Something Much Darker
We rightly worry about what a second Trump presidency would bring. But what follows it could be even worse
Regular readers know I aim for something like equanimity in my analysis of the political world. I vote for Democrats. I think the Republican Party in its current configuration is quite dangerous. But I also strive to understand the right—to “feel myself into” its view of the world. That includes taking the history of conservative and reactionary ideas very seriously, in my writing as well as in my teaching.
But for the first time since the run-up to January 6, 2021 and the horrifying events of that day, I find myself transfixed, appalled, and viscerally disgusted by what’s happening on the right—because of what it says about the ongoing election contest, but even more so because of what I fear it could portend for the longer-term trajectory of the country and its right-of-center party.
Broadly stated, the right now freely and shamelessly traffics in outright, intentional lies and wild exaggerations of the truth. Listening to and reading statements from both members of the GOP’s presidential ticket, social-media posts from Republican officeholders, and tweets by prominent right-wing “influencers” and activists (including those of the richest man on the planet), one would think the Democrats are actively working to abolish free speech, throw Elon Musk in jail, shut down Twitter/X, and import millions of criminal aliens from Third World countries and ship them to swing states, where they will subject native-born Americans to pervasive violent crime as well as vote illegally, thereby giving Kamala Harris an illegitimate electoral victory and ensuring the end of freedom and democracy in the United States.
Instrumental v. Aspirational Bigotry
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