I have always thought of it through the concept of "political capital". In order to be an effective politician you have to get other people to go along with yo

I have always thought of it through the concept of "political capital". In order to be an effective politician you have to get other people to go along with you. Lots of other people. You can usually get away with doing something extreme, but it costs you political capital, and you'll have to earn that back. You can spend your capital in small bits here and there, or spend it all at once on something really important to you. But it is finite, and after that, you won't be able to get those other people to go along with you until you get some more. Some politicians have more political capital than others depending mostly on how popular they are (both outside of political circles and inside). Either way, it is a finite resource, once spent, you are ineffective until you earn some back. The Trump administration is spending their political capital in a massive shock and awe campaign in their first few days in office. My political instincts tell me this is not a good long term approach if they hope to remain effective (regardless of who controls congress). They didn't have a huge amount to start out with. I think this political capital concept applies whether you are a dictator or a democrat.