and moreYes, You Can Call Them Fascist
The GOP and its allies have a lot in common with fascist movements of the past, so why can’t we just say that?
Former President Donald Trump is no longer in power, but as he gears up for 2024, allied members of Congress and popular propagandists continue to advance his dangerous program.
Republican representatives such as Matt Gaetz of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Paul Gosar of Arizona argue for the validity of the “Great Replacement Theory,” a conspiracy theory that elites are seeking to dilute white power and wealth through multiculturalism and mass immigration. Tucker Carlson, without explicitly using the phrase, articulates the same message on his Fox News television program.
The Proud Boys were instrumental in the planning and execution of the January 6 insurrection, and they too have gone mainstream. At least six self-identified Proud Boys are now members of the GOP executive committee in Miami-Dade, the most populous county in Florida. Meanwhile, rightwing “Stop the Steal” activists are attempting to fill a variety of election positions, including Secretaries of State, in battleground states, threatening to demolish electoral integrity.
Republican Governors and state legislators are also cracking down on LGBTQ+ rights, banning books about Black history and the gay rights movement, and eliminating academic freedom in elementary and secondary schools. Trump’s plan for a second term, should he win the presidential race in 2024, according to a report by Axios, is to fire civil service workers throughout the government, including in the Department of Defense and Department of Justice, and replace them with loyalists.
Evidence of the rightwing threat to national security and democracy accumulates on a daily basis, but the mainstream media, and even left of center critics, continue to tread lightly. “Authoritarian,” “extreme,” “illiberal,” “anti-democratic,” and the most incoherent, “populist,” are the preferred terms of the Democratic Party, journalistic establishment, and commentariat when discussing rightwing extremism. The problem is that none of these words mean much to the average American.
BTW, I have watched RACHEL MADDOW over the years deteriorate her view of her safety in this society and our condition, to the point that she left MSM for her own safety and mental health. I know she still has a deal and will do stuff, but she knows what some of us now know. Don't even have to say it anymore.
So when board con asks us not to call them fascists anymore, we must refuse until and unless they stop being one.
