>>508987273 (OP)The problem is that the "liberals" went totally mask off during COVID and they had their own version of the War on Terror so no one will trust them with power again.
They went mask off well before that, of course (going nuts about 2016's Trump win being a huge contributor). I think it's once they finally got their marriage equality ruling, they looked for new ways to continue implying other groups were oppressed and broke down language and the social contract entirely. COVID accelerated that.
So no, now we know both parties have their own authoritarian leanings and we just have to hope that trust in the system breaks down to where people won't trust it.