Chris Hayes called it @chrislhayes

Chris Hayes called it

by digby

























1) In 2012, in the midst of the Obama/Romney campaign I published a book called Twilight of the Elites. https://t.co/LFPutDnrAa
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016


2) The book argued that America had undergone an extended period of elite failure, from Iraq to Katrina to the financial crisis.
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016


3) And that the sustained elite failure along with diminishing prospects for great majority of workers had produced a Crisis of Authority
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016


4) That Crisis of Authority could be found in polling that found Americans with the lowest levels of trust in their institutions...ever
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016

5) I argued that there were different reactions to this chasm of distrust that had grown up. Institutionalists, who thought the distrust was
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016

6) itself the problem, and Insurrectionists who believed fundamentally the problem was born of an incompetent, corrupt elite.
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016


7) I also argued that this kind of crisis of authority opened up new possibilities for genuine reform and re-democraticization, but also
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016

8) it opened up the possibility of a move towards much more authoritarian politics; if the elite are bankrupt and corrupt, a strongman
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016

9) will look, to many, like an attractive alternative.

Basically Donald Trump is every argument in that book made real.
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016

10) And since were all reflecting on our predictions, I thought I'd take this opportunity to say as many as I get wrong,this one I got right
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 5, 2016


Hayes had it right indeed. The book is well worth a re-read in this moment.

I wish I could say that I ever believed that the "reform" reaction would automatically prevail and a peaceful revolution would fix our problems. I'm not that romantic. These things tend to play out in non-linear fashion with feints in different directions before it settles in and I have no idea where that will be. It could be that Trump will work the strongman impulse out of the system and leave us with a renewed commitment to reform our democracy. But it's playing with fire. Let's hope it burns out quickly.

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