A THOUGHTFUL ANALYSIS PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1 WE BEGAN GLEANING TIDBITS from Senator Chris Murphy’s analysis of the path to autocracy. Here in Part 2, he lists six specific elements in this lamentable process.

Element 1. Instill Fear: “They legitimize political violence to keep critics silent,” says Murphy. “That’s what the Jan. 6 pardons are about. This week, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski spoke publicly about her worries of ‘retaliation.’ That is chilling.”

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R, Alaska). Image from Outside the Beltway.

Element 2. Silence the Press: Murphy recounts, “Trump does this in two ways. First, he co-opts the owners of the media and information ecosystems (Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk, etc.). Those who don’t fall in line get harassed. That’s what’s happening with the AP over their refusal to use ‘Gulf of America’ or FCC investigations into broadcasters like CBS.”

Element 3. Silence the Lawyers: “In free societies,” Murphy describes, “lawyers guard our rights. Despots can more easily trample our rights if the lawyers are silenced. That’s why Trump is forcing the big law firms to sign what amounts to loyalty oaths.”

Element 4. Silence the Universities: Murphy notes, “Two things that threaten their power happen on university campuses: youth protest and the guarding of objective truth. Neither is allowed in an autocracy.”

Element 5. Control the Private Sector. Murphy contends, “The tariffs are a means to force every business to get on Trump’s good side and stop public dissent in exchange for relief from his regime. Withholding of federal funds from non-profits forces these orgs to stay quiet too.”

Element 6: Cut Off Opposition Funding. Murphy continues, “Autocrats like Orbán allow the opposition to exist, but starve it. Trump is moving to shut down non-profits and donor collectives that oppose his policies.”

We Can Stop It. Murphy admits, “I know that sounds like a lot of doom and gloom, but I still believe we can stop it, and here’s how: First, we need solidarity. Each set of institutions can’t let the regime pick them off from each other. The legal profession failed miserably at this, but universities can model a collective strategy to fight back and win. We see some people trying that now with the proposed Big Ten Academic Alliance.

“Second,” he says, “we need mass mobilization. When hundreds of thousands of people rally against this kind of assault on democracy, history shows it works.”

Image by Adam Gray for The New York Times via SimanaitisSays.

“Third,” the senator says, “political leaders need to take risks. No citizen will take the risk to mobilize if their leaders are playing it safe. This means speaking daily truth to the regime and taking tactical risks.” As an example, he cites boycotting the State of the Union address, had “enough other leaders joined my efforts.”

In particular, I note Senator Lisa Murkowski’s comments above and Maine Governor Janet T. Mills “See you in court” as brave and positive examples of this. By contrast, alas there are numerous Quislings as well.

Murphy adds, “I believe those three steps, taken together, can arrest Trump’s assault. But if it doesn’t, then we’ll need civil disobedience. This conversation will need to happen sooner than many of us may be comfortable with. The bottom line is we still have the power, but we probably have less time than most think.”

It’s no surprise that Murphy concludes his communication with “a humble request before you scroll away.”

SimanaitisSays will continue this fight. And thanks, Senator Murphy, for your thoughtful analysis. 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025