I have been patiently and excitedly and curiously waiting since 2016 for the “it’s fascism now” crowd to point to the actual consolidation moment: elections don’t matter, courts are sidelined, opposition is neutralized, and emergency powers become the default. Actually since 1980, 1988, 2000, 2004, and then 2016. Still waiting. Except I do think America’s been pretty faschy since around 1950, with big accelerations after 9/11 and the Patriot Act.