It is tempting to think GOP only wants to milk the uncertainty for Georgia runoffs and will rein him in after certified results. But I don’t think they’re as in charge as they think, and many are not really particularly committed to democracy anymore.
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Note that a peaceful legitimate transfer of power is *already* no longer an option. They’ve already undermined faith in the process with a third of the population, for a lifetime. Legitimacy isn’t an objective feature of a set of institutions but a high-inertia perception.
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We still talk of Florida 2000, and FDR’s shenanigans in the 30s. The living system is not even the nerdy, poorly play-tested tabletop game of 1787. It’s that plus a history of sketchy hacks and patches and service packs. We’re at Windows 95 stage of evolution, headed to Vista.pic.twitter.com/lgZmaNCFdy
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The highest likelihood outcome is still just a bumpy and frayed but otherwise non-crisis transition. Which people will jump to see as validation that the system just “works” and all thus agonizing was needless worry. Exactly the wrong conclusion to draw.
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When near misses increase in frequency gradually, fragility is increasing. The adjacent possible is turning into a dangerous abyss. Just because you walked a tightrope successfully doesn’t mean it’s the same as an ordinary path.
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Also don’t forget: near misses aren’t harmless. They just hurt people and things at the margins. If you’re one of the sanguine, secure ones, you won’t be hurt.
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Murder is impossible because it is illegal The United States cannot unravel or slide into autocracy because the constitution forbids it
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End of conversation
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