Quote of the Day

I hate to say this, but America no longer has two parties devoted to a democratic system of self-government. We have a Democratic Party, which – notwithstanding a few glaring counter-examples such as what the Democratic National Committee did to Bernie in 2016 – is still largely committed to democracy. And we have a Republican Party, which is careening at high-velocity toward authoritarianism. Okay, fascism.

. . . We are witnessing the logical culmination of win-at-any-cost Trump Republican politics – scorched-earth tactics used by Republicans to entrench their power, with no justification other than that they can.

Democracy is about means. Under it, citizens don’t have to agree on ends (abortion, health care, guns, or whatever else we disagree about) as long as we agree on democratic means for handling our disagreements.

But for Trump Republicans, the ends justify whatever means they choose – including expelling lawmakers, rigging elections through gerrymandering [and voter suppression laws], refusing to raise the debt ceiling, and denying the outcome of a legitimate presidential election.

My friends, the Republican Party is no longer committed to democracy. It is rapidly becoming the American fascist party.

. . . I don’t believe Trump alone is responsible for the birth of modern Republican fascism, but he has legitimized and encouraged the vicious rancor that has led much of the GOP into election-denying authoritarianism.

– Robert Reich
Excerpted from “The United States
Now Has a Fascist Political Party”
Common Dreams
April 11, 2023

Related Off-site Links:
Tennessee Exposes Swift-Moving Fascism Within the GOP – Chuck Idelson (Common Dreams, April 8, 2023).
“I See This as a Global Fascist Moment”: Author Jeff Sharlet on Interviewing Far-right Americans – Ann Neumann (The Guardian, March 30, 2023).
We’re Reaching Fascism’s “Inflection Point” – Again – James Roosevelt, Jr, et al (The Hill, February 8, 2023).
Sociologist Says the U.S. Is Still on the Path to Becoming a “Fascist Country” – Cheryl Teh (Business Insider, November 25, 2022).
Who Is Fighting the Rise of Fascism in the U.S.? – Brynn Tannehill (Dame, March 9, 2023).
“Fascism, Full Stop”: Progressives in Congress Condemn Expulsion of Tennessee Democrats – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, April 7, 2023).

UPDATE: “Rising Tide of Fascism”: Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones Warns of GOP’s Growing Embrace of Authoritarianism – Democracy Now! (April 28, 2023).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Jeff Sharlet on the Fascist Ideology of Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene
• Chauncey Devega on the Ongoing Danger of the Trump Cult
• Historian Nancy MacLean: The Threat to American Democracy Is at “Red-Alert”
• Ruth Ben-Ghiat on the Return of Fascism in Italy
• Judith Butler on the Reactionary Movement and Fascist Trend Opposed to Diverse Ideas About Gender
• Jelani Cobb: Quote of the Day – September 4, 2022
• “Come for the Racism, Stay for the Autocracy”
• William D. Lindsey: Quote of the Day – August 12, 2022
• Heather Cox Richardson: It’s Up to Us to Prove That Democracy Is Still a Viable Form of Government
• “How Can One Overreact to a Mortal Threat to American Democracy?”
• A Deeper Perspective on What’s Really Attacking Democracy
• “The Coup Attempt on Jan. 6th Was a Warning for What’s to Come If We Don’t Act”
• “My Biggest Worry Is for My Country”
• Republicans Pose an “Existential Threat” to American Democracy
• The Big Switch
• The Republican Party in a Nutshell
• Republicans Don’t Care About American Democracy
• “The Republican Party Has Now Made It Official: They Are a Cult”
• Heather Cox Richardson on Combating the Republican Party’s “Rigging of the System”
• David Remnick: Quote of the Day – February 13, 2021
• Dan Rather on America’s “Moment of Reckoning”
• Michael Harriot: Quote of the Day – January 6, 2021
• Insurrection at the United States Capitol
• “We Have an Emergency On Our Hands”: Marianne Williamson On the “Freefall” of American Democracy
• Fascism Is Upon Us
• On International Human Rights Day, Saying “No” to Donald Trump and His Fascist Agenda
• Trump’s Playbook