E.J. Dionne: How a nation goes slouching towards autocracy

Washington • In their book, “How Democracies Die,” political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt write: “How do elected authoritarians shatter the democratic institutions that are supposed to constrain them? Some do it in one fell swoop. But more often, the assault on democracy begins slowly. ... The erosion of democracy takes place piecemeal, often in baby steps.”Our nation is divided in many ways, and one of the most important chasms involves the question