A treatise on Darjeeling Fascism

I understand the Tea-Partiers are fired up, and I’m glad more people are getting involved in the political system. That’s generally healthy for America. However, the Tea Party phenomenon stands as exception to that rule, and it is alarming the rate at which an inherently negative, predatory, and exclusionary political ideology has been mainstreamed into our collective conscious. It’s great for liberals to take comedic shots at the Tea-Partiers and the Birthers, mocking their naïveté as we pat ourselves on the back for intellectually dismantling their rhetoric. However, this isn’t an intellectually based movement – it’s an emotionally based one, and mocking them is not going to make them go away; it will further entrench them in their stances and thus radicalize them even more. We have seen TP’ers carry guns to rallies, engage in vitriolic hate speech, and bandy around paranoid political gossip. When average, every-day citizens, those who would normally condemn political extremism, begin acting this way and/or excusing such behavior from their constituents, it signals that a dangerous movement towards Populist Fascism is spreading along out political landscape.

There’s no one definition of Fascism; you can read about it on Wikipedia, it’s a pretty good intro. However, when looking at the rhetoric and actions of this growing movement, it is clear that the TP’ers show signs, dangerous ones, of walking down the same roads as the Italians and the Germans in the 1930’s. The first is that it seems a movement not about the betterment of the country, but rather about the re-empowerment of its members. Its members express deep and powerful feelings that they were wronged, persecuted even, and that something was taken away from them. Like previous Fascists, the TP’ers offer broad generalizations about the loss of an idealized and romanticized way of life and how an evil force stole it from them. For them, the election of President Obama is the moment when the American dream died, and they blame Acorn, the Liberal Elite, minorities, the media, and foreign interests for their loss. This has resulted in fear and anger, the cornerstones of violent extremism, and when coupled with the stress of the largest recession in our nation’s history outside of the Great Depression, these emotions can easily turn dangerous. TP’ers feel their country and their traditional way of life have been taken away from them and they want them back. There are other issues tied in there which I’ll talk about later, but this sentiment of personal loss mirrors the emotions that Fascist leaders like Mussolini and Hitler played upon during their respective rises to power.

I know, no one in the Tea-Party movement is putting forth a final solution agenda, but it is undeniable that this movement, like all Fascist movements, is inherently linked to race. Recent cries for literacy tests in order to vote, strong anti-immigrant sentiment within the movement, racist depictions of the President at rallies, and the racial/ethnic demographics of the movement itself all point to the racist underpinnings of the Tea Party. Not to oversimplify, but this is predominantly a group of angry white people, one that is aware that its political power, economic strength, and population percentage in America is shrinking dramatically. Therefore, groups emerging into power, e.g. African Americans and Latinos, and those who challenge what they see as Christian superiority in America, e.g. Muslims and Atheists, are threats; threats to the American way of life, threats to the individuals in the party, and threats to the party itself. There is a reason pictures of Tea Party crowds are so homogeneous in nature; even if the whites in the group don’t realize they are spouting racist sentiment, minorities do, and they stay away. In short, it is a movement about purity, another hallmark of traditional Fascism.

That’s not to say all TP’ers are racists, they aren’t. However, it is a movement that harkens back to an earlier time and is, therefore, traditionalist. In America, the traditional power structure, political, social, economic, etc, has been one dominated by whites, and the TP’ers want a return to that system. Again, this all happens at the deep, subconscious level, but it’s called white privilege/entitlement and it is very real. This sentiment has come to the surface in the form of political rage and extreme activism because for the first time in American history middle and upper class whites are feeling disenfranchised. Snap judgment may cause people to sneer at this, but that is an extremely powerful sentiment. It is no coincidence that this movement arose in American soon after the inauguration of our first Black President and not too long after the Republican National Committee appointed Richard Steele as its first Black Chairman. It’s like the old Eddie Murphy joke about whites electing Jesse Jackson in a drunken stupor only to wake the next day and recoil in horror at what they’d done. Electing Obama and appointing Steele may have made sense to them intellectually, but the emotional reality is that those moves threaten their understanding of what America is as a nation. In other words, the TP’ers feel they lost both the Presidency and their traditional political party, and, again, they want those things back. Again, this is not to paint all TP’ers as being racists, but in America, we do view things racially. By wanting to go back to a more traditional, racially based model of political control, the TP’ers further align themselves with the quest for racial stratification that is prevalent in Fascist ideology.

This racial element is tied inexorably to anther Fascist tenet, xenophobic nationalism. This is reflected in both the extreme fears about outsiders (e.g. immigrants, Arab/Muslims, Kenyans, etc.) that the Tea-Partiers have vocalized and the talk during the last election of the so-called Real America. Logically, it is hard to understand why a nation of immigrants is so threatened by immigration. However, this, again, is not a movement based in logic; it is mired in the fear and ager that come from a perceived loss of power. It is those feelings that allow people to rationalize behaviors such as the denial of healthcare to the children of undocumented workers, all the while enjoying the fruits (sometimes literally) of their parents’ labors. Coupled with the anti-Muslim/Arab sentiment that is a hold over from 9/11 and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is a movement that sees threats coming at it from various foreign sources. In the case of terrorism, certainly there are legitimate reasons for this: we were attacked and we will likely be attacked again. However, the kneejerk and paranoid nature of those reactions by average Americans, e.g. the endorsement of torture, the construction of a wall across our border, the panic-based rejection of trials and/or incarceration of terror suspects on American soil, are one of the most alarming things about the TP’ers. This placid acceptance of behaviors that run contrary to the traditional moral code of America (not to mention the Geneva Convention), and this allowed treatment of “others” in inhumane ways in the name of the idealized America mentioned above, are clear indicators that the Fascist mentality of the ends justifying the means in terms of State protection is built into the TP’er belief system.

TP’ers also perceive domestic threats to their movement and their idealized America, hence, again, the rhetoric about “real America” during the last election. This, too, is linked to race, in that many who are now in the TP’er movement didn’t and don’t see President Obama as “a real American”. Not only was his ideology and style different from Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Reagan, but he was also African America; in particular, an African American with a Kenyan father and a white mother. Again, I’m not trying to oversimplify and say all TP’ers are racist; they are not. However, it is undeniable that his story and racial background were completely unlike the previous US Presidents, and his candidacy, now Presidency, stood in stark contrast to TP’ers preconceptions of who can be President. Throw in his first and middle names, his left leaning politics, and his more intellectual and less folksy demeanor than his predecessor, and it’s possible to see how those who are now TP’ers saw him as being something completely “other”. He and his supporters weren’t viewed as “real” Americans to many because they broke the deeply entrenched mold, and it was the rumors that about him that lead the eruption of the Birthers so soon after the election – a movement that refuses to die despite the overwhelming evidence that Obama was, indeed, born in Hawaii. But again, Fascism is not intellectual in nature; it is built on fear and anger. It is this separation, this idea of a “Real America”, and the rejection of non-TP’ers as un-American that unites the TP’ers with the Italians and Germans of the 1930’s.

In that vein, it must be noted that in much of their rhetoric, TP’ers are now equating their movement with the State. As they perceive themselves to be the “Real Americans”, this is a natural phenomenon. What’s good for the movement, i.e. the election and empowerment of its candidates, is therefore good for the Country and vice-versa. Their election to office will rid us of usurpers and phonies like Obama and McCain and put power back in the hands of those who should have it. By claiming the Constitution as their own, by labeling those who don’t share their ideology as enemies and threats to the State, TP’ers have set themselves far apart from the majority of Americans. Theirs is the only way to do things, and if there is any doubt as to why attempts at bi-partisanship in Congress have failed, it’s because Republicans in Congress, those most closely aligned with the TP’ers see the danger in working with the Democrats. They have seen conservative members of their party attacked by the TP’ers and challenged in the Primaries, and they don’t want to risk the ire of this quickly growing group of political activists. To borrow from LBG, it is better for Republicans in Congress to be inside the tent peeing out than outside the tent being peed upon; Republican leaders know that if they seem Pro-Democrat, they will be viewed as anti-TP’er and will face similar revolt come election day. This a very dangerous place for TP’ers to be, intellectually and emotionally. This is witch-hunt territory ideologically, and while it may cause them to ultimately implode and feed upon themselves, it is more likely that it will solidify them and unify them against any form of dissent. Revisit the footage from the public forums last summer and see how the TP’ers interacted with those who disagreed with their beliefs and views and then extrapolate that out to if/when they are in office. When a Fascist movement assumes control, there is no dissent and there is no discourse, and it must be asked how the TP’ers will react to such scrutiny and objection when/if they come to power.

It is ironic, then, that among the many labels that the TP’ers ignorantly and incorrectly heap on President Obama, e.g. Racist, Socialist, Communist, etc, is that of being a Fascist. But this phenomenon, this wholly inaccurate use of complex political terms and flat refusal to use even the smallest of dictionaries to verify the terms they are using, is symptomatic of the strong anti-intellectual sentiment within the Tea Party, another cornerstone of Fascism. There is no curiosity or progressiveness in the movement’s ideology; they seek nothing new, only a return to previous models of government and traditional social structures. Intellectuals, such as the President, are mocked and vilified, labeled as elite and branded as being out of touch. It is a movement that speaks in platitudes, often false and/or misleading, and its leaders try to replace thought with the rote memorization of sound bites, knowledge with so-called common sense. The recent attempts by Limbaugh, Fox and Friends, Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, and Sean Hannity to dismiss Climate Change as a hoax because of two snowstorms in Washington is a perfect example of this. None of the afore mention TP’ers/supporters has any scientific credentials – none whatsoever. Yet, with a false air of superiority, they mocked the findings of Climatologists in a way that made it seem that science was trying to rob the American people of their god-given right to drive a Hummer down Main St. while breaking apart Styrofoam and spraying CFC based hair spray into the air. Al Gore was their whipping boy, and the message from these personalities was clear: “We’re on to you, Eggheads; you’re not going to trick us anymore.” Again, this isn’t about Climate Change; it’s about the castigation of intellectuals as a threat to the norm and to the movement. It is deliberate, it is easy, and it is an effective way to control the messages the TP’ers receive. It insulates the movement, gives it members the impression that their leaders are the keepers of some great secret truth, and it builds a psychological barrier against discourse, fact, and the truth. In short, it is mind control, and it is essential to the success of a populist Fascist movement like theirs.

The TP’ers blind devotion to leaders like Limbaugh, Palin, and Beck is another way in which they show signs of being a Fascist movement; i.e. theirs has become a cult of personality. All of the talk coming from these three, and others of their ilk, is that of threats posed to the American way of life by those outside the movement, from the liberals, to the Democrats, to the Unions, to the media elite. It’s us “real Americans” vs them to these three; they offer no real solutions to the problems America faces, but rather they play on the anger, fear, and resentment already felt by members of the movement. They speak of a reversion to traditional conservative political ideology, e.g. low taxes, small government, deregulation of industry, and, again, they paint themselves as being keepers of the deep truth. They have mastered the art of the quick, dismissive and often mean-spirited attack against their political opponents, and their followers adore them for it. Their comments are easily memorized and regurgitated, and their personalities are immediately recognizable as part of the American pop-culture catalogue. Limbaugh is the schoolyard bully: loud, smart, and unflappable. Palin is the popular girl no one wanted to cross in high school: pretty, petty, and mean. Beck is the preacher: seemingly pious, the everyman gossip, and full of apocalyptic warnings about the dangers around every corner. Their appeal is genuine, and like all good populist leaders, they have tapped into the emotional base of their followers.

During the last election, Republicans mocked Democrats for supporting Obama by calling him their messiah, but his harshest critics (i.e. those that question his policies, actions, and performance as President, not the extremists who question his citizenship or his faith) are on the Left. The same cannot be said of the TP’ers when it comes to their leaders; Rush, Sarah, and Glen are beyond reproach. Because of their temperaments and their ascension to the position of Demagogues, their rhetoric is immune to logic. It doesn’t matter that their inaccuracies and/or outright lies are often easily disproved; these leaders are bullet proof, so to speak, when it comes to the truth. To disagree with them is an insult to them and their followers because they don’t appeal to the intellect of the TP’ers, but rather to their emotions. When Palin made an ass of herself during the campaign with both Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, her followers didn’t think she looked bad, they felt the media was trying to do a smear job. Those I’ve mentioned can do no wrong in the TP’ers eyes, and as with Mussolini and Hitler, the more rabid and incendiary their comments, the more their followers love them.

Much, too, has been made recently about FOX News as being the “most trusted name in news”, which is odd for a network that intentionally makes little distinction between its hard news programs and those dedicated to commentary. Its ratings are astronomical, but the fact remains that opinion and fact are inherently and intentionally blurred on that network, to the point that it has become a propaganda machine for the TP’ers and the far right. FOX has directly entered the political arena, something most unfair and unbalanced, by sponsoring Tea Party events and Beck’s 9/12 march on Washington. They have even been caught several times using incorrect video footage to distort the size, impact, and overall importance of these events for their own benefit (i.e. legitimization of both the event and their reporting on it). Now, I actually have no problem with Conservative Commentary; I enjoy the O’Reilly Factor, and I think MSNBC often goes overboard in its waiving of the liberal flag. However, the methodology of FOX News is far more deceitful, and it speaks of yet another Fascist pillar: control of the media.

Obviously FOX News is not owned by the TP’ers, so I recognize that the movement does not dictate the network’s programming; that is not what I meant. However, the relationship between the two is undeniable, and, as the sponsor and the sponsored, it is reciprocal. FOX, with its blending of news and commentary clearly attempts to limit not only what is known by its audience, but also the way its audience thinks about what it knows. FOX is the TP’ers main, if not only source of news and information, and therefore the messages its members receive are undeniably controlled. On some levels, yes, that is a broad generalization, as FOX’s audience is much broader based than just the TP’ers. But, as the network fuels the fires of the movement in its reporting and commentary, as it is the primary carrier/reporter of its events, and as it provides the largest and most regular forum for its leaders to express their views, it can be argued that FOX News is indeed a part of the Tea Party movement. Its leaders are not held accountable for their errors or hypocrisies by either the reporters or the commentators, its stances are never questioned or criticized, and the personalities on FOX often go out of the way to both criticize Democratic/Liberal leaders and those who question the TP’ers. FOX, with its huge audience, is both a great recruitment tool for the TP’ers and an effective wall against those who would criticize its leadership and its positions. They beat the drum of we’re right, they’re wrong 24/7, blurring the line between the network being right and the movement being right. This, of course, is the purpose of propaganda, and that is why it fair to say that, in relation to the TP’ers and their message, the media surrounding them is controlled.

There are, of course, several ways in which the TP’ers do not fit the traditional mold of a Fascist movement, so perhaps Neo-Fascist or Pseudo-Fascist might be a more apt term for them. Many of its members, for example, are very religious, whereas Fascism is traditionally anti-religion because it sees religion as a threat to both the party and the State. Additionally, Fascists tend to be anti-Capitalist, and with its big business sponsors and anti-regulation stance, the TP’ers are definitely not anti-Capitalist. Indeed, in this respect, they are quite unique. Fascist movements tend to endorse Corporatism (a system whereby industry works altruistically for the betterment of the State) rather than Capitalism (regulated or non), but considering the demographics of the movement, again, primarily middle to upper-class whites who fear disenfranchisement, this difference is not surprising. Similarly, unlike the Italian model in which the government was a huge employer, the TP’ers are staunchly against bureaucracy and/or government spending, even if designed to end a recession. Women, too, are viewed much more favorably by the TP’ers than in past Fascist movements, and with Sarah Palin being the de Facto speaker for the group, it is clear that they are equals in the movement. These points are certainly valid. However, more than anything else, they may be more attributable to the cultural differences between 2010 America and 1930’s Europe.

So what, you may be asking. And you might wonder about my fascination with what is a small political movement. There are 350+ million people in the US; there can’t be more than what, two million TP’ers, less than one percent of the population, so why write all this? It wasn’t to mock them or belittle their points of view. These are American citizens; they have the right to political activism, and I firmly believe that discourse and discord are fundamental to the success of our great Democracy. That being said, I find this small but growing group so alarming because it shows a strong propensity towards using the primary tool of Fascist movements to spread it’s message: violence. This isn’t a movement interested in discourse; this isn’t a movement about bi-partisanship; this isn’t a movement about negotiation, compromise, or developing consensus. It is one that has a set agenda and has shown a willingness to reject out of hand any and all that do not share its ideology. Its members have brought guns to rallies, including one held 1000 yards away from the President; they have carried signs and worn t-shirts at protests saying, “I came unarmed…this time”; they have hung people in effigy at rallies, and one protester even carried a sign advocating the lynching of our President. Now, this could possibly be written off as a few crackpots in the group. However, not only have Tea Party leaders and Republican members of Congress not proactively disavowed such threats and calls to violence, but at a recent Tea Party meeting in Asotin County, Washington, a TP’er openly advocated the hanging of Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. Just yesterday at the CPAC convention, Governor Tim Pawlenty advocated for the taking of a 9-iron to the windows of Big Government. As the movement grows, then, this undercurrent of violence is quickly coming to the surface. The TP'ers are insular and insolated, and as more extremists are drawn into the group and are then emboldened by the rhetoric of the movement, it is easy to foresee a time when those threats and calls for violence will turn into definitive and destructive actions.

Obviously it is possible, and it is actually my hope, that that is a gross overestimation of the movement’s capacity for negative action. However, the most accurate barometer of Fascism, be it Italian, German, Brazilian, or Austrian, is when seemingly average people take part in, condone, and or excuse extreme sentiment or action on behalf of the movement or the State, sentiments or actions that they would normally condemn or oppose. This tendency is undeniably visible in the Darjeeling Fascists, and those in power must reach out to them in a more genuine fashion in order to more positively engage them in the American political system and process. That is not to say the TP’ers should be placated or appeased, but we must find a way to move forward together. Democracy is not easy, and at this point dialogue, not disrespect, is needed. Whether we agree with their anger or resentment is irrelevant; it is real, and it is driving the TP’ers to act. The antidote for extremism, potentially violent extremism, isn’t mockery or ostracization (sic); it is to act in ways that show movement members that extremism isn’t necessary. If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work; but the risks to this country are too great for us to simply dismiss the movement as a joke and its members as crackpots because it’s easier than including them in political discussions. This movement is a new and potentially very dangerous turn in American politics, and if we do nothing to positively address the TP’ers now, it could have dramatic and long lasting effects on our political system.

Healthcare reform - wtf?

Ok, a short one today. I am a liberal first and a democrat second, and I am heartbroken (yes, that's the term - I feel personally let down by the President I helped elect and the Representative and Senators I voted for) that, because Brown will likely win today, Healthcare Reform is likely dead.

Seriously? The Dems held a Supermajority for about a year, and this is the best that could come out of it; a mandate to pass the Senate's watered down, big-business dole out ladened piece of crap before Brown takes office. Wow