Besides ICE, the Trumpists have also got red-state National Guard and the FBI and Justice Dept to act as enforcers, and "big media" like the WaPo and NYT (in addition to FOX) as propaganda outlets. And maybe by the time Trump finally drops dead we will have lost even more of our institutions.
The National Guard, DOJ and non-right-wing media are not loyal to Trump. They can follow orders or be swayed if the political winds are blowing one way or another. My point is that this is not enough to hold onto power if the Constitutional order no longer applies.
You need people who are loyal and who will commit violence on your behalf, and they have to *win* if faced with resistance, violent or otherwise.
There are elements within these institutions that are sympathetic to MAGA, but they have not been converted top-to-bottom, and I'm not sure there are enough competent MAGA loyalists to staff all of these institutions alone.
I think it's wishful thinking that the WaPo will instantly go back to the institution it was before Bezos kissed Trump's ring when Trump is gone. All their best reporters and writers, the ones who previously held power accountable without fear, have left, and Bezos is still there.
But what happens when Trump is gone? Does Bezos want to kiss JD Vance's ass? What if Vance doesn't seem popular and is ineffective at using the bureaucracy and/or ICE to extract concessions? WaPo will be a shell of itself, but it won't necessarily be in Vance's pocket.
This is what I mean. I'm not sure the MAGA folks running the government are building institutions that have the scale and competency to permanently oppress a society as large and prosperous as the US.
Right now they depend on the legitimacy of government institutions that have a long and storied history. At some point they will have to come out and declare the Constitutional order dead. At that point, if they can't effectively wield power through loyalty, they won't hold onto it.
One of the problems I see about trying to restore the Constitutional order is that there is a whole generation of young voters now who think that Trump is *normal* -- witness his strength among young male voters even in the last election. They have no memory of what a healthy democracy is like.
Anyway, thanks for the thoughtful conversation. 👍 I'm glad I'm not the only one who is trying to see what the road ahead might hold for us.
The WaPo may not end up in Vance's pocket, but it's also been rendered ineffective as a check on anything Vance (or Miller, or anyone else trying to take power) might do. "Democracy dies in darkness" was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.
They could succeed in their authoritarian project. However, we need to distinguish their assuming legitimate power in functional democratic institutions and then causing destruction, from building real power with new or transformed institutions. The latter is much harder to do.
I'm glad to talk about casting eyes towards the horizon.