"Semi-Fascism": The Shoe Fits

[Nevilledog]

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Will Saletan
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Seizing unconstitutional powers.
Attempting a coup.
Trying to seize voting machines.
Endorsing political violence.
Banning a minority group.
Saluting foreign authoritarians.

Republicans who bristle at being called semi-fascist have a pattern of fascism.

thebulwark.com
“Semi-Fascism”: The Shoe Fits
Republicans’ hypocritical reaction to President Biden’s use of the F-word.
6:26 AM · Sep 1, 2022

https://www.thebulwark.com/semi-fascism-the-shoe-fits/

Republicans are furious over President Biden’s recent remarks linking Donald Trump and his supporters to “semi-fascism.” For days, they’ve been all over TV and social media, denouncing Biden’s use of the F-word. But Biden was right. Many of the ideas and tactics deployed by Trump and his apologists, including those who decry Biden’s comparison, fit the dictionary definition of fascism.

Consider Rep. Jim Jordan, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee if Republicans retake the House this fall. Jordan says Biden is dividing America by “calling Republicans ‘semi-fascists.’” But three years ago, when Trump committed an openly authoritarian act, Jordan endorsed it.

In January 2019, the House of Representatives, which had a new Democratic majority, refused to fund a border wall demanded by Trump. So the president declared a national emergency to build the wall, seizing from Congress its constitutional authority over appropriations. No president had ever claimed such emergency powers to override the will of Congress. But Jordan stood with Trump. “We tried for 35 days . . . to get the Democrats to do what everyone knows needs to happen,” said Jordan. “I support the national emergency declaration 100 percent.”

Enough unforced errors, Democrats: 1. Get mayors to talk up the infrastructure & inflation bills.…
You could argue that confiscating money for the wall was only semi-authoritarian. To be fully authoritarian, you might say, a leader would have to use illegal means not just to exercise power, but to seize power or stay in power. But Trump and his henchmen meet that standard, too.

*snip*

[crickets]

1. K&R for visibility.