The modern Republican party is hurtling towards fascism

[hislegacy]

Trump’s latest policy pitch: A massive birthday party for the nation
The former president is proposing a yearlong bash to commemorate 250 years of independence.
“As a nation, we should be preparing for the most spectacular birthday party. We want to make it the best of all time,” Trump said in the new policy video previewed by POLITICO.

He proposed “Patriot Games” for high school athletes

Come all you young MAGAs and list' while I sing
For the love of one's country is a terrible thing
It banishes fear with the speed of a flame
And it makes us all part of the patriot game.

Celebrating the birth of the nation and it's 250th anniversary is a bad thing now?

 

[JustOneWay]

Trump’s latest policy pitch: A massive birthday party for the nation​

The former president is proposing a yearlong bash to commemorate 250 years of independence.
“As a nation, we should be preparing for the most spectacular birthday party. We want to make it the best of all time,” Trump said in the new policy video previewed by POLITICO.

He proposed “Patriot Games” for high school athletes

Come all you young MAGAs and list' while I sing
For the love of one's country is a terrible thing
It banishes fear with the speed of a flame
And it makes us all part of the patriot game.

We have a party every year on July 4th. 250 years in nothing special.

 

[JustOneWay]

Celebrating the birth of the nation and it's 250th anniversary is a bad thing now?

Patriot games? really? We already have hunger games in America - isn't that enough....

SPECTACULAR!!!! We celebrate every year. 250 years in no more special than 249 years. We already have a holiday on July 4th. That is all we need.

 

[hislegacy]

Patriot games? really? We already have hunger games in America - isn't that enough....

SPECTACULAR!!!! We celebrate every year. 250 years in no more special than 249 years. We already have a holiday on July 4th. That is all we need.

What are hunger games? Can you provide a link?

250 years is a hallmark. A kin to celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary - it's more special than 49.

Celebrations are not about need - but making memories. As an example: In our family we have birthday weeks, not just days.

 

[JustOneWay]

What are hunger games? Can you provide a link?

Hunger games is a movie, just like Patriot games.

250 years is a hallmark. A kin to celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary - it's more special than 49.

Celebrations are not about need - but making memories. As an example: In our family we have birthday weeks, not just days.

Making memories on a year-long celebration with a giant fair in Iowa? Why can't we have it in California? Either way I would not be attending. Sounds like a waste of taxpayer dollars. I have no problem with it as long as it isn't with taxpayer dollars. You can donate all you want.

 

[tz620q]

Hunger games is a movie, just like Patriot games.


Making memories on a year-long celebration with a giant fair in Iowa? Why can't we have it in California? Either way I would not be attending. Sounds like a waste of taxpayer dollars. I have no problem with it as long as it isn't with taxpayer dollars. You can donate all you want.

If I remember right, they did that for the Bicentennial and got a fair amount of donations. Good idea!

 

[Merrill]

I think this dichotomy between Republican and Democrat is almost meaningless at this point.

(for the record, I am obviously conservative)

Let's look at some of the things that were done by BOTH parties in the last 30 years:

1. The Patriot Act: warrantless wiretaps, surveillance, holding people without charging them, etc.
2. COVID lockdowns (Dems were far worse with this, but GOP went along with it initially)
3. State and local laws that allow for property confiscation in regards to certain crimes
4. Hate-speech laws: of course they aren't called *hate speech laws*--they are hate-crime laws which allow for throwing people in jail for political speech. Like 30 states have these laws, and DeSantis signed one in Florida. Utah declared police officers to be a protected minority, and people who have insulted cops have been charged with hate crimes. None of this is permissible under the First Amendment, but they are doing it anyway.

And let's look at things specific to the Democratic Party

1. Instituted Vaccine mandates and Vaxx-passes. Both violate the Bill of Rights, HIPAA regulations, etc. People in New York had to "show their papers" to enter a restaurant.
2. Government officials worked with large tech firms and social media companies to impose censorship and spread propaganda (see the Twitter files).
3. Worked with the CIA and FBI to spread lies before and after the 2016 election--like something right out of Hitler or Stalin's playbook. Lies such as "Putin has dirt on Trump and can blackmail him" (confirmed by intelligence reports to be totally false), "Putin wants Trump to be president" (he actually wanted Hillary to be president, as she was more predictable), "Russian soldiers put bounties on the heads of American soldiers" (bogus), "the vaccine is 100% effective in keeping you from getting sick and spreading the virus" (totally false, but a lie repeated by Rachel Maddow, Fauci, Wolenski, and others), "Trump was ordering the Post Office not to deliver ballots to Democrats" (complete nonsense) ...

and some of the issues with the GOP:

1. Retaliating against corporations that make governors angry. DeSantis did this in Florida, not only with Disney, but with AirB&B (he was mad they pulled out of the West Bank).
2. Labeling critics of the Ukraine War as un-American or traitors

you see, there is a lot of bad stuff here, and if you think one side are the "Fascists" you haven't been paying attention

 

[DaisyDay]

Celebrating the birth of the nation and it's 250th anniversary is a bad thing now?

A yearlong extravaganza? Yes, that is a bad idea.

 

[hislegacy]

A yearlong extravaganza? Yes, that is a bad idea.

Well...... if you don't want to - don't.

But what do you have against those who want to go at different times during the year? Why can't they?

 

[JustOneWay]

trump almost ended our democracy on Jan 6th, 2020, and now he wants a yearlong party for America.

I say we have a yearlong party when he is sent to prison for his crimes against America.

 

[inquiring mind]

We have a Democratic party, which – notwithstanding a few glaring counter-examples, such as what the Democratic National Committee did to Bernie Sanders in 2016 – is still largely committed to democracy.

To be fair with categorizations... OK, socialism.

 

[DaisyDay]

Well...... if you don't want to - don't.

But what do you have against those who want to go at different times during the year? Why can't they?

Go where? What kind of expense would a yearlong extravaganza entail?

 

[returntosender]

A simple fact is, which trumps all, the demo's have made this country a WELFARE country.

 

[DaisyDay]

A simple fact is, which trumps all, the demo's have made this country a WELFARE country.

Are you saying that the Democrats are looking out for the welfare of the nation’s people? That would be a good thing.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Are you saying that the Democrats are looking out for the welfare of the nation’s people? That would be a good thing.

Well, they want oppression and slavery instead,

 

[ViaCrucis]

Are you saying that the Democrats are looking out for the welfare of the nation’s people? That would be a good thing.

But you see, it's a bad thing. Using tax money to help veterans, retired elderly people, people in need of medical care, or food, or to feed their children? That's bad.

Our tax money should only go to helping billionaires and military wastefulness. Not helping the veterans who were used as disposable tools by the military, or keeping people alive.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[RDKirk]

I think this dichotomy between Republican and Democrat is almost meaningless at this point.

(for the record, I am obviously conservative)

Let's look at some of the things that were done by BOTH parties in the last 30 years:

1. The Patriot Act: warrantless wiretaps, surveillance, holding people without charging them, etc.
2. COVID lockdowns (Dems were far worse with this, but GOP went along with it initially)
3. State and local laws that allow for property confiscation in regards to certain crimes
4. Hate-speech laws: of course they aren't called *hate speech laws*--they are hate-crime laws which allow for throwing people in jail for political speech. Like 30 states have these laws, and DeSantis signed one in Florida. Utah declared police officers to be a protected minority, and people who have insulted cops have been charged with hate crimes. None of this is permissible under the First Amendment, but they are doing it anyway.

And let's look at things specific to the Democratic Party

1. Instituted Vaccine mandates and Vaxx-passes. Both violate the Bill of Rights, HIPAA regulations, etc. People in New York had to "show their papers" to enter a restaurant.
2. Government officials worked with large tech firms and social media companies to impose censorship and spread propaganda (see the Twitter files).
3. Worked with the CIA and FBI to spread lies before and after the 2016 election--like something right out of Hitler or Stalin's playbook. Lies such as "Putin has dirt on Trump and can blackmail him" (confirmed by intelligence reports to be totally false), "Putin wants Trump to be president" (he actually wanted Hillary to be president, as she was more predictable), "Russian soldiers put bounties on the heads of American soldiers" (bogus), "the vaccine is 100% effective in keeping you from getting sick and spreading the virus" (totally false, but a lie repeated by Rachel Maddow, Fauci, Wolenski, and others), "Trump was ordering the Post Office not to deliver ballots to Democrats" (complete nonsense) ...

and some of the issues with the GOP:

1. Retaliating against corporations that make governors angry. DeSantis did this in Florida, not only with Disney, but with AirB&B (he was mad they pulled out of the West Bank).
2. Labeling critics of the Ukraine War as un-American or traitors

you see, there is a lot of bad stuff here, and if you think one side are the "Fascists" you haven't been paying attention

That's not fascism, though. That's on the spectrum of totalitarianism (and fascism is on that spectrum), but it's not specifically fascism.

The salient feature that separates fascism from many other forms of totalitarianism is when a single individual is identified and accepted as the irreplaceable embodiment of the ethos and collective will of the movement. Trumpism is fascist.

 

[RDKirk]

A simple fact is, which trumps all, the demo's have made this country a WELFARE country.

The US is not by any means a "welfare" country. If it were, there wouldn't be a homelessness problem.

 

[Merrill]

That's not fascism, though. That's on the spectrum of totalitarianism (and fascism is on that spectrum), but it's not specifically fascism.

The salient feature that separates fascism from many other forms of totalitarianism is when a single individual is identified and accepted as the irreplaceable embodiment of the ethos and collective will of the movement. Trumpism is fascist.

Trumpism is NOT Fascist --if there is even such a thing

Is there an authoritarian element to Trump? Sure --but simple authoritarian impulses do not constitute "Fascism"

the political left embarrasses itself when it uses hyperbole and exaggeration with terms like this

Fascist policies would involve things like nationalizing some industries, outlawing labor unions, full-blown government censorship, and launching foreign wars. Trump did none of that

 

[RDKirk]

Trumpism is NOT Fascist --if there is even such a thing

Is there an authoritarian element to Trump? Sure --but simple authoritarian impulses do not constitute "Fascism"

the political left embarrasses itself when it uses hyperbole and exaggeration with terms like this

I mentioned the specific feature Trumpism ("Trumpism" btw, is not Trump himself...which you seem not to have noticed) shares with classifical fascism as defined by the people who invented it.

Fascist policies would involve things like nationalizing some industries, outlawing labor unions, full-blown government censorship, and launching foreign wars. Trump did none of that

Fascism might involve such things, but those actions are also shared by other forms of totalitarianism and authoritarianism.

The unique feature of classical fascism is that a single individual is identified and accepted as the irreplaceable embodiment of the ethos and collective will of the movement. That's Trumpism.