Ken Burke, MD, lives in New Portland.
The plan is obvious. As this president accumulates more power, as the Supreme Court behaves as his personal sanction board and docket-decision star chamber, and as Congress refuses to exert authority to confront executive illegality and usurpation of congressional prerogatives, our democratic government—like the East Wing—is being destroyed.
This situation forces the question: How many people in this country actually approve of dictatorial powers resting in the hands of this unstable individual?
As we slouch our way toward the abyss of a Franco-style totalitarian government, loss of democracy means the loss of everything you hold dear: family; freedom of speech; the rule of law; the freedom to attend church, mosque, or synagogue.
The attributes of fascism are well documented: cult of personality; breach of the rule of law; suppression of a free press; scapegoating ethnic, racial, or social groups; destruction of the independent judiciary; increasing use of military violence against citizens; extrajudicial killings.
The cult of personality feeds delusions of grandeur, while the use of force inures the American public to increased violence and militarism. What is the purpose? You don’t believe he intends to step down, do you?
Trump understands he is a fascist. That is why Antifa is his bête noire obsession. During World War II, our entire nation was Antifa; we were antifascist to our bones, combating the dreadful forces of international fascism.
Over and again, Trumpian “emergency declarations” go unchallenged. The supposed rationales for presidential action are pretexts for illegal activity. These pretexts are protean and imaginative: rampant crime; war in our cities; the enemy within; the radical left; antisemitism; fentanyl; terrorists and anarchists.
No cogent reasoning or proof is offered—simply ad lib irrationalities designed to foster particular aspects of his plan.
Fascist takeover is rarely accomplished in one fell swoop; rather, it is an inexorable drift through ongoing incremental change.
A perfect example of this creeping incrementalism is the deployment of the National Guard in D.C. Initially, Trump claimed they would not be carrying weapons. Days later, commentator Hegseth stated they would be armed.
Meanwhile, the fawning invertebrates of the congressional cult, like Mike Johnson, our bobble-headed Speaker of the House, will, like the sweepers in a curling event, brush aside doubts and opposition.
https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/11/17/ignore-our-burgeoning-autocracy-at-your-own-risk-opinion/
