Will there be violence if Trump loses?
I say probably not. Leonid Bershidsky writes:
Although some of these groups have made headlines with their gun-toting antics, the militiamen I met in Florida were more afraid and disoriented than fearsome…It’s hard to imagine [those] people…taking up arms for Trump if he loses and refuses to concede defeat. One reason is that they are not die-hard Trump fans. Another is that they’re realistic about how much power they have.
I think it is far more likely there is some additional violence if Trump wins. Does “emboldening” or “disillusionment” encourage more aggression? I am more afraid of too much enthusiasm for how much “change” is possible, then leading to overreaching among some of the less salubrious followers, backed by a belief that “now everything is permitted.”
In the meantime, it’s 1968, and Eddie Brinkman is stepping up to the plate to bat…