{"id":177,"date":"2026-01-26T22:45:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T22:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/?p=177"},"modified":"2026-01-26T23:54:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T23:54:29","slug":"time-for-the-facism-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/01\/26\/time-for-the-facism-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Time for the Facism Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”143px” custom_margin=”||-83px|||” custom_padding=”52px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|auto|-24px|auto||” custom_css_free_form=”p {|||| margin-bottom: 10px; \/* Adds space below the line *\/|| padding-bottom: 10px; \/* Adds space between text and the line *\/|| }” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”40px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

We’re a Year In.\u00a0 It’s Time for the Checklist!<\/h3>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

I asked an AI (copilot) to come up with a checklist of progression toward facism.\u00a0 I must say that it did an excellent job.\u00a0 I’ll present the checklist here, and future posts will detail each category in turn.<\/p>\n

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Warning Signs of Democratic Backsliding<\/h3>\n
\n

Stage 1 \u2014 Early Democratic Erosion<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Erosion of trust in democratic institutions<\/li>\n
  • Leaders framing political opponents as existential threats<\/li>\n
  • Increasing use of conspiracy narratives to explain political setbacks<\/li>\n
  • Attacks on independent media as \u201cbiased,\u201d \u201cfake,\u201d or \u201cenemies\u201d<\/li>\n
  • Growing tolerance for political violence in rhetoric<\/li>\n
  • Declining transparency in government decision-making<\/li>\n
  • Expansion of executive power through \u201cemergency\u201d language<\/li>\n
  • Attempts to delegitimize courts or regulatory bodies<\/li>\n
  • Normalization of corruption or conflicts of interest<\/li>\n
  • Shrinking space for civil society and watchdog groups<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Stage 2 \u2014 Institutional Capture<\/h4>\n
      \n
    • Stacking courts with loyalists<\/li>\n
    • Politicizing law enforcement and intelligence agencies<\/li>\n
    • Rewriting rules for elections, voting, or districting to entrench power<\/li>\n
    • Weakening or replacing independent oversight bodies<\/li>\n
    • Using state resources to reward allies and punish critics<\/li>\n
    • Restricting access to public information<\/li>\n
    • Expanding surveillance powers without proportional oversight<\/li>\n
    • Pressuring private companies to align with government narratives<\/li>\n
    • Increasing use of state media or government-aligned outlets<\/li>\n
    • Criminalizing leaks, whistleblowing, or investigative journalism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Stage 3 \u2014 Soft Authoritarianism<\/h4>\n
        \n
      • Harassment or legal prosecution of opposition leaders<\/li>\n
      • Disqualification of candidates on technical or vague grounds<\/li>\n
      • Restricting protests or requiring burdensome permits<\/li>\n
      • Expanding definitions of \u201cextremism,\u201d \u201csedition,\u201d or \u201cnational security threats\u201d<\/li>\n
      • Government-aligned oligarchs acquiring independent media<\/li>\n
      • Internet throttling, censorship, or algorithmic manipulation<\/li>\n
      • Loyalty tests for civil servants, educators, or military personnel<\/li>\n
      • Use of tax audits or regulatory pressure against critics<\/li>\n
      • State-sponsored disinformation campaigns targeting dissent<\/li>\n
      • Normalization of paramilitary or vigilante groups aligned with the ruling party<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Stage 4 \u2014 Hard Authoritarianism<\/h4>\n
          \n
        • Elections become symbolic or noncompetitive<\/li>\n
        • Opposition parties banned or severely restricted<\/li>\n
        • Judiciary fully subordinated to executive power<\/li>\n
        • Widespread political imprisonment<\/li>\n
        • Nationalization or forced takeover of independent media<\/li>\n
        • Severe restrictions on speech, assembly, and association<\/li>\n
        • Militarization of domestic policing<\/li>\n
        • Use of emergency powers without clear end dates<\/li>\n
        • Constitutional changes enabling indefinite rule<\/li>\n
        • State ideology enforced through education, culture, and law<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Stage 5 \u2014 Total Consolidation<\/h4>\n
            \n
          • Cult of personality around the leader<\/li>\n
          • Mandatory ideological education or loyalty rituals<\/li>\n
          • Criminalization of dissenting identity groups<\/li>\n
          • State control of the economy to reward loyalty<\/li>\n
          • Surveillance integrated into daily life (digital or physical)<\/li>\n
          • Elimination of independent civil society<\/li>\n
          • State rewriting of history to justify permanent rule<\/li>\n
          • Use of fear, coercion, or violence as routine governance tools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

            “`[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

            Now, before you launch into the individual discussions of these stages, take some time and watch this excellent YouTube video:<\/p>\n

            [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hAAj7kemCuc&t=51s” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            We’re a Year In.\u00a0 It’s Time for the Checklist!I asked an AI (copilot) to come up with a checklist of progression toward facism.\u00a0 I must say that it did an excellent job.\u00a0 I’ll present the checklist here, and future posts will detail each category in turn.Warning Signs of Democratic Backsliding Stage 1 \u2014 Early Democratic Erosion Erosion of trust in democratic institutions Leaders framing political opponents as existential threats Increasing use of conspiracy narratives to explain political setbacks Attacks on independent media as \u201cbiased,\u201d \u201cfake,\u201d or \u201cenemies\u201d Growing tolerance for political violence in rhetoric Declining transparency in government decision-making Expansion of executive power through \u201cemergency\u201d language Attempts to delegitimize courts or regulatory bodies Normalization of corruption or conflicts of interest Shrinking space for civil society and watchdog groups Stage 2 \u2014 Institutional Capture Stacking courts with loyalists Politicizing law enforcement and intelligence agencies Rewriting rules for elections, voting, or districting to entrench power Weakening or replacing independent oversight bodies Using state resources to reward allies and punish critics Restricting access to public information Expanding surveillance powers without proportional oversight Pressuring private companies to align with government narratives Increasing use of state media or government-aligned outlets Criminalizing leaks, whistleblowing, or investigative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186,"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions\/186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mytrumpdiary.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}