Refusing to acknowledge Republican Fascism

The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness.

George Washington, January 9, 1790

American democracy is in very serious trouble. Our “great experiment” could very well come to an end with the election of 2022 or 2024. If the Republicans retake Congress, as the media keeps suggesting they will, or if they capture the Presidency with the type of candidate they now seem to favor, our government “of, by, and for the people” is finished.

The Republican party has abandoned democracy. They do not believe that government should represent ALL the people. They are working to retake power through court stacking, gerrymandering, voter restrictions, partisan takeover of election procedures, deliberately orchestrated phony outrage, a continuous stream of lies and conspiracies, and, yes, organized violence.

Today’s Republican Party and “conservative” movement comprise a revolutionary force, which seeks to destroy American democracy and replace it with fascism or some other form of authoritarianism.

Chauncey DeVega

Reaping what was sown

The Limbaugh/Gingrich/Bush Republicans were bad for the average working American, but the current batch of Carlson/McConnell/Trump Republicans, if left unchecked, will destroy our democracy.

Newt Gingrich was training Republican candidates in his “never compromise” and “any means is justified” brand of politics as far back as 1994. Since then, Mitch McConnell has turned stubborn partisan obstruction and Congressional deadlock into an established norm.

The earlier Republican flirtations with lies, corruption, racism, misogyny, militarism, materialism, conspiricism, and authoritarianism now have deep roots within the party and have taken complete control of the party’s agenda.

The Republican party now fully intends to decide who can and cannot vote, who counts the votes, and which votes get thrown out. They have adopted, as a required sign of loyalty, Trump’s BIG LIE about the 2020 election and are using it as an excuse to setup structural barriers and legal arguments to justify and achieve autocratic minority rule.

Demonizing the Democrats

Democrats used to be falsely labeled as “soft on crime” or sarcastically belittled as “tree-huggers.” Now we are publicly and routinely called “pedophiles,” “traitors,” and “satanists” by Republican preachers and even by elected members of Congress.

This is the rhetorical labeling trick called “demonization of your enemy.” It is used to justify the use of ANY means – lying, cheating, stealing, and even violence – to defeat the “evil” enemy (ie. to “own the libs”).

Yet, when we call Trump a liar and McConnell an obstructionist they say that WE are guilty of the same sin. The difference is that we are not trying to unfairly label them. We are pointing out actual, documented, public, behaviors.

Yet, the right-wing rhetoric has been effective. Many Republicans now will not even consider what a Democratic candidate may have to offer. It does not matter to them if the Democrat has knowledge, experience, and policy ideas that they like. Since all Democrats are, by definition (in their minds), “evil,” they should not even be listened to.

Republicans could not be clearer about the fact that they consider Democratic governance fundamentally illegitimate, yet some establishment Democrats act as if politics as usual is still an option and a return to “normalcy” imminent.

Thomas Zimmer

Democrats need a stronger response

Much of the country’s Democratic elite still subscribes to an exceptionalist understanding that America is fundamentally good and the US inexorably on its way to overcoming whatever vestigial problems there might still be.

Thomas Zimmer

The Democrats have long been overly optimistic, even naive, about how low the Republicans will stoop in their pursuit of power and money. Many of us took a big sigh of relief when President Biden was inaugurated and assumed that America was now back on track.

President Biden has indeed rebuilt many of the things that Trump destroyed, including our international reputation. But the forces of authoritarianism have not seen their mistake and repented after their loss in the Presidential election. Instead of abandoning their losing candidate and regrouping, they have doubled down on the lies, deception, manipulation, and corruption taught to them by that candidate.

The warning signs of looming facist authoritarianism are clear and unmistakable. The Democratic Party’s response to the impending loss of our Constitutional democracy has not risen to match the severity of the situation. We need more voices of warning – speaking much more loudly. And we need to become politically wiser and tougher. The timeline is short.

The Republicans will not repudiate violence

One core tenet of fascism is the normalization of political violence. While the mainstream news media and political elites look away, the Republican fascists and the larger white right have been escalating their threats of violence and mayhem. They did not stop with Trump’s coup attempt or the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, 2021.

Chauncey DeVega

The Congressional Republican response to the events of January 6, 2021 is very telling. Rather than join the proposed, equally-balanced, Commission to investigate the attempted coup, the Republicans in the Senate, under orders from former President Trump, blocked the creation of the Commission. (Mitt Romney (R-UT) was one of six Republican Senators for voted for it).

Speaker Pelosi then decided to create a House Select Committee to conduct the investigation. The only two Republicans to serve on that committee, Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), have been ostracized by their party, and officially censured by the Republican National Committee. Cheney was removed from her leadership position in the Republican House Caucus and faces a tough (Trump-led) primary election. Kinzinger decided to not even run for re-election.

These elected Republicans are being strictly punished by their own party for agreeing to help investigate a violent, destructive, and murderous, insurrection at the Capitol. What do the Republicans have to hide? Why do they deny and make excuses for the organized violence of that day?

The role of the Latter-day Saints

I am saddened by the continuing role played by members of my church in supporting the Republican Party as it continues its devolution into authoritarian fascism. At first, I had hoped that the nomination of Donald J. Trump as the Republican Presidential candidate in 2016 would wake up many Republican Latter-day Saints to the evil combination their party had become.

Time has shown that, with a few notable exceptions, most LDS Republicans have chosen to follow Trump down the rabbit hole of lies, conspiracy theories, and political corruption. Eventually, unless widespread repentance happens soon, there will be more politically-motivated violence.

This did not have to happen. The Book of Mormon warns us repeatedly of just such political events. The Latter-day Saints should be the voice of reason here. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) occasionally tries to speak up. Whenever he does, members of his own party vilify him for it.

Normalizing evil

Pro-democracy Americans should resist the temptation or urge to compromise with their enemies or appease them. There is no room for “bipartisanship,” compromise or truce with the Republican fascists and their allies. That only normalizes evil and all but guarantees the fascists an eventual victory.

Chauncey DeVega

Political decision-making in the United States is supposed to be a discussion, debate, and eventual compromise, between the elected representatives of both parties. This hasn’t been the case in our disfunctional Congress for several decades.

The Republican Party long ago decided to cast themselves in the self-righteous role of “never compromise because we are always right.” This stance is NOT an example of always being correct. It is certainly not a case of being “more righteous.” It is pure, stubborn, cynical, power politics.

And now here we are – in a divided country with a gridlocked government. Distrust and hatred continue to fester and grow – encouraged by cynical politicians and big-money right-wing media.

Overcoming evil

The only solution to growing distrust and hatred is unselfishness, forgiveness, and love. The true source of such compassion is Jesus Christ. He calls on everyone to repent, to forgive, and to show genuine love for all. The restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can, and eventually will, become a beacon of love, peace, and harmony to all the world.

But currently many of us still cling to old habits and comfortable lies. We ignore the scriptures and close our eyes to what is happening in our country. It is time for Church members to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution.

And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.

2 Nephi 32:7

Sources

Michelle Boorstein,”Researchers warn that Christian nationalists are becoming more radical and are targeting voting,” The Washington Post, March 18, 2022.
Chauncey DeVega, “GOP’s violent rhetoric keeps getting worse — and almost nobody is paying attention,” Salon, March 9, 2022.
Chauncey DeVega, “Dear Joe Biden: We don’t want “unity” with fascists — that’s why Democrats lose,” Salon, March 4, 2022.
Thomas Zimmer, “The Republican party is abandoning democracy. There can be no ‘politics as usual,’“ The Guardian, February 22, 2022.
Chauncey DeVega, “Republicans have dropped the mask — they openly support fascism. What do we do about it?” Salon, February 14, 2022.
Charles R. Davis, “Yale history professor Timothy Snyder told Insider he fears American democracy may not survive another Trump campaign,” Insider, January 14, 2022.
Thomas Palley, “Proto-Fascism Unleashed: How the Republican Party Sold its Soul and now Threatens Democracy,” PERI, June 2021.
Amanda Marcotte, “Republicans have become more fascist since Jan. 6 — and they blame liberals for it,” Salon, March 30, 2021.
Igor Derysh, “Conservative groups are writing GOP voter suppression bills — and spending millions to pass them,” Salon, March 27, 2021.
— “January 6 commission,” Wikipedia.
— “United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack,” Wikipedia.
— “The Great Experiment,” The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, September 16, 1999 through January 9, 2000.
Brian Ferguson, “14 Signs of Fascism,” Insight, September 28, 2020.