There Is No Precedent for Something Like This in American History - eviltoast

Presidential rhetoric corresponds to presidential action; it precedes and defines it. What a candidate says on the campaign trail connects to what he (or she) will do in office. And if Trump has had a single consistent message, it is that he’ll use the violent arm of the state to cleanse the nation of “scum” and “vermin,” whether immigrants and refugees or dissenters and political opponents like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi.

Americans who want to stop this — three things to do:

  • snooggums@lemmy.world
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    17 days ago

    It is simply extraordinary that the nation’s top general would tell anyone, much less one of the most famous reporters in the world, that the former president of the United States was a “fascist” — a “fascist to the core,” even — and a threat to the constitutional order. There is no precedent for such a thing in American history — no example of another time when a high-ranking leader of the nation’s armed forces felt compelled to warn the public of the danger posed by its once and perhaps future chief executive.

    Yeah, it is extraordinary that this person would say it to that person, but Trump’s fascism has been glaringly obvious since he ran in 2016: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-scholar-of-fascism-sees-a-lot-thats-familiar-with-trump

    • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      17 days ago

      If only some group of people who were against fascism were loudly warning about the signs a decade ago and how we needed to band together and stomp out the embers before they became flames. If only a group like that existed surely they would have been listened to. Perhaps they could have labeled themselves Oppose Fascism or something catchier . . . /s

      • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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        17 days ago

        Look bro. The billionaires and corporations require that line goes up.

        Issues like “imminent fascist dictatorship” and “genocidal terrorists seizing control of the most advanced surveillance apparatus in history” are all secondary to line goes up…

        • yesman@lemmy.world
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          17 days ago

          What you say is necessary, but not sufficient to answer the question of why capitalists prefer conservatism and tolerate fascism. The problem is there is no anti-capitalist party, or even a threat of one. Democrats want line go up too.

          • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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            17 days ago

            The Democrats are just as much a front for the shadow plutocracy that finances 90% of candidates at the state and federal level.

            The only difference is one is a continuation of the “democracy” charade, while the other rips the mask off and officially kills it.

    • SGGeorwell@lemmy.world
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      17 days ago

      Yes, a friend and I sat in a bar in late 2015 and went through the various definitions of fascism on Wikipedia and compared them to trump. It was a shocking nine years ago. By now we’re numb to it. The man is surely a fascist. Then and now.

    • Ferrous@lemmy.ml
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      17 days ago

      I don’t think this take is entirely fair.

      Leftists were claiming Trump was a fascist right at the beginning of his campaign. Immediately, liberals started rejecting this notion due to “reductionism”. To liberals, the idea of a fascists rising to become a viable candidate was unthinkable. How could our civil, enlightened system allow for such a candidate? Liberals didn’t answer this question, and instead just rejected the idea of rising fascism wholesale.

      For years, leftists have been sounding alarm bells about Trumpist fascism, only to be answered by asinine mainstream media pieces denying the claim. And now that liberals have sat on their asses and let fascism fester, theyve started pointing fingers inwards and to the left. Liberals are now blaming American fascism on leftists who refuse to vote for genocide. It could not be more in line with the historical blueprint: fascism takes rise, liberals start casting off leftists first to burn.

      Google: trump fascism before:2016-01-01

      Why you should stop calling Donald Trump a fascist. December 4, 2015

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/04/why-you-should-stop-calling-donald-trump-a-fascist/

      Donald Trump Isn’t a Fascist; He’s a Media-Savvy Know-Nothing. December 28, 2015

      https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/donald-trump-isnt-a-fascist-hes-a-media-savvy-know-nothing

      Whose Fascism Is This, Anyway? Dec. 15, 2015

      https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/opinion/whose-fascism-is-this-anyway.html

      Is Donald Trump leading a proto-fascist movement? August 28, 2015

      https://theweek.com/articles/574097/donald-trump-leading-protofascist-movement

      Trump May Be a Loudmouthed Demagogue, but Is He a Fascist? Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric has his opponents likening him to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Such comparisons may be misplaced.

      https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/09/trump-may-be-a-loudmouthed-demagogue-but-is-he-a-fascist/

      Is Donald Trump a Fascist?

      https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-fascist-354690

      So I’m not sure whether your comment was coming from a leftists perspective or a liberal one, but to say that liberals knew all along about the impending threat of fascism is wrong. Leftists did, however.

      Edit: typo

      • snooggums@lemmy.world
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        17 days ago

        It was coming from me, because it was plainly obvious to me at the time. Like so glaringly obvious that the articles about how ‘Trump isn’t a real fascist’ were obviously downplaying his obvious fascism by comparing him to 1943 Hitler instead of when Hitler was rising to power.