BTRTN: Will Democracy Survive Trump?

[reggieandlee]

Born To Run The Numbers writers Tom and Steve start the new year with an all-new "Point/CounterPoint" discussion, in which they take opposing sides on the argument of whether the second Trump administration will result in the end of democracy in America.

https://borntorunthenumbers.com/2025/01/03/btrtn-will-democracy-survive-trump/

Excerpts: "Yes, Trump Will End Democracy. Here's Why. Here's How." (Steve)
"It seems that most people who fear that Trump will end democracy in America worry that his goose-stepping army of rabble-rousing nihilists and sycophants will set out to destroy it in a focused, strategic blitzkrieg reminiscent of Germany in the early 1930s. More likely? Trump will rage at some perceived injustice, fall victim to his own loss of impulse control, and with no adult supervisors to serve as guide rails, he will destroy democracy with the same level of forethought as a toddler smashing a sibling’s carefully assembled Lego fort. Consider the following scenario...

"No, Trump Will Be Gone in 2029, Democracy Will Triumph" (Tom)
"It’s old news that Donald Trump’s MAGA followers believe he has magical powers, and that his political revival, assassination attempt survival, and reelection are viewed by them as the acts of a god who has 'selected' Trump as his messenger. But now many Democrats also seem to think Trump has magical powers. The thinking goes: he shatters norms seemingly etched in stone; suffers zero political consequence for immoral deeds that destroyed the political careers of others; escapes from the reach of the law despite committing plainly illegal deeds; and defies 100+ years of history in winning a second term on the second try. Now, they conclude, Trump is intent on destroying democracy and surely, he will do that too, wreaking havoc on our institutions and installing himself as lifetime dictator in 2029. I don’t buy any of this for one second. Instead, I believe the simple forces of political physics will shunt him off to the scrap heap of history. There is, in fact, ample evidence that he has no special magic...

[Aristus]

1. American democracy survived a bunch of frock-coated, semi-literate thugs

trying to turn us into a feudal slave theocracy.

We still have hope for surviving the shit-flinging monkey-ocracy of Trumpism.

[Blue_Tires]

2. The time to have a real discussion about that was BEFORE Nov. 5

😐

[reggieandlee]

3. Do you think we didn't?

Yes, it would have been nice if a sufficient number of voters had thought about this before the election.
But don't be mistaken: BTRTN has not been focused on this issue for years.
And it is not like it is no longer relevant. Arguably, it is all the more relevant now that we are face to face with the reality.
The right time to think about this issue is always.

[Blue_Tires]

4. Yes, I get it

It's just that the sense of OMG WHAT DO WE DO NOW?! urgency from pundits after the election seems a day late and a dollar short