Rising fascism in the US

I’m just grateful for a reasonable response. (Nods)

Absolutely fine.

Farage is known as a lifelong promoter to invite people from eastern Europe to his country, isn't it?

He loves migrants. Loves them. Would never dream of inciting violence against such people. Never.

Of course, I posted that item as further demonstration of the intersection between the far right elements and anti-vaccination agitprop.

He makes a big song and dance about being against institutions, his wife is German.

Having said that UKIP has always played on anti immigrant sentiment.

His support for Djokovic is all down to anti vaxx bollocks.

As with Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson and Newt Gingrich and other far right ideologues/propagandists, whether the subject is vaccines or taxes or international organizations or education or voting systems or immigration or attacks on mainstream media or support for paramilitary operations etc, breaking existing institutions and the structures of democracy is exactly the point.

They're opportunist and will attach themselves to whatever cause forwards their agenda.

Indeed.

A deep irony, and it's one which underlines your point, is how in the 80s and 90s and later, the right launched a typical panic campaign regarding deconstructionism and particularly, "moral relativism". And then they (including the religious right) turn around and support Donald Trump.

Of course, another example is their screaming about activist judges and then they work their asses off to construct a judiciary which serially disregards precedent and which sets off in entirely partisan directions.

This is exactly the motivation they ascribe to the mythologized concept they label "cultural Marxism". "Cultural Gingrichism" doesn't roll off the tongue as easily but, by the jeezuz, that's what's going on. That's the point I made the other day – had Trump won the election and pushed vaccination as a patriotic duty, they'd still find some way of turning it into a divisive issue which threatens gun ownership, restricts worship, and promotes pedophilia.

In the 90s John Major announced a back to basics agenda, a similar moral campaign.

Unfortunately for him the campaign was derailed by a succession of Tory MPs being found with their pants down.

They lost the next election but spawned a popular Viz character Baxter Basics, philandering Torp mp.

He's referencing an appearance by Desantis on FOX's Mark Levin show.

There is presently a broad campaign to denigrate both teachers and the educational system. This has roots that go way back but it is now ascendent in right wing agitprop.

The pandemic and vaccine/mask mandates plus school closings are the vehicle being utilized presently because it's now convenient for them. Again, the goal is to foster disaffection with existing institutions.

But there are other underlying goals which has driven such campaigns in the past.

One is the destruction or disempowerment of teachers' unions which are traditional supporters of Dems. A concurrent motivation here is the desire of various entities to fill their pockets with the big money that goes towards education in the US. And alongside that is the broad goal of shrinking government so as to make it easier to kill government.

Another is the attempt to control what American students study and learn. Early on, this was directed towards stopping the teaching of evolutionary theory which contradicted literal readings of the bible (which is still in play particularly in the South). The modern campaign against critical race theory is driven by both nationalist voices (America is exceptional) and the obvious racist currents still blooming in American culture.

But it is not difficult to see these things as similar to the far right's campaign to denigrate the mainstream media and build up its own media universe to effectively control or manipulate what large sectors of the public believe to be true/false. If you can manage to control information - or at the very least to cause great turmoil regarding how citizens determine what information is true or false - then your means of controlling citizens is much greater. That is the subject of 1984. And as Hannah Arendt details in The Origins of Totalitarianism, it is exactly how totalitarian regimes come into being.

It was a very astute point. You're exactly right which is no surprise.

"Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster that requires the end of checks and balances, the dissolution of opposition parties, the suspension of freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Do not fall for it."
--Timothy Snyder

In Terry Gilliam's dystopian film Brazil, terrorist bombs are going off all the time.

It bothers the hell out of me.
Republican crap does equally.

I think they should all be jailed.

How do you know no one here is bothered? You've only written one post on A2K.

And why would you single out Pelosi? How about Burr? Loeffler? Inhofe? Why are you not bothered by those cases? Prior to 2012, Congress members were not prohibited from insider trading. Senator Richard Burr from North Carolina was a fierce opponent of a bill that ultimately banned this practice. In an interview at the time, Burr said about the potential new law, “It’s ludicrous.” He voted against the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act and said, “I mean, it’s insane.”

The loudest voice pushing for legislation to ban trading by sitting officials is, of course, Elizabeth Warren. Unless you know of some Republican doing the same. Do you? Aren't you concerned about that?

PS... I'm really not familiar with the complex legalities involved here but that NYMag link is pretty thorough. That aside, I think Pelosi (and anyone else making similar arguments) is dead wrong. My single hesitation in saying that is what consequences might follow in terms of making office-holding unattractive to talented people. I'm not one who thinks all politicians are greedy, power-hungry shitheels but the Jimmy Stewart/Hollywood version of the thing is seldom realized. Holding office is, by itself, not terribly remunerative and I wouldn't want to see a legal regime which kept many good people out of this arena. It's a tough question, I think. On the other hand, we definitely don't want more people entering politics mainly as a means of access to money-making.

I'm not at all sure the accusations against Pelosi are anything at all true. Uber-Conservatives hate her, they see her as a unrepentant liberal but the real reason is that she manages to outmaneuver those cretins with a lot of hard and smart work.

I never hear anyone complain about the fortunes Mitch McConnell and his wife have wrapped up by associating with the lowest of the low.