Yes, It's Fascism
I've never been one for hyperbole.
So when I wrote a December 2015 TPV blog about the rising tide of fascism being displayed by the Republican Party, I meant what I said:
So fifty years from now, after having experienced nuclear winter, we should all think back to this time and place where it was painfully obvious our country was heading toward a fascist state not seen sense the days of Hitler and Mussolini during World War II. Our grandchildren will ask us why we didn't do anything to prevent it from happening even though the signs were there as clear as day. And so we will huddle over the trash can fire, look our grandkids square in the eye, and tell them the God's honest truth:
We didn't do anything because the fascist candidates were just so darn entertaining to watch at the time.
Now, while this piece elicits a pessimism I no longer feel, the truth of the matter is Republicans are no longer hiding their true intentions. My 2015 piece was written at a time prior to the election of Donald Trump, whose four stolen years and subsequent efforts to remain in power have expeditated the party's rapid descent into fascism. The party knows its base is dwindling. The party knows how unpopular it is with millennials and Gen-Z. The party knows that it is continuously losing the culture wars. Rather than shifting to the middle, the party has gone all in on QAnon conspiracy theorists, knowing that the "uneducated" that Trump professed to love are entirely the people they need to turn out to vote in 2024.
So instead of fighting these fascist urges, they're embracing them. While Florida and Ron DeSantis are clearly ground zero, other GOP-led state legislatures are slowly and methodically wiping away any semblance that their naked power grabs are anything but that. See, for instance, January 6th organizer Ali Alexander's response to the massive blue wave that propelled Janet Protasiewicz to victory in Wisconsin on Tuesday night:
And that's all the GOP has at this point: ratfucking. Ratfucking in purple states like Wisconsin will be their MO these next 19 months. But even in solidly red states like Tennessee, the GOP is feeling the need to go full Mussolini when it comes to dissent. Hence their unprecedented expulsion of 2 Black Democratic members of the state legislature yesterday evening. This wasn't a naked power grab; this was one done in broad daylight with a bullhorn screaming loud and clear that these two young "negroes" need to learn their place. Why else would their White counterpart be spared? The optics couldn't be worse and yet, when it came time to make their play the Tennessee GOP simply couldn't help themselves. Send the negroes a message and that message was know your place in our legislature or else face the consequences.
But the toothpaste, as they say, is out of the tube. The GOP can't un-fascist their fascism. They're pot committed at this point. They've forced themselves to believe the Big Lie or at least to admit support of it in front of their voters. They've forced themselves to believe that their transphobia is a winning issue. They've forced themselves to believe that Gen-Z doesn't care about gun violence. They've forced themselves to believe that overturning Roe v. Wade didn't piss off tens of millions of women throughout the country. The one trait more than any other that predicted whether someone was a Donald Trump Supporter in 2016? How they felt about authoritarianism. Seven years later and they still honestly believe it's a winning issue for them.
So, enjoy it while it lasts, GOP. You just expelled two Black xennial legislators for exercising their First Amendment rights for all the world to see. One week ago today, you had a supermajority in the state and could have easily let the protests at the capitol slowly wear down before going back to banning drag shows and other ridiculous culture wars legislation. But instead, you went there. You couldn't handle the fact that two Black men were leading in the charge in the House. Sorry. In your House. So you went there and expelled them and not the White woman. Now, you've got an entire generation of xennials and millennials pissed off at you and ready to organize ahead of the 2024 election all while the de facto head of your party is still facing (at least) 3 more indictments in the coming months. Combine all this with the least productive start to a House legislative session on record and it has become clear that the GOP would rather stay in power at any cost rather than help the lives of their everyday citizens.
If that's not 21st-century fascism, I don't know what is.