Thaddeus G. McCotter: The Democrats’ DIY Manual for Autocracy

The Democratic president was furious. He called Republicans fascists for their complicity with foreign dictators and autocrats in imposing a right-wing dictatorship onto Americans. His whims were echoed by members of his administration as well as fellow Democrats who denounced the GOP for being fascists.
 Word began to circulate that [the GOP nominee] was nothing but a stalking horse for reactionary, big business Republicans who planned a Fascist-style takeover of the government…

“[The GOP nominee] is distinctly dangerous,” [a cabinet member wrote]. “With him in the White House, the monied interests would be in full control and we could expect an American brand of fascism as soon as he could set it up…”
[The Democrats’] vice president nominee said… “But you can be sure that every Nazi, every Hitlerite, and every appeaser is a Republican.”
 

Coming to believe his own campaign’s mudslinging smears, the paranoid president accused his opponents of undermining national security; and, despite a congressional ban upheld by the Supreme Court, nevertheless directed the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to surveille, investigate, and compile files upon the millions of citizens who disagreed with the president and his administration by, in significant part, through the illegal means of spying upon their communications.
  [The president] A stack of more that 100 telegrams, all critical of his speech, were sent to the president’s press secretary. The president stated that their senders were clearly against a strong national defence and he wanted to the [FBI Director] “to go over these, noting the names and addresses” The people who dispatched them. [The FBI Director] The White House also requested that he check each name and report back on his findings to him. If there was no information on a critic, the White House would be notified.