Yes, it could happen here

Yes, it could happen here

by digby

Ali Gharib on Trump and fascism:




Also this by Richard Steigmann-Gall

I believe fascism can be heard in Trump’s ominous declaration: “We’re going to have to do things that we never did before … And certain things will be done that we never thought would happen in this country.” Even more importantly, the rapturous response of Trump’s followers represents a wider fascist “mood” among the American electorate.

When fascism departs from normal political methods, it does so to restore the prerogatives of the beleaguered, once-dominant majority — defined ethnically or racially — who believes that the nation is “slipping away” from them. Does this come at the expense of parliamentary democracy? Neither Trump nor his supporters call for dictatorship. But it’s important to keep in mind that never did historical fascists abolish parliaments outright. They undermine parliaments from within to make them incapable of working effectively, thereby paving the way for a strong man. Trump doesn’t require uniformed followers in Congress when ideological allies in the Tea Party are doing all they can to render the legislative branch inoperable.

Fascism insists that the existing political authority is “illegitimate” and offers itself as a parallel authority, complete with paramilitary violence, which will restore the “true” nation against impostors. By articulating the Birtherism found in the Tea Party and Oath Keeper movements, Trump exploits and expands distrust of legitimate electoral politics among disaffected, downwardly-mobile white Americans.

If Trump lacks his own militia, there is nonetheless a violent ethos at his rallies. But also relevant here are the Oath Keepers. A nationwide militia movement, like Mussolini’s squadristi, they are composed of veterans who promise to fight an “illegitimate” state and create a parallel authority that “protects” the nation from its own elected authorities. They are not (yet) tied to Trump organizationally, but they represent a similar current of militant — indeed militarist — radicalism.

When we apply “fascism” as a descriptive category, as most commentators are doing, we risk using external criteria like matching shirts or armbands to form a sterile check-list. But when we apply “fascism” as an analytical category, we understand its past social messages and following, and recognize the danger is poses today.

I honestly don't get the need to dance on the head of a pic about this. If Trump's rhetoric is fascistic, which it clearly is, then it makes sense to call him what he is.

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