THIS MOMENT FEELS DIFFERENT (updated)

The authoritarian moment we're living through feels different from all the other authoritarian moments we've experienced since January 20. In those moments, the reaction was mostly the same: total compliance from the right, outrage from ordinary liberals and leftists, and meek acceptance from nearly all establishment Democrats. There's been some Democratic pushback on immigration, but very little of it from leaders of the party in Washington. Meanwhile, Republicans and right-wing pundits have behaved as if we have one branch of government, not three, and that branch is Donald Trump, plus whoever is whispering the loudest in his ear (usually Stephen Miller).

But right now it appears as if some parts of the political world finally recognize the authoritarian moment we're in. This response to the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC isn't much, but it surprises me:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and his leadership team on Thursday called for Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr to resign over the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel....

"Brendan Carr, the so-called Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has engaged in the corrupt abuse of power," Jeffries and his deputies said in a joint statement.

"He has disgraced the office he holds by bullying ABC, the employer of Jimmy Kimmel, and forcing the company to bend the knee to the Trump administration. FCC Chair Brendan Carr should resign immediately."

It's just a Strongly Worded Statement, but it came less than 24 hours after Kimmel's suspension, not days later, and there's no Pivot to Kitchen Table Issues. Baby steps...

And at least one candidate on the progressive left sees preventing a crackdown on dissent as a key issue right now:

Trump just designated “Antifa” as a terrorist organization, on par with ISIS and Al Qaeda. As a reminder, “antifa” is short for “antifascist”. They will use this lie to surveil, imprison, and kill Americans on the left. This may be our Reichstag Fire moment. Wake up. www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/p...

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— Kat Abughazaleh (@katmabu.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 9:48 PM

Progressive candidates and members of Congress have been much more of a resistance than the Democratic establishment, but, as I said yesterday, they've largely been focused on issues such as the immigration crackdown, affordability, and Gaza. I hope there's more where this came from.

See also the progressive governor of Illinois:

What’s at stake here is free speech. Across the board, we’ve seen the Trump administration use the power of government to go after anybody who’s criticized them — and in this case, Jimmy Kimmel. We need to all stand up and speak out.

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— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) September 17, 2025 at 9:54 PM

Portions of the mainstream press seem to understand that this is a pivotal moment. The lead headline on the front page of The Washington Post online is "Trump, Allies Seek to Punish Speech They Dislike Following Kirk Killing." I found this headline at Variety: "After Shocking Jimmy Kimmel Suspension, Trump Keeps Successfully Silencing His Critics — and That’s Terrifying."

And there are a few voices on the right who aren't in lockstep with Trump. Tucker Carlson, of all people, is taking what appears to be a principled stand, for reasons that are unclear:

“You hope that a year from now, the turmoil we're seeing in the aftermath of his murder won't be leveraged to bring hate speech laws to this country,” Carlson said Wednesday during a special edition of The Tucker Carlson Show in tribute to Kirk.

“And trust me, if it is, if that does happen, there is never a more justified moment for civil disobedience than that, ever. And there never will be,” the pundit added. “Because if they can tell you what to say, they're telling you what to think...There is nothing they can't do to you because they don't consider you human.”

And in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove writes:

... there has been a disturbing and growing undercurrent in our national conversation and on the internet, a pronounced emphasis on “they” and “them.” Charlie would be alive but for “them.” “They” killed him. “They” are responsible for his death. “They” must be made to pay.

No. Charlie Kirk wasn’t killed by “them.” “They” didn’t pull the trigger. One person did, apparently a young man driven by impulse and a terrible hate. If there were a “they” involved, law enforcement would find “them” and the justice system would hold “them” accountable. But “he” and “him” are the correct pronouns for this horrendous act....

Using Charlie’s murder to justify retaliation against political rivals is wrong and dangerous. It will further divide and embitter our country. No good thing will come of it.

Trump, Miller, J.D. Vance, and the rest of the administration clearly want to blame a "they" for Kirk's murder -- and one MAGA figure in particular claims to see A Conspiracy So Vast:

Steve Bannon, Mr Trump’s former chief strategist, claimed that Kirk’s death was “not a simple murder” and that the truth was “far deeper and far more malignant”....

Mr Bannon went on to suggest that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may have been involved in the incident by allegedly funding Antifa.

He doubled down on the comments on Wednesday, telling Politico: “The biggest thing is to broaden the assassination investigation from a single murder to the broader conspiracy. If we are going to go to war, let’s go to war.”

Mr Bannon also told his podcast listeners he was highly sceptical about a text exchange prosecutors said took place between Mr Robinson and his transgender lover....

“You shot a man in cold blood in front of the world... I think your parents may talk about that first before they say, ‘Oh, by the way, did you bring the rifle back?’” Mr Bannon said. “I am absolutely not buying this”....

Mr Bannon went on to urge investigators to probe connections to the assassination attempt on Mr Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year.

Trumpists don't respect Karl Rove, so I don't expect his commentary to matter much to them. But it's good to know that some on the right believe this was the act of an individual that doesn't justify a widespread crackdown on dissenters and resisters.

The mainstream right would love decades of one-party rule just like the extremists in the administration, but mainstream Republicans got used to playing more or less within the lines in their heyday. They want to go to sleep at night believing that they have American values, or at least that they don't have authoritarian values. So there could be additional pushback.

Overall, I think people who were unaware of Trump's crackdown on basic liberties are seeing it now -- not everyone, maybe not even a majority, but more people than were aware a week or two ago. If Trump is going too far for even some on the right, that's good. If he woke up the Democratic leadership, that's good. It might be too late, but a few more people appear to be awake, and aware that simply allowing events to unfold might not be the best course of action.

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UPDATE: The usually cautious ex-president is engaged. That's a good sign:

This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it. https://t.co/gOjqFnGv0I

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 18, 2025