It has been apparent for some time that the Republican Party is dominated by people who prefer fascism to democracy. Trump has been fairly up front about it. However, the media has been reluctant (is that the right word, or is “terrified” a better choice?) to drop the F-word in connection with the Republican Party.
So it was sort of refreshing to see that this obvious reality was acknowledged recently on Morning Joe, which I don’t watch because 1) I don’t have a TV, and 2) even if I did, I can’t stomach the bullshit, the occasional intrusion of reality notwithstanding.
Joe and his guest were discussing a poll, which among other things established that (Surprise!) Republicans are exceedingly tolerant of racist and anti-Semitic politicians. Joe seemed to think that only the anti-Semitic part qualified them as fascists, but at least it’s a start:
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough called out Republican voters later on in the segment for their turn to fascism. Scarborough said, “Less than half of Republicans believe that uttering antisemitic remarks, spewing antisemitic remarks, is a serious problem and a roadblock to being elected.”
“That tells you a large chunk of the Republican Party right now, a large chunk of the Republican base are, — I’ve been using the word ‘fascist’ for some time.”
“That there is a fascist strain in the Republican Party for at least a third or so of those members,” Scarborough said.
There’s more to fascism than anti-Semitism and racism, and the Republicans have touched all the bases, book burning and demonization of trans people being just the latest examples.
The Democrats won’t win elections by ignoring this. It’s probably true that they won’t win if they don’t learn how to promote their own successes and attack the Republicans on multiple fronts. Two of the most fascistic fascists, Abbott and DeSantis, have gone out of their way to harm their states in their endless quest to feed raw meat to the base. Democrats have to learn how to exploit that fact. Abbott and DeSantis are the most prominent examples, but the argument applies to most Republicans. Still, it’s important that Democrats point out the obvious: that the Republican Party is now the American Fascist Party and if it prevails in the next two elections, we can kiss representative democracy goodbye.
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