> However, I am pretty sure that (while it wasn't always this way) right-wing illiberalism is largely a response to left-wing illiberalism for the last decade o

> However, I am pretty sure that (while it wasn't always this way) right-wing illiberalism is largely a response to left-wing illiberalism for the last decade or so. The left sets the precedent and the right responds in kind, often with years of delay (although I think the lag time is decreasing quickly). I strongly disagree with you there. Plenty of the right-wing illiberalism is a direct response to left-wing liberalism, e.g. * LGBT rights * Obama being president (including the birther lie, the muslim lie, and general racial reactionary behavior) * Planned Parenthood All of these things "swelled the ranks" of increasingly far-right groups long before BLM or "woke" hysteria. The majority of Republicans to this day think that Obama was a Muslim, I don't see how your mental framework explains this. I do think the two sides feed on one another, in general. I just don't think that broadly blaming the left for the existence of the illiberal right makes any sense at all.