Tulsi Gabbard: I’m leaving the Democratic Party

[Dill]

(11-08-2022, 05:02 AM)hollodero Wrote: There have always been at least 20% of "devout followers" in the U.S. since the Civil War, often more, if by that you mean anti-democratic authoritarians. And Trump is not like Hitler, someone who dedicated his life to a long-term goals, single-mindedly following them to a terrible final solution decades later. 

Please don't even insinuate I compared Trump to Hitler, I did my best to avoid that impression.
But yes you always had this system in place, and it often failed you before. McCarthy era, Nixon era, to name a few. Agreed, you always had principled people in power standing up to them and undoing them in the end, but that's what it depends on, such people. It were those decent folks that put an end to things like this. The ballot boxes, not so much actually. They demand a swing back and forth no matter what.

?? I'm the one who brought up interwar fascisms. 

And the comparison did not concern individuals but political organization/structure and conditions on the ground.

I compared Trump to Hitler to illustrate a structural difference between Weimar and the U.S. That was in response to
your use of the term "authoritarians," but I didn't see that as an allusion to Trump. I assumed that you, like me,
supposed they were always in the body politic in some proportion. The question is how they organize, expand, and
gain power. I mention Trump because he was NOT the one who created/orchestrated the political apparatus he found ready made. 
That came from somewhere else, and I don't see the two-party system as a cause of that.

Not sure what you mean by "failed" if McCarthy and Nixon are the examples. 
E.g., Nixon chose resignation over impeachment. That is the system working.

It is not working now. 

And ALL democracies depend upon principled people standing up and doing the right thing.
If there aren't enough of those people anymore, I think there is a much more immediate
cause than the 2-party system. 

There are a few other points I'd like to clarify, but I can't get back to this until evening.

PS appreciate the responses.