Authoritarianism in the U.S.A?

Came across this article. Think it is quite interesting and somewhat true.


"How can we explain the reelection of George W. Bush in 2004
despite the flagrant lies about why the United States invaded Iraq, the
passing of tax reform policies that reward the ultra rich at the expense of
the middle and lower classes, and the grandstanding over foreign
policy decisions largely equated with bullying by the rest of the world?
What is one to make of Bush’s winning popular support for his
reelection in light of his record of letting millions of young people slide
into unemployment or underemployment, poverty, and hopelessness;
his refusal to protect public health and the environment; and his
promulgation of a culture of fear that is gutting the most cherished of
American civil liberties? The reelection of George W. Bush makes clear
what dominant intellectuals on the Left and Right have refused to
acknowledge, though fiction writers such as Philip Roth (2004) seem to
have a more prescient grasp of America’s move towards authoritarianism.
The United States is not simply governed by a center-right
party supported by the majority of the populace, it is a country that is
moving rapidly towards a form of authoritarianism that undermines
any claim to being a liberal democracy. For those who cling to the
illusion of democracy, even in its damaged forms, the issues that appear"

This is just the abstract but here is the link to the full document if anyone is keen to read it...

http://muse.jhu.edu.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/journals/symploke/v014/14.1giroux.pdf