A Bad (But Not The Worst) Future

Written in comments over at Crooked Timber:

Even if the Democrats retake the House and Senate in November, even if they impeach Neal Gorsuch for the perjury he committed during the confirmation hearings, even if they punish the people who have stolen refugee children at our border, it will be at least 20 years to recover from the damage Trump and the Republicans have done.

But this is not likely. The rule of law at the Federal level is over for at least a decade to come. We are now governed by the whims of the wealthy and powerful. We are back into aristocratic politics, where knowing the character of the wealthy and powerful will be necessary for almost any significant business or political success.

The next likely moves from Trump are withdrawing from the WTO and NATO. Living in that America will be very much like living in the old Soviet Union; we will work very hard for poor wages and be asked to patriotically bless the most awful products of American industry, while the rest of the world forges ahead.

Meantime, environmental degradation will continue. The seas will rise.

(So how come there is no angry raven emoji?)