Republican Party vs Democratic Party re: holding to Democratic policies vs Authoritarianism

[crimycarny]

The Washington Post had a fascinating article about a study done by the V-Dem institute (over 600 political scientists around the globe) which track political party trends in relation to Democratic versus illiberalism. It’s a stark and scary analysis of data which puts in black and white what we already know—that the Republican Party is moving rapidly towards authoritarianism. I wish I could post the graphs as they tell the story in the starkest terms, but I can’t figure out how to get around the paywall. Basically there are 3 main categories:

1) Level of party commitment to democracy (Dems at the highest level and unchanged over decades, GOP a steep decline since around the time the Tea Party came on the scene)

2) How often a party demonizes their opponent (Dems at “usually not”, GOP between “usually” and “always”

3) How often Party Leaders incite violence (Dems hold steady at “never”, GOP steep decline to in-between “rarely” and “sometimes”. )

The study only goes up to 2018, the authors state the GOP has gone even further into authoritarianism since then.

So, no, the “both sides do it” is absolutely bogus, as we already knew. But the massive gap between the two parties commitment to democracy was even worse than I had imagined. Very scary stuff.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/12/republican-party-trump-authoritarian-data/

“Now, according to data released by an international team of political scientists just before the Nov. 3 election, it’s possible to quantify the extent to which the Republican Party no longer adheres to such principles as the commitment to free and fair elections with multiple parties, the respectful treatment of political opponents and the avoidance of violent rhetoric.

“The Republican Party in the U.S. has retreated from upholding democratic norms in recent years,” said Anna Lührmann, a political scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and a former member of the German parliament. “Its rhetoric is closer to authoritarian parties, such as AKP in Turkey and Fidesz in Hungary.” “

[Moostache]

1. I suggest those who believe a secession or war are NOT coming pay attention...

Trump is determined to split the union if it means he doesn't have to say he lost the election, which he CLEARLY did LOSE. The first Civil War was fought so that human beings could no longer be property...the second Civil War is heating up so that a fucking lying clown doesn't have to own his loss in an election or relinquish power to the will of the people.

The fucker is REALLY that far gone. His fans and the GOP are along for the ride and there are not enough sane people left in that clown car to keep it on the road for very long before they careen into a ditch and bring harm to everyone as a result.

California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts need to be leading and formulating a plan to determine how they will 1) secure the nuclear arms of the United States of America; and 2) secure a contiguous border that allows for free passage inside the borders of the United States once the moron brigade follow Trump off a cliff into the New Confederate States.

There is only one other option, and it is the one that may not be spoken.

[Turin_C3PO]

2. If a civil war were

to happen it would obviously destroy the nation. So would an attempt by any states at secession. This problem has to be solved without any of that.

[Moostache]

4. When one side is under hypnosis and believes disinformation, options are limited, I don't see an out

How do you propose negotiating with people who 1) do not 'believe' in viruses, 2) do not 'believe' in science or the scientific method, 3) insist that -5.1M is a winning margin and 4) carry guns and wave racist flags to intimidate people instead of engaging in civic discussion?

This nation is teetering on the brink because of the schism caused by the right wing media brainwashing of middle America and the willingness of Trump to exploit them to assuage his own ego and never admit that he never actually won the presidency by the will of the people - only through a glitch in the system, and when the glitch was revealed, a wave of people (NOT a Democratic wave either, as witnessed by the GOP Senate holding and the House losing seats) rose up against him and rejected him. He is a loser but he cannot abide that label, so he will split the union like a log if that's what it takes to avoid the label for even a small interval.

The question is how many people are willing to follow him over the cliff in the end. If secession and two states are impossible, then it is bloodshed and war and millions will be affected and many thousands will die. Lincoln once said the nation could not survive as one-half free and one-half slave, but the time is coming when the nation cannot survive one half sane and rational and one-half hypnotized and stupid.

I truly hope to be wrong here...but the failure to take this possibility serious, even if it is far more remote than I fear, could have devastating results.

[WyattKansas]

3. The Democratic Party needs to keep repeating the actual records between both Parties over and over.

The Dems should be drilling into every American the damn truth about every damn record available that exposes the Republican Party as frauds to allege credit for anything at all. All Republicans have ever done is fuck everything up and make everything worse, because their policies are built on destruction, ruin, hardship, suffering, despair, and Vulture Capitalism for most of the population.

The reason they get credit for everything is because the Democratic Party has not been that good at messaging and taking credit for themselves, while deferring credit to both sides. That is bullshit and why the Republican Party is so damn popular for NO reason at all. If people are only being told one side and they have no time or don't bother to look into it, then how will they ever know the truth?.. The Dems shouldn't assume that all people are naturally smart enough to dig into REAL facts and records to find out who does what for them. And never allow news channels to pigeonhole them and paint them in a corner without blowing through them with the truth.