Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. He is criminalizing dissent and has no respect for the rule or spirit of the law. My new .@salon
salon.com/2018/07/13/don…
salon.com/2018/07/13/don…
So many overly optimistic and naive liberals and progressives and centrist Democrats still believe that the "rule of law" and the "guardrails of democracy" are holding. They have been broken.
Trump is a singular threat to American democracy. But he cannot do his authoritarian and demagogue work alone. Trump has others--Republicans, police, the courts, and his millions of cult members to work the levers on his infernal and wicked machine.
The Age of Trump offers a necessary civics lesson. Democracies are not protected just by laws and sacred civic documents such as the U.S. Constitution. There are shared and often unstated norms which also govern how responsible leaders and citizens behave.
Donald Trump and his allies and enablers have no respect for either the letter or spirit of the law. America's democratic norms and culture are viewed as inconveniences to be trampled.
