MSNBC presidential historian Michael Beschloss said Wednesday on “All In” that Republicans’ election rhetoric is like the actions of Nazi Adolf Hitler and Italian fascist Benito Mussolini.
Beschloss said, “What are of the safeguards that protect our democracy? Being able to have elections where you vote someone out who misbehaves. Instead, what we see…the candidate for governor in Wisconsin saying, elected me governor, Republicans will always be elected to henceforth in our state. Well, Hitler and Mussolini didn’t even bother to say that, yet, in 1934, Mussolini had an election, and how did it go? Well, Mussolini’s party got 99% of the vote. 1936, Hitler’s party entered an election, which he called free and fair, which was a corrupt fraud. Hitler’s party won with 98% of the vote. That’s what happens in autocracies, and it can happen very fast.”
He added, “There is at least a significant chance that this country could be consumed by violence all over the next week after this election. I hope it doesn’t happen. But the difference between 1871 and now is groups that wanted to generate violence against black people and others. They didn’t have social media. So they couldn’t connect with each other, and aggravate each other, and conspire, and plan. Now, you’ve got social media, and all these groups all over the United States can get in touch with each other instantly and plan something nationally that could be very dangerous and would be the opposite of what you and I think of as a peaceful democracy.”
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