Meanwhile, 44 percent backed the American tradition of competing branches of government as a model, if sometimes āfrustrating,ā system.
Why would people want to live under an authoritarianās thumb? Itās rooted, experts say, in a psychological need for securityāreal or perceivedāand a desire for conformity, a goal that becomes even more acute as the country undergoes dramatic demographic and social changes. People also like to obey a strong leader who will protect the groupāespecially if it is the ārightā group whose interests will be protected. Recall the Trump supporter who, during the 2019 government shutdown, complained, āHeās not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.ā
And hereās where the Democrats run into a massive problem.
The Democrats are running on two fronts: A policy position, and warning people of the authoritarianism that Trump and the GOP will bring if they return to power.
The problem is that the Republican base is basically saying āYeah. We know. We want it that way. Screw your policies.ā And they have enough on their side to actually win the election. How the hell do you compete with that?
Education
I agree with you. This is where I just throw my hands up and concede that this is the will of the people. Our democratic form of government affords people the freedom to choose to be sheep. Isnāt it beautiful?
30% aināt the will of jack shit thatās just the new lizardman constant
This election, like the last one, isnāt about convincing maga extremists or lifelong Republicans to vote for the first Democrat in their lives. Itās about convincing people in the middle to vote against Project 2025. I know itās insane, but there are still enough āundecidedā voters that they will literally decide the election. That plus turnout. If enough people vote, Donald Trump cannot turn this country into an authoritarian regime.