Reading @anneapplebaum's book, it's striking how easy it is to see what's happening in the US. We are hampered by our belief that the onset of neo-fascism occurring in many other western nations can't happen here. Right now we have a leader unaccountable to the law. So why not?
For me this is what the debate over press. coverage is about. The press covers (and uncovers) Trump scandals aggressively. But on balance, there is an editorial desire to shoehorn it all into normal two-party politics ("rough edges," etc). That can lead to missing the real story.
There is a dangerous tendency to get tunnel-visioned. Everything has to be “uniquely American,” with reference points more rooted in What It Takes than global trends. At a time when fascism is on the rise across western democracies, a wider lens and broader vocabulary are needed.
The editorial choices are hard—the right called Obama authoritarian. But that’s not an excuse to punt. This is where the broader lens helps. Nonpartisan studies show one party adhering to norms and the mainstream while the other does not. The calls are hard but they can be made.
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