Thread by @msuster

1/ I saw some of my colleagues argue that the press & some on Twitter overreacted to the events of yesterday. That's seriously misguided. The President of the United States wanted to illegally remain in power & certainly would have if Congress would have allowed him.

2/ There were enough GOP congresspeople immoral enough to go alone with the President's ruse. They knew he lost the election in a landslide but for political reasons said the opposite. This is seriously dangerous

3/ There is now a press establishment (OAN, others) willing to use presidential propaganda to amplify anything he says & social media bubbles that have persuaded tens of millions of people that black was white and up was down supported by carnival barkers like Giuliani

4/ The playbook itself is dangerous. States now trying to follow suit like PA refusing to seat a state senator who won the election. This is the silent danger some don't see.

5/ I struggle to understand why some on the right are unwilling to look at history as a guide. Every situation different but as the adage says "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it" and there are some obvious "authoritarian playbooks" Trump & others emulate

6/ Leave aside Trump's admiration for Putin, Kim Jung Un, Erdoğan & others. Study Adolf Hitler and pre-war Nazi Germany. There is no reason to avoid the reference, the playbook is very similar and it's our responsibility to understand what happened

7/ I challenge anybody who doubts Trump would have turned full authoritarian to (or any good person who wants a guide to "how did this happen to the smart, cultured & sensible. people of Germany?" to read "In the Garden of Beasts" - such a profound read
amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-…

8/ Hitler put sycophants In key gov't roles. Slowly. Public officials & business people hated it. He broke small norms over time. Biz leaders didn't speak up for fear of consequences & figured he'd be gone soon. Laughed at him. He packed courts, media, encouraged mobs in streets

9/ Hitler encouraged mobs the way Trump encouraged them in DC. Trump would have gladly supported them more broadly across country. The fact that so many in congress allowed it shows you fragile democracy really is. Will more sophisticated GOP use his playbook now? We don't know

10/ Hitler went on to kill more than 6 million of my forefathers (and 10's of millions of Russians, Europeans and others). We swore we would "Never Forget" ... You can't never forget the ending. You must NEVER FORGET how it began

11/ Democracy is on the descent worldwide for the first time in our lifetimes. WE have been the beacon of hope for much of the world since WWII ended. Others will emulate our behavior. Look at Brazil, Mexico and others now with "mini Trumps"

12/ Please read the excellent @anneapplebaum who chronicles recent slides in Poland, Hungary & elsewhere that she witnessed firsthand. She has written wonderful (scary) articles in @TheAtlantic you can Google or read her new book "Twilight of Democracy"
anneapplebaum.com/book/twilight-…

13/ But please don't tell me "this was no big deal" - this was nothing less than the President actively encouraging sedition & insurrection against the US gov't with the sole aim of illegally staying in office and supported by opportunists who will carry his flag forward

14/ There are 10s of millions of people who have been duped into believing false narratives & that is dangerous. Civil society only exists to the extent that the entirety of society buys into social norms. If we allow these to be crossed you won't easily put them back in the bag

15/ If Cruz, Hawley, Scott & other career opportunists are allowed to be normalized. If complete lies and falsehoods are allowed to be propagated in media bubbles on FB, Twitter, YouTube & elsewhere we'll be back here soon enough & next time the outcome might be different <end>