Extreme authority-mindedness has reached the highest US democratic offices

Evidence

But the revelation shows that extreme rightwing authoritarianism has, at times in the past, been alive and well in the highest reaches of democratic government, from which it could have sent us to the lowest depths. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3757 (#expands, via linked claim)

Jackson and Rosberg note the ways personal rulers dominate the state apparatus. By contrast, the balance of power between the democratic statesperson and other organs of the state is qualitatively different. Here the statesperson’s authority is constitutionally limited, and other organs of the state have greater autonomy, which the political leader honors and respects even when he or she greatly disagrees with them. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 108 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Right-wing authoritarianism has operated at the highest levels of democratic government — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3757; Democratic state senators scored remarkably high on authoritarianism — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 4437; Authoritarianism and partisan affiliation correlate at one of the highest levels ever measured — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 511 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Right-wing authoritarianism has operated at the highest levels of democratic government #expands (0.95) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3757
• Democratic leaders accept constitutional limits and autonomous state organs #complicates (0.82) — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 108