Steve Bannon.

[Belsnickel]

(02-15-2017, 08:46 PM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: Let's take a look at this again.
There can be similarities, but at the same time, contrasts, so it doesn't add up correctly.

In order for this to be a Fascist Authoritarian government, we'd need to basically toss out the Parliament. That's never going to happen, so we can never achieve that status that you are talking about.

Plain and Simple, Workplaces are Authoritarian, boss tells you want to do, this is the persona that Trump is, but he also understands the system, laws and obviously tries to follow them, else his "ban" wouldn't have been so complex. He would've simply stated no more Muslims allowed and been done with it.

Reaganism, Thatcherism and now Trumpism, all have many fascist ideas and similarities and are being called Fascism, even though they are operating in a political environment where democratic representation is/was maintained. The original concept has been twisted by rhetorical abuse over time to fit what ever the leader in question is doing that is remotely similar in an effort to politically assassinate them.

Sorry for the delayed response, here, I was overlooking this thread for some reason. Maybe just seeing Bannon's name made me avoid it, I don't know.

Anyway, the point I make in this conversation is that whether or not our system of government is different, these behaviors should be concerning. First generation autocrats don't get that way because their system of government allowed for it, they got that way because they tore down the system of government that was in place. Hugo Chavez is one recent example.

He was elected to his second term, under the constitution in Venezuela, and that should have been his last. But because of his power plays in the government he ended up having that rule abolished and being elected to a third, and then a fourth term. It should be noted he was the first president under the constitution that limited a president to two terms. He gained power as an autocrat and while a legislature existed, they did his bidding. He had essentially neutered the legislature and could have had it abolished. Had he not died of cancer he would be ruling to this day.

I'm not going to sit here and say that I fear what happened in Venezuela, or what has happened in other countries, is going to happen here under Trump. Trump doesn't have the support in the legislature for that and he doesn't have the mandate of the popular vote to back him up, which is very important for these types of people to take power in the manner they do. What concerns me about Trump over all of the others you mention is that his rhetoric, his behavior, is much more like a Hugo Chavez than it is a Ronald Reagan or a Margaret Thatcher. The ideologies may be different, but how the message is being delivered is eerily similar. That is what experts are telling us, and that is what is concerning to many people.