2016 ELECTION | Professors Sound Off on Election’s Stakes

Prof. Enzo Traverso, Romance studies

Donald Trump outrageously exhibits his authoritarianism, sexism and racism. His demagogic propositions and his style have a fascistic taste, but fascism is not reducible to the personality of a leader and behind him there is no fascist movement. Trump is a deplorable TV star, much more reminiscent of Berlusconi than Mussolini. His pretention to oppose the establishment is even more paradoxical because he is the nominee of the GOP, a historical pillar of the establishment itself. Trump’s “program” eclectically merges protectionism and neoliberalism.

2016 ELECTION | What’s the Law Got to Do With It?

I’ve been asked to comment on the role of law-related issues in the election, specifically a Supreme Court vacancy and allegations of illegal conduct against each candidate. A Supreme Court vacancy is a pretty perfect ideological issue. This election, however, has not been as ideological as might have been predicted two years ago. We have two big government candidates, though they differ in how to use that big government. So it’s not surprising that Supreme Court nominations have not been the central issue.

2016 ELECTION | Looking Beyond Labels

So genuine was elite surprise in the fall of 2015 that responses were at first preoccupied with the choice of words to describe the Democratic challenger and the ascendant Republican candidate. Sanders was an old fashioned socialist who’d sneaked into the Senate Democratic caucus, somewhat reminiscent of Huey Long or Eugene Debs. Trump was harder to label, but the favorites were (and still are) demagogue, racist, fascist. Party elites and intellectuals were determined to delegitimate both outsiders. Despite their best efforts, Trump is now the Republican candidate for president and though Sanders was crushed by the Democratic machine, his devoted and angry followers are essential to Hillary Clinton’s victory.

Recipes for Election Night Disaster

Thinking of throwing your own election night party, but don’t know what to make? I’ve devised the perfect menu to appease both sides of the aisle before you inevitably begin crying with anxiety into your wine glass.