Be Afraid America, Be Very Afraid
It's become increasingly difficult to define the Republican Party as anything other than an authoritarian political party.
I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If someone sent you this email - or you are a free subscriber - and you’d like to subscribe: you can sign up here.
Yesterday, I had an op-ed in USA Today looking at how Republican-controlled state legislatures seek to criminalize political protest in red-state America. I wrote about this issue earlier this year, but that was before any news laws had been enacted. Over the past several months, cooler heads have not prevailed, and Republican state legislatures have passed a series of bills that threaten the First Amendment-guaranteed to right to peacefully assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Here's just a few examples that I cited in the piece:
In Oklahoma …the Republican-controlled state legislature and GOP governor granted civil and criminal immunity to drivers who "unintentionally" injure or kill protesters while driving away from a riot. In effect, Oklahoma Republicans are making it easier for drivers to run over and potentially kill political protesters.
Not to be outdone, Florida Republicans enacted a similar law as part of a larger "anti-riot" bill. Floridians who block traffic, even temporarily, could now be looking at up to 15 years in jail if convicted. The law also now classifies a public gathering of three people or more as a "riot" and anyone who chooses to participate in such a protest can now be charged with a felony - even if their behavior is not violent.
In Arkansas, a riot can involve as few as two people engaged in "tumultuous" conduct that creates a "substantial risk" of "public alarm." Those convicted of rioting will also be required to pay restitution - and would face a mandatory 30 days in prison.
In Tennessee, simply joining a protest in which there is "isolated pushing" and no one is hurt would now be considered a crime.
The Volunteer State is a trailblazer in anti-protest laws. After Black Lives Matter demonstrators gathered for weeks on the grounds of the state Capitol last year, the Republican-dominated legislature passed a bill that made it a felony to camp out on state property. The bill also made it a crime to make it "unreasonably inconvenient" to use a street or sidewalk – and those found guilty could face up to one year in jail. The governor signed it last August.
Other states have passed laws making it illegal to demonstrate near "critical infrastructure" such as gas and oil pipelines. In Florida, it's now a third-degree felony, punishable up to five years in prison, to deface a monument. In Arkansas, such behavior is considered an "act of terrorism."
It's an open question about whether these laws are constitutional or even that prosecutors would be willing to bring cases to court, but that isn't really the point. As I note in the piece, "The goal of these bills is to make protesters question their decision to demonstrate in the first place. How many Americans would want to risk substantial jail time merely for peacefully participating in a demonstration that the police now have broad discretion to define as a riot?"
The impetus for this legislation is not January 6, but instead, the Black Lives Matter protests from last summer. Republicans appear to be okay with insurrectionists storming the Capitol and putting lawmakers in harm's way. But deface a monument or block a roadway, and that means war.
Indeed, after several weeks of BLM protesters gathering at Tennessee's State Capitol building, the GOP-controlled state legislature enacted legislation making it a crime to camp out on state property. Laws that prevent protesters from blocking traffic or broadly define what constitutes a riot seem almost surgically enacted to target BLM activists - and to dissuade them from trying to make their voices heard.
The GOP's Creeping Authoritarianism
A few months ago, relying on the work of two Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, I wrote about the GOP's authoritarian trajectory. This chart comes from their book "How Democracies Die," and it's what they call the "four key warning signs of authoritarian behavior."
What is stunning is that, arguably, the answer to every single one of these questions is yes.
Over the last six months, a majority of congressional Republicans have refused to accept the credible results of the 2020 election. The former Republican president endorsed a violent insurrection, and now congressional Republicans are blocking a full investigation of it. Donald Trump has regularly portrayed Democrats as a threat to America’s way of life and accused them of being pawns of the Chinese government. Now Republican-controlled state legislatures are enacting laws restricting the ability of ordinary citizens to protest, criticize their government, and exercise their right to vote.
Now I am the guy who has praised those Republicans who not only refused to go along with Donald Trump’s effort to steal the 2020 election but actively thwarted it. There were many of them, and their adherence to the rule of law is laudable. But, incredible as it may seem, the Republican Party (as currently constructed) is arguably more radical and less wedded to democratic norms than it was when Trump was president. During his four years in office, the vast majority of congressional Republicans were happy to look the other way at Trump’s crimes. Most didn’t want to get their hands dirty. That’s less the case now. Republicans who have challenged Trump or who upheld the rule of law during the 2020 election face tough primary challenges from Trump acolytes. Marginal conspiracy theorists, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, are becoming rising GOP political stars, and, as was the case with Trump, establishment Republicans seem loathe to criticize her for fear of alienating their supporters. In GOP-controlled state legislatures, there has been a feeding frenzy of new voters restrictions, all based on Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.
Last Fall, I was convinced that Republicans would not go along with Trump’s efforts to steal the election. I still slightly lean that way now, but I’m starting to have some serious doubts. Congressional Republicans are willing to excuse the actions of a man who literally put their lives in danger - because they think it’s in their political interest to do so. Can anyone be genuinely confident that they would draw the line at stealing an election if Trump demands it? That this is even an open question is terrifying enough.
It gives me no pleasure to keep making these arguments, but it practically feels like complicity to fail and point out the ever-rising danger from the Republican Party. The GOP has morphed into an authoritarian party, and its only discernible ideology is the accumulation and maintenance of political power. This is not a partisan statement. It’s a fact - and it’s terrifying.
What’s Going On?
There’s just one piece you need to read today: ProPublica’s expose of how little the wealthiest Americans pay in taxes. When you are finished … come join me.
Musical Interlude
I posted a funky cover of the Beatles “Taxman” a few weeks back, so how about this little Johnny Paycheck number, “Me and the IRS.”
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings ask “What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes”
I could have posted Pink Floyd’s “Money” from “Dark Side of the Moon.” It’s the obvious pick, but let’s be honest, “The Great Gig in the Sky” is the best song from that record. Here’s a live version with Claire Torry, who does the vocals on the album version of the song.
Torry’s vocal performance is simply extraordinary. The interplay at the end between her and Richard Wright on piano, who wrote the song, gives me goosebumps.