The Authoritarian Virus.

• Author: Bresler, Robert J.
• Position: STATE OF THE NATION

AUTHORITARIANISM, an offspring of extremism, denigrates freedom of speech, diversity of opinion, and the marketplace of ideas. Consequently, authoritarians deny complexity, demonize opponents, and offer simplistic solutions. Authoritarianism eats at the vitals of democracy, which requires a high degree of comity, compromise, and civility. Authoritarians see political opponents not as rivals but as enemies to be silenced, if not eliminated. In our past elections, political rivals realized that neither side could gain a final victory. Candidates accepted defeat with the expectation that success can come again. In 1960, Richard Nixon took his narrow loss with grace, as did Al Gore in 2000.

The past two presidential elections saw that tradition discarded and sparked the glowing embers of authoritarianism. Many Democrats insisted with paltry evidence that Donald Trump's victory in 2016 resulted from Russian interference and Republican voter suppression--thus, his presidency was illegitimate. In 2020, Trump and his supporters insisted his defeat was a result of election fraud. In both cases, the facts stood in bold relief to these fanciful claims.

The authoritarian virus is growing with intensity and threatens the fabric of our entire democratic culture. Pres. Trump played on authoritarian instincts, demonizing his opponents and simplifying ideas. He then disgraced himself on Jan. 6 and played the role of the strong man, the deposed caudillo, redolent of some banana republic.

Pres. Joe Biden, who promised a conciliatory tone in his Inaugural Address, has taken up Trump's style. Blatantly ignoring the facts, Biden claimed the Georgia election reform bill was "the 21st-century Jim Crow assault to suppress and subvert the right to vote in fair and free elections, an assault on democracy." As historian and political analyst Michael Barone aptly put it, Biden was speaking "unhinged nonsense."

The actual provisions of the Georgia law underscore Barone's indignation. The law increases hours for early voting and only tightens the ballot drop box rules, which initially were an emergency pandemic measure. It dispenses with a signature match, which voting rights advocates have criticized as unreliable, and required voters to provide a driver's license or state ID number. Where long lines at polling places are a problem, the new Georgia law mandates that counties either reduce the size of the relevant precincts or add new equipment or workers. Should people...