I agree with that last part and I'm not dismissing it in any binary way. It is certainly in the math but more like a retrofitted explanation. The sort that we see the GOP do all the time. They approach political problem solving in a destructive way. "We want to do something bad so we have to find something the other side did and twist that into a rationale about why we are justified when we act badly." Whataboutism is practically rule #2 in the GOP playbook. A close second to the authoritarian-adjacent rule #1 - never break publicly with the GOP.Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Aug 10, 2021 12:40 pmI'm not sure why you dismiss the idea that "the right looks at Hungary as a model because of a reaction to cancel culture." It feels to me like you're looking at this in too binary a way. I do think cancel culture is driving people toward fascists like Orban and Trump. Is it the thing that kicked off this fascination with fascism? Definitely not. But is it a contributing factor? I think it is.
Meanwhile the reality IMO is that the GOP has been flirting with authoritarianism for 50 years. They might have forced out one authoritarian when he got out of control but even by Reagan era they started to act all wounded about it. By the mid-90s they had elements who were aggrieved enough to begin the mutation of their values into illiberal theories about one-party rule that took on its own life.
I think folks often forget that Clinton was beset with all sorts of attacks on his legitimacy and conspiracy theories, we had a mini-1/6 in the "Brooks Brother riot", Obama...I mean everything there, and such. There were Conservatives even talking about how they were going to win one-party rule by winning hearts and mind during Bush II. When that didn't work they got increasingly aggro as they lost voters as they marched into barking madess.
Were there some 'identity politics' blow ups during that whole period? Sure but was it the primary factor *driving* them towards fascism or looking at someone like Orban? Was it even a significant factor? I don't think so.