Autocrats are THRIVING Everywhere: From Belarus to Poland to the United States

In this episode, Alex talks about a missing Chinese tennis star, the growing border crisis between Poland, the EU, and Belarus, and how the autocrats may be winning around the world. He ends by criticizing the GOP for sticking by Rep. Paul Gosar. Gosar has shared a video that showed him killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and has ties to white supremacists. In this episode - 

 

He starts by looking into reports of a recent Chinese tennis star who has gone missing after accusing a Chinese government official of sexual assault. Then he talks about the growing humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border in which migrants from the Middle East are being treated like political pawns. In this scenario, Lukashenko appears to be seeking revenge on the EU by exaggerating tensions between the EU and Poland. Recently, Poland’s Law and Justice Party have followed Hungary’s playbook by packing the judicial system with loyalists. Now the EU must send aid to help Poland in this border crisis, while also condemning Poland’s illiberal actions. 

 

Later in the episode, Alex discusses an article by Anne Applebaum about how “the Bad Guys are Winning.” The article looks at countries such as Belarus, Russia, China, Poland, Hungary, and even the United States. Applebaum worries that authoritarian regimes are working together to quell democratic protests, the hope is that if they can stop democracy in one country, it won’t start in the next. She argues that “If the 20th century was the story of slow, uneven progress toward the victory of liberal democracy over other ideologies—communism, fascism, virulent nationalism—the 21st century is, so far, a story of the reverse.” 

 

This brings Alex to his growing fears about what is occurring inside of the GOP in the United States. Only two Republicans (Kinzinger and Cheney) voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar. Gosar had shared an anime video of himself murdering Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Arizona Republican also has ties to white supremacist movements and appears to have been a key figure in the Trump riots on January 6th. Alex worries that no matter who runs and/or wins the Republican ticket in 2024, the base will demand a Trump-like figure. This poses the question, if the current GOP doesn’t want hardline Republicans like Kinzinger and Cheney in their ranks, then who does the GOP want in their ranks? If it isn’t about policy anymore, then what is it? Are they going down the same road as other authoritarian movements around the world?