02-23-2022, 03:45 PM
(02-23-2022, 03:25 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I hope it's being oversold, but the neo con praise of Putin goes back to when Trump was still a reality show host. People like Rush Limbaugh talking up an authoritarian in Putin and saying how weak Obama was by comparison is why we elected Trump in the first place.
Overturning elections, seizing voting machines, finding or destroying votes, and the increased rhetoric to revolt, start a civil war, jail or execute political rivals...this all seems like a march towards being like Russia, to me. At least some people are into the idea.
This stuff is a lot more appealing than people want to admit. Biden faceplanting here, or this being perceived as a war we can't win because democracy gives us weak leaders could be another "reason" to pull a Putin on ourselves.
To me this goes beyond democrats not liking having Trump as president. This is seeing our form of government as giving us weak leaders and making a forceful takeover look better than it is.
Well, if we're going to view this from a pure academic standpoint Democracy does tend to produce weak leaders. In order to appeal to as many voters as possible you will inevitably dilute yourself and your positions. In some ways all candidates are compromise candidates. Of course, being a dictator does not inherently make a person strong or capable, but what it does do is give you a singularity of purpose that rarely exists in a democratic society. This happens with left leaning people as well who idolize Che, Lenin, Xi or Stalin. The idea of having full control will inevitably appeal to many people, especially when your democracy is currently in a state of upheaval.
Please note that none of this is an endorsement of autocratic governments of any stripe. It is merely an explanation of why some people are drawn to them or admire certain facets of their functioning. Given the choice I, and the vast majority of Americans, will select democracy, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its flaws or that autocracy doesn't have some advantages over it. I just would never surrender what makes democracy preferable to acquire those advantages. Some people in this country would, and by no means do they exclusively reside on the right.
