Authoritarians and corruption: fraternal twins

Matthew Yglesias takes a look at what average Americans consider to be corrupt behavior by politicians and concludes that voters "think everyone is corrupt:"

Some people think it’s because the voters don’t care about corruption, but I think that’s probably wrong.

Searchlight Institute polling on this shows that voters just have an incredibly low estimate of the baseline level of integrity of politicians. Seventy-one percent say the “typical politician” is corrupt. Typical Republican? Sixty-eight percent. Typical Democrat? Sixty-one percent. Seventy-two percent say that “long-term elected officials” are probably corrupt.

I think it’s hard to make political hay out of Trump’s corruption because, while it looks extraordinary to me (and probably to you if you’re reading this), many voters see it as pretty normal.

It doesn't help that Americans generally don't see the nuance: the Democratic Party tends to kick out its most corrupt members, while the Republican Party lauds theirs. Nicholas Kristof sums this up in his column today:

President Trump is unrivaled in American history in one respect: None of his predecessors ever cashed in on the presidency as he has.

The fire hose of disclosures has been overwhelming. A Times editorial estimated conservatively that the Trump family has made more than $1.4 billion in documented gains by exploiting the second term of his presidency. (Others offer higher figures.)

And all that pales beside the latest bombshell: a $500 million secret deal backed by a government leader in the United Arab Emirates, just four days before Trump was inaugurated for his second term.

What does this have to do with authoritarianism? Well, corrupt politicians crack down on their opponents, particularly the press, because they don't want to go to jail. Authoritarianism is always a cover for corruption.

On the other hand, by promoting loyalty (and silence) ahead of competence (and accountability), authoritarians always fail. Sadly, failure doesn't guarantee they get kicked out of power. I just hope that the authoritarian overreach by the Republican Party will lead to electoral reckonings in November and in 2028.