Someone from the MSM finally said it clearly in an MSM outlet -- Michael Gerson in the Washington Post, in an opinion piece titled "Trumpism is American fascism." Here's some of it:
And the vast majority of the Republican party, not just the extremists but nearly all of them, are going along with this movement. Why? Trump lost them the House, the Senate and the Presidency. Are they so terrified of the exhtremist base with guns that they think they have no choice? Ever since Trump came on the presidential scene in 2015 everyone has been saying this can't go any further, and now it's 2021 and everyone is still saying the same thing yet it's gone a lot further. It's probable that too much media attention is being given to Marjorie Taylor Greene right now because she's crazy, which is catnip to the media. (I do think she has some serious mental health problems -- anyone who goes around stating the Sandy Hook and Parkland school shootings were faked obviously has something wrong psychologically, and needs help.) But convicted or not, Trump is still going to try to stir up trouble and many Republicans are apparently still going to kowtow to him.What type of citizen has Trump — and his supportive partisan media — produced? Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) still holds her job in Congress because she is representative of ascendant MAGA radicalism. Those who reflect her overt racism, her unhinged conspiracy thinking and her endorsement of violence against public figures are now treated as a serious political constituency within the Republican Party. Trump has come down firmly on Greene’s side. One participant in the Jan. 6 attack sent a video to her children saying: “We broke into the Capitol. . . . We got inside, we did our part. We were looking for Nancy [Pelosi] to shoot her in the friggin’ brain, but we didn’t find her.” The detail that gets to me? She sent this to her children. She was living in a mental world where vile, shameful things are a parent’s boast. And she saw her actions as the expression of a public duty — an example of doing her part.
Call this civic barbarism. Instead of promoting the values of responsible citizenship, Trump and his media enablers are elevating and blessing the very worst among us. They are making many Americans less suited for self-government and more dangerous to their neighbors. And they are doing so for the reason some of the Founders most feared: To lead the mob against true democracy.
How can anyone view the trashing of our founding tradition as evidence of patriotism? Because some have adopted a very different political philosophy than the Founders held. This approach to government promises the recovery of a mythical past. It feeds a sense of White victimhood. It emphasizes emotion over reason. It denigrates experts and expertise. It slanders outsiders and blames them for social and economic ills. It warns of global plots by Jews and shadowy elites. It accepts the lies of a leader as a deeper form of political truth. It revels in anger and dehumanization. It praises law and order while reserving the right to disobey the law and overturn the political order through violence.
This is a reality that I have resisted naming. The 45th president and a significant portion of his supporters have embraced American fascism. And Trump’s buffoonery does not disprove the point. Though he probably cannot name the political theory he has embraced, his own recklessness, vanity and authoritarian instincts have led him down fascist grooves. He displays an intuitive affinity for leaders such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungary’s Viktor Orban. And Trump would have subverted the legitimate result of the 2020 presidential election if he could have, which would have broken a constitutional continuity that has endured over two centuries.
I don’t think Trump came particularly close to success. This time. But the influence of his treacherous ideology is still being spread by unprincipled people seeking influence and profit. American fascism needs to be aggressively marginalized....
20 comments:
USA was founded on the basis of white supremacism, by a bunch of slave owners who wanted to steal more native American land. Is it all that strange that when USA is trying to change there is a stalward group who doesn't get it, who still thinks it should be a country run by white for white?
Oregon actually banned blacks from living here; finally repealed in 1926.
"The first such law took effect in 1844, when the Provisional Government of Oregon voted to exclude black settlers from Oregon's borders. The law authorized a punishment for any black settler remaining in the territory to be whipped with 'not less than twenty nor more than thirty-nine stripes' for every six months they remained."
Hard to imagine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_black_exclusion_laws
Thomas - slavery existed in the South when the US was founded. The Northern colonies did not want slavery to be accepted in the US. Grudgingly accepted slavery in order to get a single united country. Some of the Founders owned slaves, many of them did not.
Even after slavery was abolished over 150 years ago, black were only a little better than slaves in the South and second class citizens in the North. This inequality was corrected by law 50 years ago.
David - Your linked article describes nothing that Trump as said or done that bears the label "fascism". The article merely identifies a handful of Trump supporters who did or said something objectionable. That means nothing. One could just as easily choose a handful of Democrats who did or said something objectionable. E.g., White House press secretary Jen Psaki sent a tweet last year that used a homophobic slur against Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, referring to him as "LadyG."
Cheers
David, Trump is a textbook fascist.
Read Jason Stanley's "How Fascism Works." Here's a quick guide to its contents:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Fascism_Works#Content
Trump fits in all the categories:
biologically determined superiority (white)
strongman leadership
creation of a mythic and glorious past (MAGA)
politics by strength (Jan 6th insurrection)
excluding those considered inferior
politics of division, denying equality
anti-science
anti-media
spreading conspiracy theories
fear and anger over reasoned debate
calling on "law and order" solutions while his own group ignores the law
David - You seem to have been misled by Trump's enemies.I'll take your points in order,
biologically determined superiority (white) - Huh? When did Trump ever say this or act on such a belief?
strongman leadership - Trump took no more authority than other Presidents
creation of a mythic and glorious past (MAGA) - our glorious past is real, not mythic.
politics by strength (Jan 6th insurrection), - the DC riot was dreadful, but it was not an insurrection. There was no effort to take power. Anyhow, as you know, Trump had called for a peaceful demonstration.
excluding those considered inferior - what are you referring to here? Who do you assert he excluded because he considered them inferior?
politics of division, denying equality - I have no idea what you're talking about here. However, a number of Democrats propose treating different races differently
anti-science, - this is just a Democratic talking point, based on false reporting. -
anti-media - I should hope so. The media hasn't even tried to hide their anti-Trump bias.
spreading conspiracy theories - he did help spread the false theory that Obama was bornin Africa. Whether the election was stolen is undecided.
fear and anger over reasoned debate - Actually his speeches and answers at prerssers are generally well-reasoned.
calling on "law and order" solutions while his own group ignores the law - Enforcing the law is the President's Constitutional responsibility.
Cheers
As usual, David, you’re completely blind about anything regarding Trump.
Jan 6th proved all of right and all of you wrong.
Strongman: Trump said, “I alone can fix it.” No other president ever said that.
And when was this great glorious past of ours?
This inequality was corrected by law 50 years ago.
Not true. The decision by the supreme court in Washington v. Davis specifically prevents the equal protection clause from applying to institutional racism. -https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1160&context=klj
anti-media - I should hope so. The media hasn't even tried to hide their anti-Trump bias.
David, you are not the best judge of whether the media has been fair to him. You refuse to see any bad in him when there is undoubtedly a lot he can be criticized for. Right from the start when he first ran for president he conducted a disgraceful campaign. He encouraged violence against protesters, mocked a disabled reporter, encouraged his supporters to chant "lock her up". He also lied constantly.
It's hardly surprising he got a bad press. Trump's answer was to put reporters lives in danger by calling them the enemy of the people.
Whether the election was stolen is undecided.
Any reasonable person would have been highly sceptical of Trump's claims right from the start not least because Trump had made it clear he would dispute the result if he lost. Every claim was investigated including by Bill Barr and Republican officials who were on site. Luckily we also have the recording of the telephone call Trump made to the Georgia Secretary of state. That alone proved he was acting in bad faith and showed that he had dictatorial tendencies.
DiC: "Trump took no more authority than other Presidents"
Really? He tried to overthrow American democracy!
Click and read through that prescient article. Is there any tactic suggested in the article that Trump didn't then try to execute?
anti-media - I should hope so. The media hasn't even tried to hide their anti-Trump bias.
Fox, NY Post, WSJ opinion pages, Newsmax, OAN, Breitbart, Daily Caller, Washington Examiner...
David -
1. Yes, Trump has not been anti the media that doesn't oppose him. What's your point? The vague word "anti-media" might mean criticizing the media who criticized him. Or, it might mean executing the media that criticized him. The former is what Trump did. The latter is fascism.
2. How about all your other accusations? What is your evidence to support them?
Cheers
David: "And when was this great glorious past of ours?"
-- When American Democracy set an example for the world
-- When we defeated German and Japanese fascism
-- When we saved Europe's economy with the Marshall Plan
-- When we prevented the Soviet Union from conquering the world
-- When we invented innumerable inventions, including the steamboat, the sewing machine, the electric light, the phonograph, the silicon chip,...
-- When we grew from nothing to become the greatest economy in the world
-- When living here became so desirable that untold number of people moved here or tried to move here
Cheers
Layzej i I generally admire your comments. However, your link to Trump overthrowing democracy describes someone's hypothetical imaginary situation that did not happen. What your link illustrates is that some Trum0- enemies wrongly believed Trump would try to overthrow democracy.
Cheers
He didn't succeed, but which tactic didn't he attempt? He attempted every single one.
-- When American Democracy set an example for the world
-- When we defeated German and Japanese fascism
-- When we saved Europe's economy with the Marshall Plan
-- When we prevented the Soviet Union from conquering the world
-- When we invented innumerable inventions, including the steamboat, the sewing machine, the electric light, the phonograph, the silicon chip,...
-- When we grew from nothing to become the greatest economy in the world
-- When living here became so desirable that untold number of people moved here or tried to move here
Yes, it was a good time to live in the US if you were a white middle class male, or more affluent.
If you were black you were discriminated against, or worse in the south, and almost certainly had a lower standard of living.
If you were gay you had to hide that fact and could be fired from your job if discovered.
If you were some other minority your employment opportunities were usually limited, as were your housing possibilities.
If you were a woman your employment opportunities were limited, as were your opportunities for advancement, and you would be fired if you got pregnant. You might well suffer sexual harassment at work, and in more instances than today, abuse at home.
If you were a Jew you might not be hired at certain companies or discriminated against from certain neighborhoods. And called ugly names by white people.
Do I have to go on? MAGA-land was great for middle class and affluent white men. It was not so great for the rest, who were more interested in getting and keeping a job than the Cold War or the invention of the next greatest do-dad.
David in Cal wrote:
What your link illustrates is that some Trum0- enemies wrongly believed Trump would try to overthrow democracy.
David, do you not see Trump's pressuring Georgia officials as trying to overthrow democracy?
His constant drumming up of conspiracy theories?
His constant pre-election claim that the only way he could lose was if the election were stolen?
His incitement of the Jan 6th riot?
I could go on.
DiC, Americans are if nothing else good at taking credit for inventions. The reality is a bit more complex:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewing_machine#Invention
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat#History
When it comes to WW II I guess we should be grateful that Japan and Germany declared war on USA so you had to get involved. Nor should we forget all the democracies USA has helped overthrow or all the conflicts it has created.
Interesting to note how those virtues of American greatness fared under Trump:
-- When American Democracy set an example for the world
Not even Americans believe in American democracy at this point. Least of all the Trumpists.
-- When we defeated German and Japanese fascism
America gave comfort to fascists under Trump.
-- When we saved Europe's economy with the Marshall Plan
America first means the US has abandoned it's global leadership role.
-- When we prevented the Soviet Union from conquering the world
Trump has capitulated to the Soviet Union.
-- When we invented innumerable inventions, including the steamboat, the sewing machine, the electric light, the phonograph, the silicon chip,...
American ingenuity is one of the few of these virtues that has survived Trump.
-- When we grew from nothing to become the greatest economy in the world
US economy remains the envy of the world, but under Trump, he U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio grew to 136%. The world bank considers a country to be in trouble if the ratio rises to 77%. By comparison, Canada's debt-to-GDP has "ballooned" to 51% (and rising, which is no doubt also concerning).
-- When living here became so desirable that untold number of people moved here or tried to move here
Global sentiment of the USA is at its lowest point in two decades.
Post a Comment