But They Keep Admitting It, Though.

 

It took me a minute to settle into words what rubbed me the wrong way about MD Gov. Larry Hogan being upset that President Biden referred to a portion of the GOP--the MAGAs, as "semi-fascist. I guess it comes from addiction consciousness--a drunk will deny they have a problem even when confronted with the number of "empties" in their trash. A problem gambler will deny they are out of control even when they are cataloguing their property for what can be sold to cover their debts. It sounds to me like denial--a state of mind just hardened into coping every day with a problem so big it has to hit bottom to finally confront, despite the well-intentioned interventions of others. 

Larry Hogan is what you might call "one of the good ones"--a Republican with which we still can speak. But he's still off in the idea that his party has a temporary illness, and doesn't want to say aloud the bad thing that happened to his party. 

It's not as bad as NH Gov. Chris Sununu wanting an apology from Biden for saying it.  How about--no? If I tell a friend her dress is too short and the world can see her whole panties when she bends over, I mean it. Facts don't care about someone's feelings. And Governor Sununu's party has got a fascism problem. 

Ways you can tell--Trump is still a thing. After one impeachment for extorting another world leader and using the resources of the US government like they were his own, and after another for inciting a riot on the US Capitol grounds with false information about a rigged election and also trying to coerce state governments to overturn the legitimate vote counts, and now an outstanding breach of national security with respects to classified document handling (at the minimum)-- this flabby asshole's cult of personality perseveres and the crimes continue. 

How bad is it? Well, Lindsey Graham, uh, admits it--yes we support overturning the rule of law in favor of street thuggery, because if Trump is prosecuted there will be riots.  Aw, Linds. There will also be dancing in the street in the districts where Trump's whole ass got electorally beat, because that is what we did when we finally knew he lost. And there will be more dancers, and our drill teams are practicing for this day. 

That's a cult of personality he's talking about, and the idea that the passions of street thugs outweigh the conscientious choices of people in freedom is inimical to democracy. You cannot claim to be a party of law and order if you threaten disorder to get mere compliance with the demands of the party. The party is not the country, and the citizens of a country are individuals, not vassals of the state. And one man cannot be the embodiment of the state itself--that's monarchism, and the antithesis of what our founders wanted. 

Every part of what Graham is supporting here is opposed to the oath of office he made. 

Trump also hints at bringing more of the same thing he brought on 1/6. And his people are still "standing back and standing by." 

The thing with fascism is that it utilizes violence in service of power and changes the message to suit what it needs to mold the people to be. It relies on myth-making and disinformation (note--the Trumpists wanted to blame antifa for what happened at the Capitol on 1/6/21 and some of them still do) because it needs a confused populace to flock to the safety of the government's message. Even if that message is terror--it is terror for others. Not you though. You go to sleep. Pretty sleep, Don't get woke or you will die. 

The fascists also wed religious or racial identity to politics, and here we have people just openly talking about Christian nationalism, The GOP has also embraced "replacement theory". 

There's nothing new here. I was ready to call it fascism in 2015.  It was fascism when it was Glenn Beck siccing people on the Tides Foundation. The Bundy Ranch and the Malheur Militia were about it, just open love letters to the idea that thug rule depended on who was doing the thugging. The propagandists of Fox News fluffed that sort of thing. And they know it is fascism. They know it, and some of them admit it and flaunt it.

Their desire for an apology for Biden claiming they are on the path to fascism is a reminder that when Hillary Clinton called the party out for its handbasket of deplorables, they leaned into being deplorables. They embraced it. Meanness, violence and tolerance of Trump's worst slurs and indiscretions suddenly became their currency. Oh hey! They said--Fuck your feelings. 

So uh,same if you are a Republican and haven't woken up and smelled the jack-booted future. I care about democracy and national security, and Trump fucked up both of these things with mostly his big fat mouth but also institutions that catered to him because Republicans are squishy-soft on authoritarianism. Facts don't care about whether you want to pretend Trump is not a criminal or a traitor, it's just really possible he is. 

So, unless Republicans drop the big lie about the rigged elections against Trump and start talking like they appreciate the gravity of what's he's done and stop letting him off the hook, until they deal in truth instead of bad faith--

Fuck them. The truth is what it is. And they are beginning to look a lot like fascism. No apologies. The thing is what it is.  They are caught up in too many fascist tropes to not see where they are going.