# Rude 2026 Election Night Party Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 4, 2026, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389 "2026-11-04T04:02:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/261 "2026-11-07T15:47:29Z")
I think that’s a reasonable take, but it does ignore the extent to which various administration entities _have_ been pushing boundaries in court. It’s absolutely true that the 2020 election lawsuits didn’t actually cross any lines, but that has been much less the case in the last two years. The Trump administration this time round has been far more willing to dare the courts to stop them. ICE has routinely been ignoring court orders regarding detention conditions and the like. DOJ prosecutors have engaged in grand jury shenanigans in indicting protestors. This hasn’t been entirely without consequence - the prosecutors in the Broadview 6 case are in some pretty hot water, for example - but a lot of that misconduct has escaped serious penalty and has continued unabated. So two things can be true at the same time. The American legal system and institutions of democracy can be robust and difficult to subvert, and it can be totally reasonable to look at the current administration assaults on those things and be very concerned. I don’t think the fact that the worst fears about the state of America’s democracy have been realized doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any basis for those fears. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/262 "2026-11-07T15:54:52Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I don’t think the fact that the worst fears about the state of America’s democracy have [not?] been realized doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any basis for those fears. Did you leave out a word? Supplied here tentatively, I hope not against strict rules. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/263 "2026-11-07T15:56:21Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > So two things can be true at the same time. The American legal system and institutions of democracy can be robust and difficult to subvert, and it can be totally reasonable to look at the current administration assaults on those things and be very concerned. Oh, for sure. I didn’t mention this in my original post because it was getting long, but the thing that I find most concerning about Trump isn’t the risk that he’ll successfully subvert the system and take dictatorial power, but rather the damage he has already done. His continued assaults against our institutions slowly wear down their legitimacy. He’s setting very bad precedent that I’m not sure we can back away from. Back in 2016 I opined that Trump may not be a Julius Caesar, but he may very well be a Gracchus or a Marius. Setting the stage for a future Sulla or Caesar by weakening faith in institutions and normalizing going against them. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/264 "2026-11-07T16:32:17Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I’m rewatching _Downfall_ now. These lines from the Goebbels character resonate (he had ordered unarmed civilians to sacrifice themselves to Russian attacks): > > > I don’t pity them. The people called this upon themselves. We didn’t force the people. They gave us a mandate, and now they’re paying for it. I also watched _Downfall_ last night. I know, it’s no big leap of imagination to compare trump to Hitler, but the parallels in that movie are so uncanny: - As I mentioned upthread, the general narcissism and megalomania hiding paranoia and deep insecurity, natch. - Hitter taking time out to admire the scale model for a rebuilt Berlin he had his personal architect Albert Speer design, with grand buildings and monuments, while the actual Berlin was under siege, as if he had nothing more important to deal with. - During his rant in the much memed bunker scene about his ‘incompetent, disloyal’ generals, who he was much smarter than, he says “I wish I could have had them lined up and shot like Stalin did with his disloyal top-line people!”. So even Hitler had more successful, more ruthless dictators that he looked up to. Hitler had Stalin, trump has Putin. - The shockingly loyal cult of personality he somehow managed to cultivate. - And of course, his utter disregard for any human being other than himself. When asked about evacuating a town about to be under attack, he said “why bother? The German people let me down”. When one of his military protested a plan to send untrained teenagers into battle because it was suicide, Hitler said “that’s what youth is for”. Swell guy. I’m not saying trump is as bad as Hitler, but not for lack of trying. He’s definitely ‘little hitler’. It appears our Democracy has managed to hold up against his dreams of tyranny, but as bad as he’s screwed up our country, who knows how bad things could have gotten. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/265 "2026-11-07T16:37:05Z")
> [@solost](#): > > He’s definitely ‘little hitler’. Sorry, couldn’t resist. (and the song describes Trump quite well) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lEvMkvr7Wa0/maxresdefault.jpg "Nick Lowe - "Little Hitler" (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEvMkvr7Wa0) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/266 "2026-11-07T16:40:16Z")
Ha! There’s a song trump should have been playing at his rallies 😏 ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/267 "2026-11-07T18:31:03Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Did you leave out a word? Supplied here tentatively, I hope not against strict rules. You are absolutely correct ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/268 "2026-11-07T23:39:15Z")
Question: Why can’t the new legislators in those states just reverse everything as soon as they get into office? I find it hard to imagine that is only Republican majorities that can take away powers when in office and just reinstate them when they’re back. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389/269 "2026-11-08T00:10:01Z")
Yes, it pretty much only works in states where the governorship went to a Democrat, but the Republicans maintain control of the legislature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-2026-election-night-party-thread/1034389.md?page=13)