The question—to my mind, an open question—is the extent to which the ascendancy of the whole movement depends on the animating spirit of its figurehead. My guess: a lot. But of course I could well be wrong. Maybe he's a *drag* on MAGA. Maybe it gets *worse* when he's gone. But I don't think so...
I think this will keep up until they win, or until we come up with a different plan that actively fixes the mass unhappiness and anger caused by inequality.
I think I agree, but in reading Paxton one thing I realized is just how much fascist movements dictate events performed by the supreme leader. They’re not just going to fade away in that leader’s absence, but they may splinter. And we’ll be stuck pulling splinters out of our society for a long time.
Put another way, the fascist media network they put in place is going nowhere and will continue to amplify the worst sort of voices. Every R politician will now have to court MAGA. But while führers don’t direct events as much as people think, a central figure seems necessary for faction cohesion.