Are we there yet?

I haven't blogged yet about the disruptive town hall meetings (like the one in Tampa that became violent), but did mention them to my friend and debate partner. He hadn't heard of such events in the news at that time (I trust he has now). Once I told him his comment was, "Those people sound like Nazi Brownshirts." This is the group that helped Hitler come to power.

He isn't the only one with that thought.

During the Bush years people would ask those in the know whether America had become a fascist state. Are we there yet? A reasonable question because Bush (Cheney) seized powers that only the worst dictators accumulate. But these people (David Niewert and Sara Robinson, in this case) said even when Bush did his worst, no we're not there yet. There were key components missing. They cited a 1998 paper by Robert Paxton who had studied how countries turn fascist.

And now? Robinson says we're in the parking lot circling for a space.

Since the term Liberal Fascist (highly incorrect) is tossed about we had better start with a definition. We'll use the one by Paxton, which most scholars agree is best:

"Fascism is a system of political authority and social order intended to reinforce the unity, energy, and purity of communities in which liberal democracy stands accused of producing division and decline."

Paxton refines this definition by saying fascism is

"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."

Allow me to break the chunks apart for easier digestion (mine as well as yours). This is now my paraphrase of the main points.

* Obsessively focused on community decline ("downfall of Western Civilization"), humiliation or victimhood ("we Christians are being persecuted!").

* Responding with calls for unity and purity (immigration and "birther" issues, "God struck New Orleans to cleanse it of its sin!").

* Rise of militant groups, collaborating with elites (GOP?).

* Abandons democratic liberties ("That surveillance camera shouldn't be a problem as long as you aren't doing anything wrong.").

* Pursues violence to cleanse and expand the movement in which the ends justify the means, not matter how unethical or illegal the means.

Reason is unimportant, passionate emotion is necessary.

Paxton says there are five steps to fascism.

1. A rural movement emerges for national renewal with themes of unity, order, purity, national pride, and national myths and values. This sounds to me like the Fundies. The movement needs a national crisis to take hold. The 9/11 attacks and current recession are sufficient candidates.

But those threads have been woven through American conservatism since the Klan was formed after the Civil War. The current GOP breathes these themes without apology, adding a healthy addiction to fear and rage.

2. The movement turns into a real political party with its base in the rural, less educated parts of the country. A component is the formation of goon squads to enforce ideology. The completion of this stage depends on the perceived weakness of the liberals and a Right that is unable to wield power alone, yet refuses to see the Left as legitimate powerholders. The Right elites cooperate with the popular unrest to beat back the Left. Without a legitimate way back to power (can't win elections or policy fights), the Right elites recruits the masses as shock troops to abandon democracy through bullying. The elites play this game as an attempt to hold onto their power and profit. This sounds very much like today's GOP and the teabag movement incited by Fox News, guided by field manuals on how to disrupt meetings. There are now congressional GOP members buying into (and thus legitimizing) the birther claims.

We've passed both of these stages. And if things go any farther it is difficult to avoid the last three steps.

3. The disruptions turn into thuggery, beatings, and killings and expands from members of the opposing party to any group that the mob disagrees with (want to guess what they think of gays?). All this is directed from the top. The completion of this step depends on the answer to three questions:

1. Are the pre-fascist parties rooted in major interests and feelings and do they wield major political influence?

2. Is the constitutional system blocked in a way current authorities can't open up?

3. Are the elites losing control and looking for tougher helpers?

That seems to be 3 for 3. Ouch!

Once step 3 is passed there may not be a way off this horse.

4. The alliance of Right elites and thugs makes a bid for power. Along the way the two parts battle for supremacy. If the thugs win we get a police state. If the elites win we get a theocracy or corporatocracy. Neither is democracy.

5. Radicalization or entropy. A big military win can radicalize the consolidated government and bring about social engineering (Germany). If there is no big win, the state slowly falls apart (Italy).

Are those disrupted town hall meetings the rantings of a furious child who poses no threat, or is the noise hiding the formation of a lynch mob? If the latter, what do we do? You'll have to wait for Robinson to post the answer.