Thread by @RadioFreeTom

A longish and quixotic thread on the misuse of "fascism."

Why does it matter what we call things? Because labels tend to guide choices and allocation of attention and political resources. So I'm going to give this a try.
/1

Fascist regimes, as we knew them in the 20th century, have some things in common with the current American right: cult of personality, vicious nostalgia, and anti-intellectualism. But that describes *many* authoritarian regimes. Why is "fascism" different and more dangerous? /2

Because fascist regimes had articulated ideologies, highly disciplined cadres, well-developed party structures, and bureaucratized chains of command. This made them more resilient and highly dangerous because they were focused and effective. /3

Their leaders, even strutting roosters like Mussolini, were not stupid; indeed, they were tough and smart and even personally brave. They were hyperfocused, on running movements on the principle of one Leader, one Party, one State.
Perhaps you see where I'm about to go. /4

Many of you are seeing a weak, scared man hiding in Florida, and seeing "fascism." This is inane. There is no party, no program, no ideology. It's just a rich guy using donations from rubes to abuse the legal process and save himself. The GOP has zero ideology or discipline. /5

Many of you see DeSantis as a fascist. DeSantis is a smarmy and authoritarian opportunist, to be sure. But again, fascism is not donor-service, poll-tested hot buttons, look-at-me stunts. (Look how fast he backtracked on Ukraine.) He's too timid even to criticize Trump. /6

Now, I will grant that the rightists who want to institute crackpot "common good" legal theories are a lot scarier, but they're also very comfortable in the universities and right-wing punditry. Ironically, they're part of a soft intelligentsia that real fascists would hate. /7

None of these legal theorists or oped guys are going to give up tenure or resign their editorial positions to salute Trump or DeSantis and then lead the masses in the streets. That's way too much work.
And in truth, most of them hate those masses more than anyone. /8

Speaking of the masses, where are they? There is no party organization, no overriding ideology, no mass meetings, nothing. Jerks yelling at teachers and posting racist memes from mom's basement are not gonna put the cheetohs down for Kim and Don Jr. or, now, even for Trump. /9

Also, there's a disconnect here about government itself.
Fascists love The State. They don't do "don't tread on me" anti-statism. They want to capture and run the State in all its glory. /10

That kind of hyperstatism requires smarts and organizational skill. The GOP isn't nearly that organized. I suppose with the right leader, they could be, but so far, they can't organize a piss-up in a brewery. Look at the House right now: Not exactly a Reichstag in waiting. /11

I also will grant that the federal and state courts have some crank judges who will do whatever they think Dear Leader wants, but again, without any real ideological guidance. That ideological issue matters, more than you realize.
And here's where federalism saves us: /12

There is no single judiciary, and even the *federal* judiciary is a mix of political views and will be for years. State and local government is strong. (A solid fascist would have targeted that on Day 1 in 2017, as the Nazis did. But Trump just fired a lot of appointees.) /13

Yes, Trump has put some doozies on the bench. SCOTUS is going to roll back more rights by 6-3 margins. But fascism's natural milieu is among *weak* institutions, not deep ones. We can still fight repressive ideas in the US with a free press, voting, and legislation. /14

Also, fascists don't "run" for office. They don't do polling. They don't try to win court cases. They don't try for "earned media." They use discipline, ideology, and violence to build a mass movement that terrorizes those weak institutions into paralysis and collapse. /15

That's not happening in the US now. The GOP is so up its own ass that the leader of its party was shuttling around in the same hotel between Mike Pence's speech and meeting Trump. If you think that's fascism, there's 100 years of fascists who are insulted at the comparison :) /16

The bottom line is: if you we are fighting fascism, then the logic is to give up on politics, to give up on voting, on laws, on court cases. Don't!
(Btw: Three cheers for lawyers, who have been doing the heavy lifting of defending democracy in court.)
/17

Yes, I know, some ppl love the idea of duking it out in the streets with "fascists." Resorting to violence, imo, is how you *create* fascism; defending the rule of law is how you avert it. "Fascists" didn't win on J6; they're going to jail and staying home when Trump calls now.

Are there fascists in the GOP? Absolutely.
But are you facing a disciplined, organized, ideological party led by a charismatic and tough leader? Not by a longshot.
So don't pysch yourselves out with fear. VOTE. Donate. Organize. Speak. /18

Don't keep devaluing "fascist." Don't wear out the ability of your fellow citizens to hear that word and be alarmed. (That's already happening. It's like "woke," it's becoming meaningless.) The day may come - and soon - when we'll *need* that word. Conserve it. /19x