Calling A Spade A Spade

An open letter to those who believe in our Constitution

A dictator (left) and a wannabe dictator (right)

 

10/11/2022

To Whom It May Concern:

I am an American citizen who has, for many years, loved my country and the freedoms that it provides. I am writing this letter to warn you all:

We will soon be losing all our freedoms. We have already lost some fundamental freedoms, but unless we act decisively and soon, we will start losing them all by the end of this year.

Let’s call a spade a spade. The Republican Party has been taken over by Trumpists. It has, effectively, become the party of Trumpism.

Trumpism is Fascism.

Some information about me: I am proud to be an American and I love my country. I am an ordinary citizen, born and raised in the USA. I am not a scholar, politician, or pundit. I am definitely not a Democrat or a Progressive (or, to use the older term, a “Liberal”). I am also not a Republican or a so- called “Conservative”. If you must classify me, you can call me an Independent Centrist who has no leanings toward either of the parties that are dominant in this country. This classification does not actually define me, but it is close enough so that those shallow enough to need to classify can do so.

Despite the fact that, as a Centrist I tend to vote sometimes for Republicans and other times for Democrats (depending on the issue(s) I am concerned about), I will not be voting for anyone in the current Republican party. A vote for a Republican these days is a vote for a uniquely American style of fascism. This is not just my opinion. It is a fact based on historical precedence. Anyone with a decent knowledge of world history (or sufficient access to information on Google) should recognize what today’s Republican politicians have become.

Many people have compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. He and Hitler have much in common: they both are authoritarian, both willing to do whatever it takes to seize and retain power, and both gained their power and influence through a “cult of personality” where they were able to convince a lot of people that they were the only ones capable of solving the problems of their respective countries.

They have much in common, but I disagree with the comparison of Trump to Hitler. Trump is no Hitler. He’s more like an American version of Mussolini.

Benito Mussolini (known as IL Duce) was the founder and leader of the Fascist Party in Italy during the early 20th century. The regime he imposed in Italy was an inspiration to Adolph Hitler, whose Nazi regime was a uniquely German style of fascism.

The fascists gained power in Italy by promoting the myth of a once- great people who were unfairly treated after World War I. They promised to “restore” Italy’s greatness and Mussolini was touted as the “only” one who could solve Italy’s economic problems. They were backed financially by the richest people in their country. They were also supported by “blackshirts” who used violence and threats of violence against anyone who opposed fascism. Any political opposition was identified as an “enemy” and deemed a threat to Italian culture and values. It became “normal” to discriminate against non- fascists, harass them, and to even target them for violence. In 1922 Mussolini even threatened a coup against the Italian government in order to take it over!

By 1924, Italy had been transformed from a constitutional monarchy with a government structured similarly to that of the United States into a one- party authoritarian state whose leadership was selected by Mussolini and who acted as “rubber stamps” supporting anything Mussolini wanted.

Almost 100 years later, history is poised to repeat itself. Donald Trump is the founder and leader of “Trumpism”, which is a right- wing extremist movement that has taken control of the Republican party. Trumpism has gained power by promoting the myth of a great and dominant America that has been debased by left- wing policies, anti- Christian values, and demographic change. It promises to “Make America Great Again”, a process which they tout Trump as being the only one who can complete. They are backed financially by millionaires, billionaires, and corporations who donate to Trumpist campaigns. They are also supported by right- wing groups and individual Trump followers who use violence and threats of violence against minorities, Jews, or anyone who speaks out against Trumpism, investigates crimes committed by trumpists, or cooperates by testifying against them. Democrats of all kinds are identified as “enemies” of American culture, values, and (ironically) the Constitution. It has become “normal” to discriminate, harass, and even target non- trumpists for violence. In 2021, a well- planned “riot” was carried out in order to stop the certification of the 2020 election and install Trump as President. This riot, which was effectively an insurrection, was the culmination of several attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

By 2024, they are hoping to create an authoritarian government whose leadership is selected by the President (Trump or some other MAGA Republican) and where Congress acts as rubber stamps supporting anything the President wants.

It should be noted that, like Mussolini, Trump is selecting the candidates for both the House and Senate races. He has endorsed several candidates for local elections. Almost every candidate who he has endorsed, on the local, state, or national level, has won his/her primary. Fascism, in the form of Trumpism, is gaining more power in America.

The strategy adopted by Trumpists is quite simple. Through gerrymandering, suppression of the voting rights of those who would vote for any opposition, and the use of “culture wars” and 2020 election lies designed to motivate their MAGA  base, they expect this year to take over one or both of the branches of Congress.

If they succeed in taking control of the House, the Senate, or (worse) both, then we can all say goodbye to our freedom and our democracy. Their control of either branch of Congress will enable them to obstruct any legislation that would protect abortion rights, voting rights, or the rights of any marginalized people. They will continue to be apologists for and (in some cases) inciters of racial, anti- Semitic, and political violence.

With protections for voting rights gone, the laws making it more difficult for “non- Republicans” to vote, the gerrymandering, and the partisan control of election processes, they will insure that the 2024 election will be won by a Trumpist — regardless of who the candidate is.

Those seeking an example of why we need national voting rights legislation should look very closely at Georgia. Claims by Democrats that Georgia’s voting laws are suppressing the votes are denied by politicians and pundits who point to the high turnout of voters in the Georgia primaries. The problem with their denial is that Stacy Abrams ran unopposed on the Democratic side, while there were several candidates for governor on the Republican side. In that high voter turnout, how many actual Democrats were able to vote vs. how many Republicans?

The primary is no fair indication of the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the voter suppression laws. There were plenty of Republicans who were able to choose Kemp in his primary. There didn’t need to be many Democrats voting in order for Abrams to win her primary. Considering the attempts currently being made to challenge and purge minorities and other democrats from the voting rolls (which Kemp did in order to win the governorship during the last gubernatorial election), how many Abrams supporters will actually be able to vote in the general election? With partisan election deniers taking over Georgia’s certification process, how many of those votes will actually be counted?

Once the Trumpist “Republicans” take over the House, the Senate, and the Presidency, our democracy will have ended. This country will, effectively, become a one- party state. Backed by a Supreme Court that has been stacked with right- wing ideologues, the Trumpists will use the rigging that they have put in place to insure that (1) no non- Trumpists will never gain a majority in either the House or Senate for the foreseeable future, (2) that no non- Trumpist will take the Presidency (after all, even if a Democrat or real Republican wins an election or even a primary, Trumpists will be able to de- certify any result they don’t like), and (3) that their radical, right- wing ideologies will become the law of the land for generations to come.

If you want to have an understanding of what this country will be like under Trumpist/Republican rule, just take a look at Florida. As of today, Florida is a model of what an authoritarian fascist culture will be like.

The current governor, Ron DeSantis, calls Florida a “free state”. Actually, I agree with him. Florida is a free state!

In Florida, you have freedom of speech – as long as you don’t say anything about racial problems, “gays”, or anything that disagrees with DeSantis’ positions on these subjects.

You are “free” to worship as you wish – as long as you are some form of evangelical Christian.

Floridians are “free” to keep their children mostly ignorant about American history, and to fill their minds with historical propaganda designed to make white children feel good about themselves.

You have the freedom to protest – as long as you are protesting against COVID vaccinations, bogus accounts of teachers promoting Critical Race Theory,for “religious” freedom  (for Christians, of course!) to spread COVID or to discriminate against “others”, or against LGBQ+ “groomers” who don’t exist. As for those who have the temerity to protest about other issues (for example, against police murdering Blacks) you are free to do whatever you want to them – including run them over if they block your streets when you are driving to work.

And of course, you have the freedom to vote – provided you live in one of those (conservative) counties that provide easy access to voting places, are allowed to take time off during voting hours, or are able to navigate the overly complicated and restrictive laws that seem designed to prevent you from even registering to vote.  You can also vote if you are willing to travel (sometimes even for several miles) to those (usually conservative) communities where people are often “free” to use intimidation to prevent you from voting.

Ah, yes, in the “White Christian Republic” of Florida you have plenty of freedom to be a white, “conservative”, and anti- “other” Christian. As long as you are white and Christian, you have total freedom there.

Imagine Florida, with all of its “freedoms”, on a national scale. You see my point.

Once in control of a government, fascists never voluntarily release control. They fashion the culture of their country in their own image. Because Trumpism is fascism, if they take control of this country America will become an ethnostate in which everyone who is not white, male, heterosexual, and Christian will become, at best, a second- class citizen. At worst... well, whatever evil you can imagine is possible.

For example, it should not be a surprise that one of the biggest changes that Republicans have brought about is the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, or that they will create a national ban on abortions if they gain control of Congress. Under Mussolini’s regime, women had no reproductive rights and abortion was banned. The platform of Giorgia Meloni which has taken control of Italy (and has become a favorite of Republicans here in the US), wants to ban abortions. Government control of a woman’s reproduction is a significant feature of any fascist regime.

There is always an element of racism and anti- Semitism in a fascist regime. I need not cite examples from Hitler’s Germany in support of this statement. I will, however, mention the treatment of Africans and Italian Jews under Mussolini, the discrimination against nonwhite Ukrainian refugees in today’s Hungary, and the targeting of nonwhite immigrants here in America (or am I the only one who notices that no one objects to immigration of whites from Canada or Europe, whether legal or illegal?). These days, the “mainstream media” has been wringing its hands over the fact that Republican politicians refuse to condemn white supremacists and racist/anti- Semitic statements made by members of their party.  They wonder why this is, but the answer is simple. White supremacists have become the Republicans’ constituents. It is past time that we all acknowledge and deal with this fact.

It should also not be a surprise that Trumpists and Trumpist- supporting Republicans are funded and supported by millionaires and large corporations. It is not just that these entities get tax breaks. Fascism supports private business and encourages it to contribute to the State. In fact, as Mussolini said:

The fascist state is the corporate state

Below are some other quotes by fascists and Trumpists, expressing their agenda and ideology.

The Jews were responsible for bringing Negroes into the Rhineland, with the ultimate idea of bastardizing the white race which they hate, and thus lowering its cultural and political level so that the Jew might dominate.

-From Mein Kampf (Stalag Edition)

By Adolph Hitler

 

Democrats know if they keep up the flood of illegals into the country, they can eventually turn it into a flood of voters for them. They don't have to foster economic growth, or be capable administrators, or provide good government. They just have to keep the pump flowing, and power will be theirs.

-Tucker Carlson

edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight 12/20/2017

The Socialists ask what is our program? Our program is to smash the heads of the Socialists.

-Benito Mussolini

I love you people madly but I’d love you more if you went forward and just went berserk on the skulls of the Democrats and the Marxists and the communists.

-Ted Nugent

At Trump Rally 4/14/2022

There is only one way to prevent the destruction of our democracy: take away the power Trumpism has gained in this country, and prevent trumpists from gaining any more power. To do that, we have to get out and vote against Republican candidates.

I do not like the idea of voting against a candidate just because of his/her party affiliation. As I said earlier when I vote I usually vote for Republicans or Democrats. Unfortunately, Republican politicians these days either fully embrace MAGA Trumpism, or are bending over backwards in its service. While I believe few Republican voters actually support Trumpism, all Republican politicians certainly do. A vote for any Republican politician is a vote for racism, suppression of women (that is what abortion and contraception bans will do!), and theocratic authoritarianism. A vote for any Republican is a vote for Fascism.

Democrats and Independents need to step up now and vote in the midterms. But Republicans who want to preserve our democracy should step up as well. Surely there is a good number of Republicans who do not like the extremism that they have been seeing take over their party over the last several years. Many Republicans I know have expressed distaste about their party’s candidates, but will still vote for them because they feel that “the Democrats are worse”. But I ask: how are Democrats worse? By being more effective at reducing the danger of COVID? By funding the fixing/improvement of our country’s infrastructure? By reducing unemployment and this country’s deficit?

How do these and other accomplishments make them “worse” than Trumpists?

Democrats are not trying to impose their religious values on everyone. They aren’t suppressing the voting rights of minorities, or imposing governmental restrictions on women’s health care choices. They do not represent white supremacists and anti- Semites. They are not seeking to overturn the First Amendment by establishing Christianity as “America’s religion”.

Republican politicians, by being Trumpist or supporting Trumpism, are doing all of these things.

Trumpists must be stopped. They must be stopped at the national, state, and local levels. When they lie (which they do almost constantly these days), we need to call them out immediately. When they talk about “massive election fraud”, demand that they share their evidence. When they spread fear about “immigrant threats”, “Critical Race Theory”, or “whites being replaced”, remind them of the facts about immigration, how Critical Race Theory was never taught outside of graduate law classes, and that “white replacement” is a bogus conspiracy theory originally promoted by a French racist who was inspired by Hitler.

And when they promote Christian Nationalism and spread nonsense about America being a Christian nation, remind them of how the very concept of Christian Nationalism violates our Constitution.

The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not meant to direct the church. That is not how our founding fathers intended it.

And I'm tired of this separation of church and state junk, that's not in the Constitution. It was in a stinking letter and it means nothing like what they say it does."

-Lauren Boebert 7/2022

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

-Constitution of the United States, Amendment 1

Vote them out of office. Vote against all Trumpist candidates for office – which these days means we need to vote all Republicans out of office. Send a message to all Republican politicians that Trumpism will not bring them the power that they seek.

We can no longer afford to take our democracy for granted. We cannot afford to elect people into office who are working to subvert and eliminate our democratic processes.

We must vote this year and in 2024. We must vote against anyone who promotes or supports Trumpism.

If we do not, then America will fall down a path of darkness from which it may never recover.

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.

-Desmond Tutu

Sincerely

Mikal Shemhem