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Comment by bandyaboot | Hacker News Reader

It’s difficult to imagine that there will be any meaningful limit. Who will there be with any power to apply the brakes?

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If they overreach, which most parties do when given the opportunity, there are elections in 2 years and then 4 where they can be reprimanded and power can be reallocated. If it’s truly bad policy it can be changed.

Russia has elections too.

I mean Trump is pretty old so even if he’s somehow a dictator (he’s not, he’s just a demagogue that’s very disagreeable - 2 traits that often lead to success if used well) he won’t around that long, lol.

I think he's the forerunner not the culmination. This movement coalesced around him but he didn't create it and it won't go away when he dies.

I believe it’s the opposite. His personality cult makes him singular, irreplaceable. When he’s gone, it’s over. The movement will just be left with its policies, which were an afterthought for most voters and might not even give favourable results.

As I interpret this thread people aren’t so much worried about Trump as they are about the Republican leadership. Particularly the American justice system will get packed with powerful conservative judges. The US is likely going to have a Supreme Court which will be far more conservative than the average citizen for the lifetime of most of us.

Similarly the FCC chair wouldn’t magically become “better” just because it wasn’t Trump. As crazy as Trump is in my opinion, he still comes off as rather progressive compared to much of the Republican Party he is the president for. A party which will again make the most out of Trumps wild ride, like they did last time.

These things will far outlast Trump and his followers. Followers who are probably also much more progressive than large parts of the Republican Party they elected.

> Russia has elections too.

And more generally:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illiberal_democracy

With vast swathes of people who DGAF about freedom of speech and just want to punish the other side - midterm elections aren't likely to produce any sort of a counterbalance.

Hopefully this regime is doing a fantastic job and the electorate votes to give them more power. But that’s doubtful. They will likely make mistakes that will be easily critiqued and balance will be sought. Always this way.

With republicans in power and the gerrymandering that will be allowed by the SCOTUS, and with a president who will never admit defeat and order his VP to not certify an election that doesn't go his way - in what world do you see democrats ever having power in America again? It's 100% over. We've become Russia. EDIT: a word

The opposition party gained power after his previous reign and the electorate decided to give it back to him. It will be ok. The Constitution is quite strong.

You forgot the part where social media companies are fully on board with extreme conservative agenda, and more people will be brainwashed. IMO Trump would have never won if it wasn't for Rogan, Elmo and his xitter. It's completely over. The only thing I hope happens - to prevent this country from being a 1 party system in perpetuity - is inner conflicts within the republican party that ends up dividing them and help create a new party to help recalibrate. But it will just be "extreme right" vs "very extreme right".

I think good social media companies promote freedom of expression. Twitter claimed to be the “free speech wing of the free speech party” and then departed from that until Musk bought it. Similarly, Rogan invites a variety of people and is more interested in conversations than making moral claims. He invited Harris who declined.

Trump won a majority across a variety of demographics. He won every meaningful contest. The Democrats will regroup and rethink their strategy. What they’ve been doing lately is clearly not working.

> If they overreach, which most parties do when given the opportunity, there are elections in 2 years and then 4 where they can be reprimanded and power can be reallocated.

Except that the US Supreme Court, the majority of whose members have a similar worldview, cannot be reprimanded in any meaningful way: just look at all the 'gifts' that Thomas has received and that nothing has been done about.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Thomas#Nondisclosure_...

The USSC can just rule that any laws that are part of the 'reprimanding' are unconstitutional.

Yeah, while it's sort of far afield from FCC regulation discussion, the previous Trump administration pushed "norm breaking" about as far as it can conceivably be pushed without actually destroying the system. And he "got away with it". There will be no hesitation this time around. The question is only in what direction the whims and attention will turn, not what can be done to constrain it.

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