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I have it on close and very good authority that none of this is a coup attempt given the absence of buy-in from major security forces, particularly the military. The absence of that support seems, thus, quite significant! And I’d like to understand it better.
One explanation is that the norm of civilian control and military non-interference simply remains very strong in the U.S. military. But there’s been a lot of ink spilled on the growth of the military brass’s political clout—and willingness to use it—over the last three decades.
Another involves more recent changes in the partisan cast of the military. There’s evidence of education polarization sparking a growing officer/rank-and-file partisan split. There’s also county-level evidence of a more general pro-Biden shift in military areas this election.
In short, assuming it’s true that our polity is facing a level of democratic strain/backsliding that renders us existentially dependent on the military’s good graces to survive, I’d like to know more about what’s going on politically with the military these days. /end
Great thread on more proximate developments in the military’s thinking since the summer: https://twitter.com/risabrooks12/status/1347619654953529349
