The animating concept behind the Trump campaign will be chaos. This is what history shows us fascists do when given the chance to participate in democratic political campaigns: They create chaos. They do it because chaos works to their advantage. They revel in it, because they can see how profoundly chaos unnerves democratic-republicans—everyone, that is, whether liberal or conservative, who believes in the basic idea of a representative government that is built around neutral rules. Fascism exists to pulverize neutral rules.

So they campaign with explicit intention to instill a sense of chaos. And then comes the topper: They have the audacity to insist that the only solution to the chaos—that they themselves have either grossly exaggerated or in some cases created!—is to vote for them: “You see, there is nothing but chaos afoot, and only we can restore order!”

    • hansl@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      11 months ago

      Last 40 years not good enough? Even with Carter the odds are better for the incumbent.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        Oh it’s not that, it’s just there is so few presidents that didn’t win their second election, and you listed all of them except one particular democrat, is all.