Are Republicans Fascists?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.
- Benito Mussolini

I think a lot of people already know this, but someone needs to formally call a spade a spade: The modern Republican Party is fascist.

Now, the trouble with this declaration is that there is some dispute over what fascism is. "Fascist" is by consent a "bad word" in our contemporary culture, but words need definitions. Let's look at a few definitions:

Vladimir Lenin described fascism as "capitalism in decay." Short and sweet. Say what you will about Lenin, he wasn't stupid. This doesn't really tell us much, but I find it intensely interesting because it feels so eerily relevant. It would explain a lot about the past 30 years.

My personal definition of fascism is, "a mean-spirited parody of populism." It is what happens when cynical economic elites try to maintain the social inequality by cultivating the worst in people: groupthink, xenophobia, selfishness, and emotionalism. This has been the heart and soul of the Republican Party ever since Nixon.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/ defines fascism as "a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition." This definition is actually pretty damning. "Nation above the individual" is eerily reminiscent of John McCain's slogan, "Country First." Now, for the record, when I think of "fascist", I don't think of John McCain. I think of his supporters. The McCain campaign, faced with the absurd task of defending Bush's status quo, resorted to invoking bigotry, irrationalism, and mindless nationalism. "Centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader" - the Constitution kept Bush from being a literal dictator, but it's obvious that's what he and his supporters wanted him to be. "Severe economic and social regimentation" - this is vague. Let's ignore it. "Forcible suppression of opposition" - did Reagan, Bush, or Dubya resort use police brutality against their protestors? Not that I can recall. But the thing is, they didn't need to most of the time. This is only done if it's both necessary and politically viable. Why risk looking like the bad guy when you can solve your problems with "peaceful" propaganda? That said, Bush's "free speech zones" carried the implication that protestors would meet police resistance if they tried to stand up for their true rights, and there was one scary incident in Florida in 2000....http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/28/miami/index.html

The Cambride Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines fascism as "a political system based on a very powerful leader, state control and extreme pride in country and race, and in which political opposition is not allowed." "Very powerful leader" - Reagan and Dubya fit that description (not so much Bush Sr. - he had the same presidential powers as Reagan, but not the personality to make full use of them). "State control" - of what? The railroad? The economy? Women's bodies? Let's not worry about it. "Extreme pride in country and race" - the jingoism's unambiguous, and as I've said before, "conservative" has kind of come to be code for "white." "Political opposition is not allowed" - well, they never got around to making political opposition illegal, but as I've said before, the only true Law is the Law of the Pack - the Republicans make it clear that they're not interested in any way but theirs.

Wikipedia offers several good definitions of fascism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism). I know Wikipedia has its stigma, but this entry is well-cited and lacking in any warning tags.

FDR defined fascism as "ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power." Okay, does it count if MANY private powers own it? And what exactly does he mean by "ownership"? Big Business might not own the government on paper, but it can still own it in practice (Could Obama possibly be the end of that? We'll see).

Stanley G. Payne identifies fascism with the following criteria:
The creation of an authoritarian state: Three words: USA PATRIOT ACT. Republican Party, you are hereby guilty as charged.
A regulated, state-integrated economic sector: The Republican gospel is deregulation. Okay, if this is a criterion for fascism, they certainly don't meet it.
Fascist symbolism: Um, circular logic? A movement is fascist because it uses symbols fascists use? The GOP certainly doesn't use the Nazi swastika or the Italian bundle of sticks, but as Sinclair Lewis so famously said, “When fascism comes to America, it’ll be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross” (For the record, though, that may be a bit of a fallacy: some consider fascism to be an American invention, courtesy of movements like the KKK. Once again, it all depends on your definition.).
Anti-liberalism: No shit, Sherlock! Rush Limbaugh alone wins them this one.
Anti-communism: Obviously.
Anti-conservativism: Interesting...obviously, we need a definition for "conservativism" - Republicans obviously don't think of themselves this way, but they seem to have changed the definition. I believe the kind of conservativism Payne has in mind is what the present colloquial refers to as "paleoconservative" - the conservativism of George F. Will, Barry Goldwater, Bill Buckley, and David Frum, who warned against the Party turning into "a rural white rump." The Party is currently caught in a tug-of-war between brain-possessing oldtimers like Frum and the forces that gave us Sarah Palin. Just how this struggle is resolved will be pivotal to the future of the country. http://word-economy.blogspot.com/2008/10/white-rural-rump.html has a few thoughtful things to say about this.
The goal of eliminating the autonomy, possibly the existence of, large-scale capitalism: By THIS definition, certainly not.

Roger Griffin's brief definition of fascism is "a political ideology whose mythic core in its various permutations is a palingenetic form of populist ultra-nationalism." "Palingenetic" refers to a movement for a "national rebirth" of an ethnic nation (of course, the prefix "Palin" is seriously creepy all by itself). The word has the same connotations as "apocalyptic" or "millenarian", albeit secular. Of course, in the American case, the religious terms are probably the better choices. Yeah, this fits the Republicans alright.

Robert O. Paxton defines fascism as, "A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion." I'll admit we haven't seen too much "redemptive violence" (unless you count violence of the non-physical variety) or "external expansion" (unless you consider Gulf War II to be motivated by imperialism), but other than that, it fits.

Umberto Eco describes fascism with the following traits:
The Cult of Tradition: combining "cultural syncretism" with a rejection of modernism, often disguised as a rejection of capitalism. No, I don't think this fits.
The Cult of Action for Action's Sake: Anti-intellectualism, irrationalism, and the general belief that it is always better to do something without thinking about it than to take no action at all. This is George W. Bush in a nutshell.
"Disagreement is Treason": discouraging critical thinking as a barrier to action. Same thing as above.
Appeal to Xenophobia: Another obvious "yes."
Appeal to a Frustrated Middle Class: specifically, appeal to the fear that the advancement of the disenfranchised will be of deleterious effect to them. From gutting welfare to opposing affirmative action, this fits the GOP platform.
"Obsession with a Plot": Conspiracy theories and fear of an enemy, internal or external, plotting against the People. Whether it's the USSR, the UN, American liberals, or The Terrorists, Republicans are driven by fear of the Bogeyman.
"Life is Permanent Warfare": Same as the above.
"Contempt for the Weak": Here, "weak" probably means those who don't value physical and military strength. Fascists fail to comprehend the teachings of Lao Tzu. It probably also refers to the economically weak (like those on welfare). Yes, these are pretty strong GOP trends.
"Selective Populism": The "common will of the People", interpreted by a "strong leader." This may involve suspician toward a democratic institution that "no longer represents the will of the People." This has been a strong strand of American politics ever since Andrew Jackson.
Orwellian "Newspeak": Once again, Rush Limbaugh alone gives them this.
So by Eco's definition, the GOP is uniquivocally fascist.

John Weiss defines fascism with the following traits:
Organicist Conceptions of Community: I'm sorry, I don't really understand what this one is.
Philosophical Idealism: This is in stark contrast to the bleak "best of all possible worlds" pragmatism of George F. Will-style conservativism. People don't want to vote for despair. Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in 1980 with a consoling, thought-killing smile.
Idealization of "Manly" Virtues: Chuck Norris's tears can cure cancer - too bad he never cries. Ever.
Resentment of Mass Democracy: Only when they lose.
Elitism: Oh boy....if ever a word needed a clear definition. The Republicans always try to glue this word to intellectualism, but, you know, what about cultural/military/economic elitism? That's them, alright.
Racism: Do I have to go into all the reasons this is another slam-dunk?
Militarism: You can smell it from half a world away.
Imperialism: This is a big word, much bigger than the Republican Party. It certainly fits them, though, even if you don't count Iraq.
A little bit of confusion with Weiss's definition, but it fits well enough to call it another "yes."

The Encyclopedia of Marxism (that's right, MARXISM! Oh no!) has a pretty good list of distinguishing traits developed from the experiences of Marxism's long struggle with its archnemesis:
Right-Wing: Fascism is opposed to all forms of Leftism. Obviously.
Nationalism: More specifically, jingoism and militarism. Nothing subtle about the Republican love affair with these.
Heirarchy: "Fascist society is ruled by a righteous leader, who is supported by an elite secret vanguard of capitalists." This has been a mainstay of the Republican strategy ever since the Religious Right got the idea to organize themselves on corporate lines.
Anti-Equality: Rich, white, heterosexual Christian men on top, everyone else...in their place. Fair enough.
Religious: More specifically, Christian (unless you're talking about Tojo's Japan). Tell me about it....
Capitalist: "Fascism exhibits the worst kind of capitalism where corporate power is absolute, and all vestiges of workers' rights are destroyed." The Marxist definition differs a little from others on this point, but it certainly fits the Republicans.
War: "Fascism is capitalism at the stage of impotent imperialism. War can create markets that would not otherwise exist by wreaking massive devastation on a society, which then requires reconstruction! Fascism can thus "liberate" the survivors, provide huge loans to that society so fascist corporations can begin the process of rebuilding." I don't think the fascists themselves are thinking exactly along those lines, but that's certainly what happened in Iraq.
Voluntarist Ideology: "Fascism adopts a certain kind of “voluntarism;” they believe that an act of will, if sufficiently powerful, can make something true. Thus all sorts of ideas about racial inferiority, historical destiny, even physical science, are supported by means of violence, in the belief that they can be made true. It is this sense that Fascism is subjectivist." In other words, why use reasoned debate when you can just act like a spoiled 4-year-old? Once again, a perfect description of Republican behaviour.
Anti-Modern: "Fascism loathes all kinds of modernism, especially creativity in the arts, whether acting as a mirror for life (where it does not conform to the Fascist ideal), or expressing deviant or innovative points of view. Fascism invariably burns books and victimises artists, and artists which do not promote the fascists ideals are seen as “decadent.” Fascism is hostile to broad learning and interest in other cultures, since such pursuits threaten the dominance of fascist myths." Republicans definitely do not like looking at alternative perspectives. There hasn't been much book-burning, but there's certainly been some (Harry Potter, remember?) Add in their love of cutting arts funding, and this fits them like a glove.

Well, that's the dreaded Marxist perspective, which gives the GOP 100% on its fascism score.

But there's also the Libertarian perspective: The Market for Liberty (a book advocating "anarcho-capitalism") defines fascism as "a system in which the government leaves nominal ownership of the means of production in the hands of private individuals but exercises control by means of regulatory legislation and reaps most of the profit by means of heavy taxation. In effect, fascism is simply a more subtle form of government ownership than is socialism." Well, gee. By this definition, the DEMOCRATIC Party is fascist. But I thought Obama was a socialist?....

Finally, there's George Orwell's perspective:

"...the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else ... Except for the relatively small number of Fascist sympathisers, almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. That is about as near to a definition as this much-abused word has come."

I know what it's like to be bullied. I may have developed my own definition of "fascist", but can't be any better than this one. A thorough scrutiny of Republican rhetoric will show that their logic ultimately distills to little more than, "Shut up! We're right! Obey us! Because we say so!" Claim to authority not by virtue of logic or merit, but force.

The Republican Party is fascist.