For people who have devoted their lives to studying anti-democratic movements, recent White House actions are more disturbing than ever: "His claims get more & more outrageous; the one about Obama wiretapping is particularly interesting because he’s pitted different branches of government against each other."When authoritarians feel their backs against the wall they become aggressive: it’s the danger zone! Watch out for executive actions bent on self-protection, as well as aggressions towards the bureaucracy, judiciary and press.These kinds of terms or concepts — purging, enemies — are very dangerous. It’s a sign of no longer seeing yourself as a national community engaged with fellow citizens, but in a zero sum struggle going on here; people opposed to you are not just different politically but enemies. It makes democracy impossible to function."
At thinkprogress.org
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