Fascism officially enters the public dialog
Joe Biden calls it like it is, and the MAGA-Republicans melt down, ignoring their own fascist behaviors
What is fascism, anyway?
Perhaps Biden was being kind when he referred to MAGA-Republicans as “semi-fascists.” Maybe it’s because the authoritarian wing of the Republican party only meets parts of the larger definition of “fascism.” What does that term even mean? The following elements of fascism are not all-inclusive, but there’s enough to see how much of fascism is now embodied in the MAGA-Republican movement:
Powerful and continuing nationalism (including specialized flags & symbols)
Disregard for human rights
Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
Widespread sexism (divorce, homosexuality and abortion are suppressed)
Controlled mass-media (e.g. Fox News, OAN, NewsMax, etc.)
Religion and government are intertwined
Corporate power is protected
Labor unions are seen as a huge threat
Open hostility to higher education
Rampant cronyism and sorruption
Fraudulent elections (including manipulation of media to control elections)
So with that in mind, here are some highlights of recent events…
Biden warns ‘equality and democracy are under assault,’ calls out Trump by name
President Biden’s prime-time speech in defense of democracy is getting the attention it deserves. Biden pulled no punches, and predictably, the MAGA Republicans responded with indignation, calls for violence, further repetitions of the Big Lie, and pathetic attempts to distract from the clarity with which Biden cleaved the Republican Party into two factions, drawing a key distinction between “normal” (as in “traditional”) Republicans (whom he believes can be convinced to put democracy over party) and “MAGA-Republicans,” who pose an existential threat to our democracy. As reported by The Washington Post, and pretty much every other news outlet except FOX, Biden repeatedly called out former president Donald Trump, by name, and warned that Trump-led extremists are determined to take the nation backward, denying Americans basic rights. “History tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy,” Biden said. “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people, refuse to accept the results of a free election.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/01/biden-democracy-republican-extremists-trump/?
Fox News Didn’t Carry Joe Biden’s Prime-Time Address
As if to underscore the fascist underpinnings of a right-wing propaganda outlet posing as “news,” Fox News decided not to carry President Joe Biden’s live prime-time address to the nation on Thursday, instead airing silent footage of the speech, as host Tucker Carlson decried what he called “attacks on Republican voters.” Biden’s message, blocked from airing on FOX, included an essentially non-partisan message, warning that democracy itself is under siege and it’s time for all Americans to put aside partisan differences, at least long enough to save our democracy from authoritarian rule. Unfortunately, those tuning to FOX and Tucker Carlson never got to hear that message…
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fox-news-joe-biden-speech_n_63116245e4b0fc6bd239e571
MAGA melts down over ‘Satanic, Blood-Red’ lighting during Biden speech
Rather than acknowledging or addressing the core messages in Biden’s speech, MAGA-Republicans zeroed in on the important stuff: the red background lights that lit up Philadelphia’s Independence Hall behind the president. As reported by Vice News, the presence of red lights behind the president was “final proof of QAnon’s wild conspiracies about Biden being part of a satanic cabal of elites who are trafficking children around the world.” Within minutes of the speech airing, MAGA forum members were sharing memes featuring altered images showing Biden dressed as Hitler, with Nazi flags superimposed on the background, with Biden wearing demonic masks, or with him speaking at a podium featuring the Soviet hammer and sickle. “Biden eats children’s souls,” wrote one member of the rabidly pro-Trump TheDonald message board, whose members recently threatened FBI agents following the search of Mar-a-Lago.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ake7dk/maga-biden-speech-satanic
Ginni Thomas (wife of Supreme Court Justice) pressed state lawmakers to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory
Speaking of the attempted coup and the events surrounding January 6th, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, apparently pressed lawmakers to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, not only in Arizona, as previously reported, but also in a second battleground state, Wisconsin, according to emails obtained under state public-records law. As reported by The Washington Post, Thomas “emailed 29 Arizona state lawmakers, some of them twice, in November and December 2020. She urged them to set aside Biden’s popular-vote victory and “choose” their own presidential electors, despite the fact that the responsibility for choosing electors rests with voters under Arizona state law.” This year, while eight Supreme Court justices declined Trump’s request to block congressional investigators from gaining access to White House records that might shed light on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Ginni’s husband Clarence Thomas was the only justice to dissent, siding with Trump. Ginni is likely to end up testifying to the January 6th committee, as she is already up to her eyeballs in incriminating information…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/09/01/ginni-thomas-wisconsin
Newt Gingrich thinks members of the January 6 committee should be threatened with jail time
As the House’s January 6 committee continues its work to get to the bottom of what happened before, during and after the riot at the US Capitol, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a warning for them: If Republicans take over the House, you could well be arrested. As described in an OpEd CNN piece, Gingrich believes that a new Republican majority should form a “Select Committee on Congressional Dishonesty and Abuse of Power” to examine the work of the January 6 committee. What is the crime that these House members have committed that will mean the “real risk of jail”? Is it, as Gingrich writes, “abuse of power”? More likely, it’s that Gingrich himself may well be deeply implicated in the attempted coup, and what he is doing now is to continue enflaming the MAGA base, hoping that he will somehow wiggle out of accountability for his own involvement in the coup, by ginning up new threats of retribution for those who insist on siding with democracy and the rule of law…
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/24/politics/newt-gingrich-jail-time/index.html
Donald Trump says he plans to pardon US Capitol attack participants if elected
Apparently unconcerned about the complete disregard for rule of law, and the fundamentally fascist nature of his position, Trump announced that if elected in 2024, he would “pardon and apologize” to those who participated in the deadly attack on the US Capitol on January 6. As reported by the Guardian, Trump declared, “I mean full pardons with an apology to many,” he told Wendy Bell, a conservative radio host on Thursday. “I will be looking very, very strongly about pardons, full pardons.” Five people died in connection with the attack and more than 140 law enforcement officers were injured. More than 875 people have been charged with crimes related to January 6, according to an NPR tracker. 370 people have pleaded guilty to crimes so far. And the investigation continues. So far, not a single Republican lawmaker (MAGA or otherwise) has dared repudiate Trump’s cavalier dismissal of the serious nature an attempted coup against the United States, or the rejection of “rule of law” itself.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/01/donald-trump-pardons-january-6-us-capitol-attack
An Oklahoma teacher gave her students access to banned books. Now she's under scrutiny.
Oklahoma's top education official wants to strip a former teacher of her credentials after she tried to give students access to books that may be banned in schools under a new state law. Apparently following the state of Florida’s book-banning lead under MAGA-Governor Ron DeSantis, Oklahoma Secretary of Education Ryan Walters called on the state board of education to revoke the teaching certificate of Summer Boismier, a former teacher at Norman High School, following a complaint from a parent who suggested that Boismier had made political comments in the classroom. Boismier allegedly gave students access to "banned and pornographic" material – without giving specifics – and cited that as justification to revoke her teaching certificate, "There is no place for a teacher with a liberal political agenda in the classroom," he said, adding that officials must "ensure she doesn't go to another district and do the same thing." Authoritarian? Fascist? or just good education policy? You decide…
