mike Pence, among other high-profile politicians.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump, using his account on Truth Social on Sunday, promoted two posts from other users of the site that called for the jailing of his perceived political enemies.<\/p>\n

One post that he circulated on Sunday singled out Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman who is a Republican critic of Mr. Trump\u2019s, and called for her to be prosecuted by a type of military court reserved for enemy combatants and war criminals.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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And this.<\/p>\n

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Axios, 2 Jul 2024<\/strong>: Behind the Curtain: Trump’s imperial presidency in waiting<\/a><\/p>\n

The big picture:\u00a0<\/strong>Trump promises an unabashedly imperial presidency<\/a> \u2014 one that would turn the Justice Department against critics, deport millions of people in the U.S. illegally, slap 10% tariffs on thousands of products, and fire perhaps tens of thousands of government staff deemed insufficiently loyal.<\/p>\n