As I have pointed out before in these posts, democracies usually don’t descend into totalitarianism via violent coups or civil wars. Democracies usually transform into autocracies from within. Leaders are elected through the normal electoral process used in a particular country. However, once certain leaders come to power, they begin the process of dismantling the democratic government that got them elected in the first place.
In the normal course of events, courts are generally filled with judges whose rulings tend to favor the government of the leader trying to change the system to stay in power. The prospective autocrat will then begin purging the government of people who are not deemed loyal enough to the leader – not to the prevailing constitution, but to the leader themselves. Once the judges and loyalists are in place, the next step is usually to change the existing constitution to: 1) lengthen the nominal term of the leader, 2) eliminate the number of terms that any given leader can serve, and 3) introduce whatever modifications are required to ensure any opposition party has virtually no chance of winning future elections.
This pattern has played out over and over again. There are many modern-day examples. Recep Erdogan of Turkey. Viktor Orban of Hungary (the new darling of the Trump wing of the Republican party). Lukashenko in Belarus. And, of course, Trump’s BFF, Putin in Russia. None of these authoritarian leaders got to where they are in violent coups. They were all elected and then began following the playbook outlined above. And if anyone is naïve enough to think that this could not happen in the United States of America, I say, once again, you are not paying attention.
The Federal judiciary under the Trump administration, with the help of Mitch McConnell, was packed with conservative jurists who have routinely ruled in favor of the conservative agenda on all kinds of issues from religion, to gun laws, to decisions favoring big business over consumers. The latest example, of course, is the packing of the Supreme Court with ‘originalists’ like Clarence Thomas which resulted in the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, striking down gun control laws in spite of the spate of mass shootings plaquing this country and the emasculation of the EPA.
Trump started the process of purging the government of people who he felt were not sufficiently loyal to him personally – laws and the Constitution be damned. There are current reports that if Trump is re-elected, he will reinstitute this effort with an even greater urgency and purge the government of thousands of professional bureaucrats and replace them with people whose main qualification is loyalty to Trump. This is right out of the authoritarian playbook. If this happens, I think democracy in this country will be on the ropes. So, for all of those who continue to have the mindset, “that could never happen in the United States,” it is happening. And unless, We The People, wake up, this country will begin to look more and more like Hungary and less and less like a Western democracy.
This threat to democracy is not just occurring at the Federal level, it is happening at the state level. How democratic is it for a state to restrict the travel of a resident who wishes to seek healthcare (abortion) in another state? Authoritarian countries restrict travel. Democracies do not. This kind of thinking should scare the hell out of every American who believes in the US Constitution.
I wonder how these same ‘pro-life’ fanatics who feel if states began to restrict travel or prosecute people who crossed state lines to buy a firearm? Montana, for example, has some of the most permissive gun laws in the country. It would be very easy for someone from a state like California which has strict gun laws (for the time being) to travel to Montana and buy virtually any kind of a firearm (including an assault rifle) from a private party.
These same ‘pro-life’ idiots who want to be able to prosecute women who cross state lines to obtain an abortion, also want to have universal reciprocity for carrying concealed weapons anywhere in the United States. The hypocrisy when people scream ‘pro-life’ is just mind boggling.
The bottom line, however, any kind of travel restrictions imposed by states are anti-democratic. What will be the next step – will we all need an internal passport? Will the Federal and State governments have checkpoints at all state borders. The way things are going, if you are found to be transporting weapons, that will be fine. If you happen to be pregnant or have an ‘abortion pill’ in your possession – off to jail!! Authoritarian regimes restrict travel. Can’t happen? Don’t bet on it.