Fascists Really ARE That Stupid!

From Greg Fallis:

Okay, first off, I admit I'm confused. I mean, I understand that Donald Trump, with the assistance of a cadre of feral Christo-fascist authoritarians and the support of a cartoonist collection of buffoons, is conducting an aggressive frontal assault on the US Constitution. And so far it's been mostly effective.

Unlike a LOT of folks, I'm inclined to think Trump has a plan. It's a very simple, very very stupid, and very selfish plan, to be sure. It's the sort of plan you'd expect from a cartoon villain. But it's still a plan. As I see it, Donald Trump's plan is as follows:

Make everybody dependent on the whims and wishes of Donald Trump.

It's ridiculous, isn't it. What Trump really wants, of course, is loyalty and respect. Two things he'll never get. He'll never get the respect he wants (and thinks he deserves), and I suspect he knows that. Nor will he ever get real loyalty, because loyalty is reciprocal; you earn loyalty by being loyal to others. Trump is loyal to nothing and nobody. Who's going to respect of be loyal to this guy?

Since he can't/won't get the respect and loyalty he truly wants, Trump has to settle for a shabby substitute–unquestioned obedience. The problem for Trump, even as POTUS, is that there are HUGE intentional limits to presidential obedience in a representative democracy.

The president's actual job is to preside over the government, not to rule it. 'Preside' literally means "to sit in front of." The president is basically like an orchestra leader. In order for Trump to command unquestioned obedience, he has to first weaken or destroy the Constitutional constraints on presidential power.

That's exactly what he's doing. In his first term, Trump converted the entire Republican Party to so-called MAGA loyalists (I say 'so-called' because many/most of the GOP are just sycophantic cowards or craven opportunists, not actual loyalists). He also stacked the Supreme court with 'loyalists'. The only check on his authority came from the professionals who occupied the Cabinet posts and the various governmental agencies. Now, in his second term, he's replaced the Cabinet secretaries and the heads of every government agency with more so-called loyalists. He's basically removed or degraded almost every federal administrative constraint on his authority (there are still some federal judges who remain independent, though they're under attack now).

This guy? Powerful politicians and institutions are afraid of this guy? This fucking guy?

There are a few other social constraints that can challenge the president: independent law firms, universities, business interests, and independent news sources. Trump is making every effort to hobble or undermine them, threatening retaliation either in the form of investigations or by removing federal financial aid and federal contracts. In order to avoid this sort of persecution, these social institutions are being required to appeal to Trump personally. To humiliate themselves by publicly kissing his ring. You want to avoid tariffs on products you need? Humbly ask Trump to remove them for YOUR company. You want federal financial aid for teaching or research? Humbly ask Trump to restore the funding he denied. You want to practice law or receive federal contracts? Humbly ask Trump to overlook any earlier opposition and publicly promise to support him. You want access to the Trump administration as a news source? Humbly agree to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. What kind of person or institution would humble themselves before this guy?

But hey, it's working. Some large law firms and some universities have already compromised themselves; many news agencies have modified their coverage of Trump and are parroting his bullshit; a lot of businesses threatened by Trump's trade practices are considering personal appeals to Trump and praising his harmful policies. Intimidation works. But c'mon, how could anybody be intimidated by this guy?

I find truly astonishing that so many people and institutions are afraid of this guy. He's a cartoonish nitwit; he's more a malignant Elmer Fudd than an evil genius. The sheer mass of his ignorance could bend light. He's ten pounds of racist bullshit in a five pound bag. He's a coward and a liar. People are afraid of taking on this guy?

This guy?