When Liz Cheney was ousted from her Republican leadership position in Congress, a line was crossed. That line represented the transition of House Republican leadership into a fascist group espousing a party line totally disconnected from reality.
As we do here, let’s get right to definitions. Fascism “is a set of ideologies and practices that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and/or historical terms, above all other sources of loyalty, and to create a mobilized national community.” How does this apply to what remains of the “Party of Lincoln?” Plainly, the Republican Fascist ideology is defined by these empirical (originating in or based on observation or experience) principles:
- Donald Trump’s office was stolen from him by widespread election fraud—an obvious and complete falsehood.
- Because of that “fraud” widespread efforts are under way to disenfranchise voters under the guise of election “integrity.” Especially voters who would vote for candidates other than Republicans.
- The attempted coup on January 6th was actually just an enthusiastic visit by tourists to the Capital that just happened to coincide with the certification of the 2020 election. The fact that many came in body armor and that a gallows was included in the party equipment is just more coincidence.
- Loyalty to Trump is more important than the Constitutional Oath of Office.
- Anything Trump says is gospel, no matter how nuts.
- Anyone who can’t afford healthcare at the historically inflated prices for services and medicines in this country, well that’s their problem.
- Oh, yeah. This other one. Slavery wasn’t all bad. (Louisiana State Representative Ray Garafalo actually said this.)
- American is for rich people only. The rest of us are just supposed to work for them.
A short study of history will show that shifting a government toward belligerent nationalism and blind loyalty to a “ruler” sooner or later ends in disaster.
To list the fascist transgressions of the past administration would take too long. Suffice to say the trend was obvious and deeply disturbing to even the most nonchalant student of the past century’s history.
We managed to stop the total descent into national madness with the election of an administration that is happily going out of its way to actually do the job of the Executive Branch. But at the same time, the fascist conversion of the Republican Party is continuing at a deliberate pace. The Southern Republicans have fully taken on the mantel of the Jim Crow era Southern Democrats in their opposition to voting by black Americans.
100 Republicans threatened to leave the party if Liz Cheney was removed from her leadership position for refusing to kowtow to Trump. The time has come for them to act and leave this fascist enclave that no longer even resembles what Lincoln wrought.
