Two political scientists specializing in how democracies decay and die have compiled four warning signs to determine if a political leader is a dangerous authoritarian:
1. The leader shows only a weak commitment to democratic rules.
2. He or she denies the legitimacy of opponents.
3. He or she tolerates violence.
4. He or she shows some willingness to curb civil liberties or the media.
“A politician who meets even one of these criteria is cause for concern,” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, both professors at Harvard, write in their important new book, “How Democracies Die,” which will be released next week.
“With the exception of Richard Nixon, no major-party presidential candidate met even one of these four criteria over the last century,” they say, which sounds reassuring. Unfortunately, they have one update: “Donald Trump met them all.”
as I read those threat to democracy I wonder if you might of missed the 8 years of obama
More laughs - this forum is great! I just had to take a look at these.
"1. The leader shows only a weak commitment to democratic rules."
You mean like when Obama & Hillary actually used the FBI and the DOJ to spy on Hillary's opponent in the presidential race? And then used the DOJ and the FBI in an ongoing effort to allow a duly elected president to serve in office? (Note - if you find yourself in denial about this, get some other sources for your news!)
"2. He or she denies the legitimacy of opponents."
Refer to #1 above. Wouldn't you call using the FBI to try to nullify a certified election "denying the legitimacy of opponents"?
"3. He or she tolerates violence."
You mean like antifa?? I saw just recently where the deputy chair of the DNC supports this violence. How blatant can you get??
"4. He or she shows some willingness to curb civil liberties or the media."
President Trump is not trying to "curb . . . the media" - he is merely pointing out what he calls "fake news" - and if you would bother to check sources other than you must check, you would readily see that this is the case. I can list several studies that show the media to be more biased than at anytime in history.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/pew-us-media-bias-ranks-worst-in-the-world/article/2645644
And, it isn't confined to the news media:
And, on the Russia "collusion" thing:
Mojo, GET OUT OF YOUR ECHO CHAMBER!