In an editorial in today’s New York Times James Carville suggested that Democrats simply sit back and let this pathological version of the Republican party shoot itself in the foot. It won’t take too long, he points out, given what is currently going on at the Federal level, for the economy to crash and for voters to turn against the people who are crashing it.
He may be right, but I worry that there is another angle to all of this. These people don’t seem to be even slightly interested in governing. What they do seem to be focused on is removing all checks and balances.
This view is supported by the recent removal of government watchdogs, experienced and ethical military leaders and large numbers of the experienced staff who actually enable the executive branch to function in service to the public interest. On top of this, the installation of pointedly unqualified cabinet members seems to be designed to break their respective Departments.
We are already seeing extensive damage inflicted on various Departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, and the Attorney General. So Mr. Carville, for all of his wisdom and experience, may be missing something.
The recent moves by the White House don’t seem to have anything to do with running a government. Rather, they seem to be focused on executing a Palace coup. The goal seems to be to efficiently lay the groundwork for installing an autocratic regime inspired by Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin.
And if that effort succeeds, then it really won’t matter how bad the economy is. Once it becomes illegal to vote for the opposition, voters will no longer have the option to vote for the opposition.