The populism whipped up by [Sarah] Palin’s candidacy became manifest as a national movement in short order with the rise of the Tea Party in 2009. Indeed, not only was the Tea Party overtly a right-wing populist movement, it soon became a major conduit for a revival of the 1990s version of this populism, the “Patriot”/militia movement. Many of these Tea Partiers are now the same Oath Keepers and “III Percenters” whose members widely support Trump’s candidacy.
Of course, most of these extremists are only one step removed, ideologically speaking, from the neo-Nazis and other white supremacists of the racist right, and both of those segments of the right lean heavily on nativist and authoritarian rhetoric. And there really is no other good word for Trump’s rhetoric, and the behavior of many of his followers, than “fascistic.” So it’s only somewhat natural that Trump’s right-wing populism would be mistaken for fascism – they are, after all, not just kissing cousins, but more akin to siblings. Not every right-wing populist is a fascist, but every fascist is a right-wing populist.
All of which underscores the central fact: Donald Trump may not be a fascist, but his vicious brand of right-wing populism is not just empowering the latent fascist elements in America, he is leading a whole nation of followers merrily down a path that leads directly to fascism. [snip]
... He may not himself lack any real ideological footing, but he has laid the groundwork for a fascist groundswell that could someday be ridden to power by a similarly charismatic successor who is himself more in the mold of an ideological fascist. And it doesn’t take a very long look down the roll of 2016 Republican candidates to find a couple of candidates who might fit that mold. [Ed. note: we like Cruz, Carson and Paul in that role, for starters.]We should note Neiwert's piece was written at the end of November, well before his most recent "ban all Muslims from the U.S." demagoguery; it's possible, with that recent evidence, Neiwert might recalibrate his judgement of Trump as "maybe not a fascist" to "yeah, he just crossed the line."
Trump may not be fascist, but he is empowering their existing elements in American society; even more dangerously, his Tea Party brand of right-wing populism is helping them grow their ranks, along with their potential to recruit, by leaps and bounds. Not only that, he is making all this thuggery and ugliness seem normal. And that IS a serious problem. (our emphasis)
You're seeing a lot written about Trump's thuggery, some of it by those who've chosen up until now to overlook or pooh- pooh the signs of this creeping, faux "populism," imagining that the Trump bubble would burst and a more palatable Republican (most of whom are just as bad as Trump but are careful with their words) would emerge with the nomination. But as his support continues to hold or grows, it's become panic time for those gatekeepers of conventional wisdom.
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) lays out the root problem that the pundits and Very Serious People in and around the Beltway have until recently chosen to ignore, and thus are due their fair share of the blame for the horror show that is Trump and the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ Shooters Party:
Donald Trump is standing on a platform of hate that the Republican Party built for him.
— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) December 8, 2015
That's right; they built this. With a yooge assist from these people.
