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"Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation." (S. Jonas, August, 2018)
Sorry, no pic this time. But think of a freight train, with a steam- driven locomotive
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I began the column linked to in the title above with the following:
"U.S. capitalism, like capitalism throughout history and 'round the world, does indeed have many faults (which do not have to be retailed here). But, as I and many others have written for decades, capitalism from the 20th century onwards has in general had two forms of governance: some form of "liberal" or "bourgeois" parliamentary democracy, or some form of authoritarian/fascist/pseudo-parliamentary-democracy (see contemporary Hungary. Which is interesting, for the first state system which historically can be categorized as "fascist" was formed in Hungary, under Admiral Miklos Horthy, in 1919.) . . . Why do I repeat that thought here? Because it is a future with which all of us have to be concerned."
Historically, one or another form of fascist government has taken over a nation either through, at the beginning, the parliamentary/electoral process, or through violence. (For the definition of "fascism" that I use, please see the addendum at the end of this column.) In fact, historically, it has arrived more often riding on the back of the parliamentary/electoral process, or some perversion of it (see Italy, Germany, Portugal, Hungary (21st century version), Japan) than on the back of a violent overthrow of a parliamentary democracy (see Spain). Even in Nazi Germany, it arrived through the parliamentary process (more or less, with an expulsion of members the German Communist Party and a fire at the German Parliament building, the Reichstag, thrown in), as very well told in: "How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days." As the subtitle to the column says: "He used the constitution to shatter the constitution."
In the United States, as I say in the title of this column, the fascist train has now arrived in the station, on the track of the U.S. version of parliamentary democracy. However, it is a fascist train because its passengers are infected with the virus of fascism. They are now are actively disembarking, aiming to infect as much of the Federal government (and, by indirection, the State and local governments too) with the fascist virus as they can.
As is well known, any government has two major aspects to it: the process of government and the substance of government. The substance ranges from the government's various components and the policies and programs that it adopts, while the process concerns how the policies are implemented. As an example, let us take the clear new policy of the Trump Administration to re-establish racism as a fundamental principle of national government both substance and process, e.g., the abrupt ending of any Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in any Federal government agency. And of course, to the extent that any State or local DEI programs receive Federal funding, they will on the target list as well. (It is useful to note that Trump does keep some of his promises. He ran on a platform of sexism, racism, and xenophobia. With DEI-demolition and making a show of deportation-of-the-undocumented he sure is doing what he said he would do.)
As the for ending-of-DEI, with a Republican Congress (for now) that could have been accomplished through the process of legislation. Trump, intending to show just how powerful he is, has chosen to end it by "Executive Order." He does have that power. Given the Republican Congress, the end result likely would have been the same if he had gone to Congress. But with his order on DEI and the whole stream of other substantive orders that have come down, Trump has stablished that he can essentially make law-in-practice on his own without going through the legislative process or any kind of "other branch" review at all. That is a central characteristic of fascist government, which concentrates both executive and legislative power in the executive branch. Indeed, as is well-known, Russell Vought, the incoming Director of the Office of Management Budget (as well as a prominent contributor to Project 2025), has talked openly about the necessity of installing the "Unitary Executive" as the controlling institution of the Federal government.
Turning to some specifics (and by the time this column I posted, the list is getting ever-longer) here is a useful summary of some the set of policies that the Trumpists are now in the process of installing. Some of the principal ones, in their language, are:
Secure the border, finish building the wall, and deport illegal aliens
De-weaponize the Federal Government by increasing accountability and oversight of the FBI and DOJ
Unleash American energy production to reduce energy prices
Cut the growth of government spending to reduce inflation
Make federal bureaucrats more accountable to the democratically elected President and Congress
Improve education by moving control and funding of education from DC bureaucrats directly to parents and state and local governments
Ban biological males from competing in women' s sport"
Trump is well on his way to implementing many of these policies (as well as many others).
Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, who. in addition to being a master humorist, is presently one of the keenest U.S. political observers, on his Jan. 27, 2025 show noted that for the most part what Trump has been doing in the "First Ten Days or so" has been in accordance with the law and the Constitution. BUT, not all of it, as Mr. Stewart noted. Take, for example, the immediate firing of the Federal Department Inspectors General which, according to the law, requires 30 days' notice to the Congress, with reason(s) beyond "he/she did me dirty."
And then there was Trump's appointment as Chief Prosecutor for the District of Columbia, a lawyer who advocated for numbers of the "Jan. 6 rioters," and promoted the 2020-21 "Stop the Steal" fiction. Click Here. Talk about the "fox guarding the chicken coop." But then, Mr. Stewart noted that because for the most part it was done in accordance with Constitutional requirements and procedures defining Presidential powers, even if they were stretched a bit (or more), he concluded, that at least so far, what Trump is doing is not fascism.
But, with due respect to Jon Stewart (who I greatly admire both for his political perspective and his great humor), historically, fascism is defined as much by process as it is by substance. Thus, in my view and that of numbers of others, we must stop pretending. Regardless of whether Trump followed the Constitutionally correct process requirements in issuing most of his executive orders, in terms of the definition of fascism (see just below), it is (again) clear that the fascist train has arrived at the station, and we have entered a period of the advent of fascism in the U.S. (Please note that this text was written before the "Impoundment" order with which I am not dealing in this column. And, as it happened, it was [temporarily, I'm sure] withdrawn.)
For the moment considering Donald Trump as a person, he is a small, petty, highly insecure man with an enormous ego problem. He has no core political beliefs He used to be a Democrat, who was, for example, pro-abortion rights. "You're fired" was a Trump trademark --- on the Apprentice. He has been highly dependent on others for whatever business successes he had. But he had many failures (the airline, the casinos, the steaks, "Trump University,") and he knows it. As it happens, he cannot go personally bankrupt in the Presidency (although he might bankrupt the Fed. Govt.). That's just one reason beyond policies and staying out of prison that he has to be there.
Nevertheless, in his own mind, at least for now, he has unlimited power. Many have wondered whether the fact that he did not have hand on the Bible, when he took the Presidential Oath of Office, was symbolic, or just another instance of Trump-carelessness. It seems clear that Trump would like to be Dictator (for more than one day, as he famously said in a Hannity-interview). Whether he gets there depends upon two very thin lines: the tiny Repub. majority in the House and the at-present 5-4 vote-apparently-against in the S.C. But to repeat, the important point here, is that Trump, following the diktats of such personages as Russell Vought, and of P2025, is trying to concentrate as much power as he can in the Executive Branch of the Federal government. To repeat (for I think that it cannot be stressed enough) this is indeed, one of the defining elements of fascism. And, as noted here (and in many places elsewhere), the Trumpists are much better prepared this time than they were the last time.
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Addendum I: A recent study showed that if a significant chunk of voters who did not vote for Harris because of the single issue of the Biden-Unconditional-Support-for-Israeli-Gaza-Policy (who also did not vote for Trump) had voted for Harris, she might well have won. I should note that while I have been a long-time critic of Israeli Expulsionist policy (Click Here), and never having seen an alternate Israel/GAZA-Palestinian policy that could have been adopted by the Democratic Party, so dependent as it is on pro-Israeli-policy voters and funding, recognizing the dangers facing our Republic from a second Trump Administration, I voted for Harris. And of course Trump's GAZA-policy is everso much worse. And was predictable.)
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For a list of Trump's Executive Orders issued, as of Jan. 28, 2025, courtesy of Axios, see the column headed (duh) "A List of Trump Executive Actions Jan. 20-28, 2025.
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Fascism: a definition
"There is a single, all-powerful executive branch of government, in service of a capitalist ruling class that controls, for the most part, the functions of production, distribution, finance, and exchange. There is no separation of the principal governmental powers: executive, legislative, and judicial. There are no independent media. There is a single national ideology, based on some combination of racism, misogyny, religious bigotry and authoritarianism, homophobia, and xenophobia. There is a single political party supporting the movement. There is a state propaganda machine using the big and little lie techniques. There may be a full-blown dictatorship, a charismatic leader, engagement in foreign wars, and the use of the mob/private armies to enforce governmental control."
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