sorry to post low hanging fruit, but this kinda shook me a little. imo, a much clearer sign of the decay of the bourgeois state than Trump's comments about not committing to peaceful transfer of power. (which have received significant national media attention.) Trump is a buffoon, one guy who is at risk of being assassinated if he refuses to accept the election results.
but this breakdown in the states is organic, something going with its own inertia. it's the first really frightening sign for me, that our liberal democracy, rickety as it may be, is actually at risk of coming apart. even if Trump loses and goes peacefully, I don't see a Biden admin using federal power to do anything at all about this, and neither will the 6-3 supreme court.
https://twitter.com/carterforva/status/1309354062853406720
I agree. Trump keeping power by force would endanger the elites' ability to peacefully settle disputes between themselves. If he somehow repeats Bush-Gore 2000 (the way Matt Chrisman suggests), where the veneer of legality was preserved, then the status quo is safe. But if he becomes a threat to other elites - not just the personal careers of Clintons/Bidens, but actually violates basic laws that keep the party going, he'll be pushed out.
Institutions are far more powerful than individuals.