Real authoritarians tend to over-react when they don’t get their way when they make what they feel is a reasonable proposal. They interpret opposition and criticism as sabotage and treachery, and they respond accordingly. Their enemies aren’t just mistaken, they are evil, godless pedophiles.

I don’t think Trump and his cult really want to turn the USA into a fascist dictatorship. They sincerely believe these cautions from the left are over-exaggerated and ridiculous. But if they start getting effective opposition from the press, Congress or the Courts or even the state and local governments they will see it as treason and they will react accordingly. In Florida, the political philosophy that supposedly champions “local government” is now passing legislation at the state level that forbids counties and municipalities from passing local laws that are considered anti-business or “woke”. County and city governments have been forced to back down on environmental protection laws, worker safety and health regs, and school library protection. Even local minimum wage laws have been rolled back. Conservative principles are thrown out the window when they tend to coincide with Liberal agendas. In Miami, city ordinances to guarantee workers shadow and water breaks (due to the heat wave) are being attacked. That’s what all this “fight” rhetoric is really about.

No, Trump and his gang don’t want gas chambers, but I don’t think Hitler did either when he first came into power. And if the GOP just wants a little tax relief and less regulation they won’t feel it necessary to pull out all the stops when they move to frustrate the opposition–that is, until the opposition stars getting too uppity.

But people with power always seem to think they don’t have enough. Gas chambers may be unlikely, but they shouldn’t be ruled out. Read between the lines of their speeches, and listen carefully to their rhetoric. There’s a lot of anger and suspicion and hate there desperate to get out.

I hate to be so gloomy about all this, but remember, I was born and raised in the Deep South, the heart of the Bible Belt. No one I knew really wanted to lynch Negroes. But it still happened all the time.

I’ll give it some thought.