In a bold and dangerous move late Friday, Donald Trump pardoned racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio in a move described by New York Times columnist Adam Liptak as characteristically unconventional. In his op-ed piece in the Times, Paul Krugman details exactly how the powers vested in the presidency, when exercised to the extreme, can lead to a fascist state.
David Frum, senior editor of The Atlantic, concluded in his article How to Build an Autocracy, "Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from fortified compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a modern bureaucratic state, not by dictate and violence, but by the slow demoralizing process of corruption and deceit. And the way that liberty must be defended is not with amateur firearms but with an unvarying insistence upon the honesty, integrity and professionalism of American institutions and those that lead them. We are living through the most dangerous challenge to the free government of the United States that anyone alive has encountered. What happens next is up to you and me. Don't be afraid. This moment of danger can also be your finest hour as a citizen and an American.”
Trump is a deflector and manipulator of the highest order. He has demonstrated that he has no regard for the rule of law or the U.S. Constitution. In my book, From Bully to Bull’s Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, I give advice to the bystander. I suggest that the Republican leaders take a strong stand as they have very little time left to stop him.
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