Exactly. Fascist movements are in many ways similar to cults. The skills of founding a cult are one thing, but the second generation leader needs a different set of skills. Cult leaders often don’t want to give a lot of power to the sort of person who can keep it going because that does weaken their position. I see many people who think they’re Brigham Young or David Cavendish among the magas, but I don’t see anyone who actually is.
DeSantis was the face of the suburban bigot faction but he made a power play and lost his influence for it, Mace seems to be vying for that position now. Vance is the major player in the technofascist camp, but they aren’t very popular. Greene seems to be heavily influential in the rural and social media brainrot spheres and should be used as a bellweather there, especially as it’s a particularly influential camp, but also nobody wants to put that faction in charge. The christofascist wing seems led by Johnson, but their leadership seems far more from the shadows than an amorphous movement. The neonazi (as in, will call themselves fascist) camp will back anyone sufficiently bigoted, but they seem willing to fight anyone who doesn’t give them everything they want except trump.
And so looking at that I have a hard time seeing any of these people actually getting the support of all the others. One of the trump kids will probably try a play for power, and they’re probably the most likely to actually get it, but while trump is in harmony with the movement as a whole, being someone who both drinks and pisses the flavorade, his kid would likely be someone struggling to hold the factions together under them. That’s not to say they can’t, more that they’re unlikely to be able to go on stage and ramble incoherently off the dome and have it become party doctrine
That’s a great overview of it. I think you’re right; as soon as Trump dies (and I do think it requires his death, not just leaving office), MAGA will fall on each other like wolves. This is why I’m not concerned about “who comes after Trump” because in choosing, MAGA will splinter and self-destruct. I’m actually concerned about actually getting there. If Trump dies (naturally is best), and the country isn’t completely destroyed, we’ll have a hell of a cleanup project, but I think it could be fixed in a generation or two.
The fact that MAGA potential heirs are starting their succession fight tells me that they know and are privately acknowledging that he’s not healthy and are trying to get a headstart in kneecapping the opposition.
It’s not too much unlike Obama. There’s going to be a power vacuum. I’m not saying Obama was a cult leader, but he was a cult of personality. He was able to rally the 3 major factions of the dem party behind him and bring in independents as well.
When he left, no one was left to pick up the pieces, and worse, he fostered so much animosity that we got the backlash that we are still dealing with today.
The left needs to rally and find their champion, just like the tea party did.
Exactly. Fascist movements are in many ways similar to cults. The skills of founding a cult are one thing, but the second generation leader needs a different set of skills. Cult leaders often don’t want to give a lot of power to the sort of person who can keep it going because that does weaken their position. I see many people who think they’re Brigham Young or David Cavendish among the magas, but I don’t see anyone who actually is.
DeSantis was the face of the suburban bigot faction but he made a power play and lost his influence for it, Mace seems to be vying for that position now. Vance is the major player in the technofascist camp, but they aren’t very popular. Greene seems to be heavily influential in the rural and social media brainrot spheres and should be used as a bellweather there, especially as it’s a particularly influential camp, but also nobody wants to put that faction in charge. The christofascist wing seems led by Johnson, but their leadership seems far more from the shadows than an amorphous movement. The neonazi (as in, will call themselves fascist) camp will back anyone sufficiently bigoted, but they seem willing to fight anyone who doesn’t give them everything they want except trump.
And so looking at that I have a hard time seeing any of these people actually getting the support of all the others. One of the trump kids will probably try a play for power, and they’re probably the most likely to actually get it, but while trump is in harmony with the movement as a whole, being someone who both drinks and pisses the flavorade, his kid would likely be someone struggling to hold the factions together under them. That’s not to say they can’t, more that they’re unlikely to be able to go on stage and ramble incoherently off the dome and have it become party doctrine
That’s a great overview of it. I think you’re right; as soon as Trump dies (and I do think it requires his death, not just leaving office), MAGA will fall on each other like wolves. This is why I’m not concerned about “who comes after Trump” because in choosing, MAGA will splinter and self-destruct. I’m actually concerned about actually getting there. If Trump dies (naturally is best), and the country isn’t completely destroyed, we’ll have a hell of a cleanup project, but I think it could be fixed in a generation or two.
The fact that MAGA potential heirs are starting their succession fight tells me that they know and are privately acknowledging that he’s not healthy and are trying to get a headstart in kneecapping the opposition.
It’s not too much unlike Obama. There’s going to be a power vacuum. I’m not saying Obama was a cult leader, but he was a cult of personality. He was able to rally the 3 major factions of the dem party behind him and bring in independents as well.
When he left, no one was left to pick up the pieces, and worse, he fostered so much animosity that we got the backlash that we are still dealing with today.
The left needs to rally and find their champion, just like the tea party did.