It Will Happen Here

Paul Krugman is doing his best Driftglass impression today:

And it could all too easily happen here. There was a time, not long ago, when people used to say that our democratic norms, our proud history of freedom, would protect us from such a slide into tyranny. In fact, some people still say that. But believing such a thing today requires willful blindness. The fact is that the Republican Party is ready, even eager, to become an American version of Law and Justice or Fidesz [the ruling parties in Poland and Hungary, respectively], exploiting its current political power to lock in permanent rule. [emphasis mine]

 Then of course he sounds like he was paraphrasing me, just a little bit but infinitely more erudite and eloquent:

Many Trump critics celebrated last week’s legal developments, taking the Manafort conviction and the Cohen guilty plea as signs that the walls may finally be closing in on the lawbreaker in chief. But I felt a sense of deepened dread as I watched the Republican reaction: Faced with undeniable evidence of Trump’s thuggishness, his party closed ranks around him more tightly than ever.

 Yes, it was definitely dread. Thank you Dr. Krugman, your economic insights are always on the mark but now you've added psychological analysis to the roster. This is exactly why I am increasingly tense, it let up a little when we weren't faced with immediate death squads but the slow tightening is starting to really show. I wrote on Facebook that the republicans are really testing the theory that conspiracies are impossible because no one can keep secrets for long. One time and one senator could make a huge difference. One republican senator on the finance committee could vote with Democrats to get doughfacedonny's tax returns. The $64,000 question is what is being held over their heads?