Largely the writing style. I also think it overstated the chance of a successful coup, but did agree with the final paragraph.What did you find overblown?
Oh and it's not just "liberals" who saw a fascistic creep
His writing style can be overly...'Intellectual'...but I didnt get from his piece that he thought the coup ever stood a chance - the exact opposite in fact - key parts of the Trumpist grassroots believed in it blindly, and crucially believed a real coup was really on, but it was a massively unrealistic vision <seems to me a big part of the picture he painted.Largely the writing style. I also think it overstated the chance of a successful coup, but did agree with the final paragraph.
In terms of who has invoked the term fascist, that was my point. I find it interesting that the language used by the liberal left * on here is now being used more widely to describe trump. I'm sort of saying that this might be a moment where those posters feel entitled to say 'I told you so'. Kind of 'fill yer boots' time.
Fwiw, I'm not sure whether trump and his followers are fash is the point. They certainly are in a generic sense/usage. I'm starting to think about it in terms of this weekend being the point where American populism stretches the institutions of liberal democracy to the limit. Trump has been pushing it right from the moment he claimed the election result was a fraud. I'm not sure what emerges out of that stretch, probably nothing distinctive, just a failed system creaking on.
* however much that term may be disliked.
It's good to see that Republican politicians now realise just how dangerous spreading lies and conspiracy nonsense is.
er...
Two years. The 2022 midterms have every chance of restoring Senate control to the GOP.Overall I expect Biden will try a very "let the dust settle" approach to the next four years
the bellingcat article about Ashli Babbit has some details about her radicalisation - would be interested to see some more in depth stuff about this tbh.
The Journey of Ashli Babbitt - bellingcat
Retracing the final steps of the woman killed by police during the storm of the US Capitol.www.bellingcat.com
Something almost religious about that. I've just been re-reading American Gods and there's certainly something of the 'new gods' about that image.As Babbitt lay dying on the floor, her fellow members of the crowd pulled out their phones and began to film, illuminating her body with the lights of their devices.
every raving lunatic out there now has a platform.This is the Beer Hall Putsch stage of American facism.
Trump is no Hitler, of course, but there's every danger of some charismatic veteran of 6th January stewing in jail tweeting "my struggle" through the bars
highlights perfectly the journey from "normal mum" to Q raving lunatic. well done zuckerburg.Something almost religious about that. I've just been re-reading American Gods and there's certainly something of the 'new gods' about that image.
gates behind it again?
My guess is Biden would like to see a good number of the invaders doing serious time. He'll also want to use this to shove the wider alt-right and qanon scum beyond the pale of American politics, but will be very cautious about specific steps. In terms of trump, I think he'll leave well alone and hopes he fucks off to Saudi. But as you say, events could make all of that redundant. I'm not predicting bombs or sieges from the wildest fringes, but it's a possibility.His writing style can be overly...'Intellectual'...but I didnt get from his piece that he thought the coup ever stood a chance - the exact opposite in fact - key parts of the Trumpist grassroots believed in it blindly, and crucially believed a real coup was really on, but it was a massively unrealistic vision <seems to me a big part of the picture he painted.
My impression is over the last few years there were lots of books/articles/voices linking trump to fascism from across the political left (anarcho to leninist), though there was never agreement in any tradition about that.
Failed system creaking on....hard to disagree...it would've been really interesting to see how the US establishment reacted to a Sanders presidency, had he not been shot down by the Democratic elite. Overall I expect Biden will try a very "let the dust settle" approach to the next four years, but I wonder if Events will force his hand. The door is very open for some political retribution too...will be interesting to see if he pushes for that.
Hmmm, lets see how that holds up when a genuine socialist force comes close to winning/ wins power in the States. (one day eh )3. Ultimately, the Americans' love of "Freedom" is so broadly accepted in all its forms that it doesn't give enough room for true fascism to truly take hold. The American right wing interpretation of freedom is about carrying your own military grade weapons, not being part of a larger corps acting under orders.
I think it's possible to get a bit too tied up in this, as if there were some Platonic ideal of 'fascism' out there to which everything ought to be compared, and against which Trump somehow falls short.I’d appreciate if someone could spell out why they think the word fascist is not appropriate for trump.
He would probably feel bad about that, wouldn't stop him from doing it but he would feel bad.
For all that talk about fascism, the most important thing to remember about Trump is that he is, and will forever remain, a massive LOSER.
1. A number of people have compared the the storming of Congress to the shambles of the Munich Beer Hall putsch led by Adolf Hitler. This, sadly, is a valid comparison, with the exception that the Trumpist movement, in all its incoherence, is better funded, better organised, and enjoys significant legitimacy despite what happened on Wednesday.
2. As this piece notes, the Republican party's turn to barely-disguised ethno-nationalism is the result of and has further assisted the radicalisation of millions of white Americans. 51% of Republicans questioned agreed with the statement, "The traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it" and 41% with "A time will come when patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands." This data was from a year ago, but attitudes have barely shifted. A snap poll by YouGov found 45% of Republicans supported the invasion of the Capitol. There is a mass basis for this politics, and it has been cultivated for a long time.
3. The Congress debacle was not a coup, but it was an episode in and the culmination of an attempted coup by Trump and his allies. From the moment it became clear Trump had lost he, as is well known, refused to accept the election result, made unfounded and completely false allegations of election fraud, attempted to prevent the counting of votes, filed over 60 suits to overturn counts, and repeatedly tried strongarming state officials - most recently in Georgia - to declare for him. For their own venal reasons, a clutch of Republican congressman have gone along with this confidence trick by challenging the electoral college votes and, last of all, Trump publicly pressured Mike Pence to veto the result. Even though he had no power to do so. These constitute deliberate attempts to subvert the democratic functioning of the state.
4. Trump and his fash-adjacent running dogs now know they're in deep trouble. To have Ilhan Omar drawing up the articles of impeachment is one thing, but to have the Democrat leader of the Senate Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding Article 25 be invoked is something else. This probably explains Trump's about turn, his comdemnation of the violence, and calls for a peaceful transition of power, a transition hitherto he's done everything to disrupt and prevent. Likewise, as news came through about a Capitol Hill copper who succumbed to injuries sustained on Wednesday, Ted Cruz has done his bit to bodyswerve what should be coming for him.
5. As a longtime congressman, Joe Biden has a reputation as a centrist who works across the House. And, before Wednesday, it looked like all the calls to pursue Trump, his family, and his associates for criminal activities in office were going to fall by the wayside in the name of conciliation and bringing America together. Even his speech condemning the Trumpists was soggy and couched in the same tones. The temptation for magnamnity, to "make nice" with the mob and their supporters must be resisted. Yes, going hard on Trump, the senators, and the representatives who backed his long and incompetent coup is going to harden some of his supporters, but better when they're on the backfoot and their people in the institutions are on the retreat than in the moment of their insurgence.
6. In fact, prosecuting the Trump clique and its backers in the GOP offers the Democrats a historic opportunity. In her unhinged commentary on the riot, which apparently was the result of Antifa infiltrators, on Fox News Sarah Palin argued for a new conservative party returning to core Republican values. By pursuing action against congressman who've gone along with Trump's attempted coup, a wedge can be driven between the Trumpists and "moderate" Republicans which could affect a split in the party which, in the context of the two-party system, would severely disadvantage the right for decades to come.
7. There are also divisions within Trumpism itself, which can be seen in the incoherent response to their mob violence. We have fools like Palin claiming it was a false flag operation, which is contradicted by Trump telling his supporters to march on the Capitol and several leading fash, alt-right, and QAnon activists spearheading the storming of the building, and hundreds of Trumpists recording their activities and boasting about them on social media. And there are the disappointments some will feel about Trump going on the record and disowning the action they undertook at his behest, and confusion over how, according to Trump, the election is a put up job and a fraud but is still acquiescing to the transfer of power. Striking while the Trumpists are in disarray and likely to split further is the wisest cause of action.
8. With Trumpism shaking to pieces, unfortunately there are going to be more outrages and terror attacks, like the suicide bombing of downtown Nashville by a conspiracy theorist. A movement without anywhere to go (for the moment) will drive some of its despairing adherents to extremes.
9. And the conditions for Trumpism have not gone away. Polarisation exists. Cultural anxieties exist. And the material base for fascism and the further evolution of rightwing populism persist. If only something could be done about it. Well, it can. Following the run-offs in Georgia, the Democrats now control the White House, the House of Representatives and, thanks to Kamala Harris's casting vote, the Senate. There are no excuses for not implementing the promises Biden made on the campaign trail, nor for the absence of a levelling up agenda and action on health care. Going on the offensive against Trumpism and its afters means rebuilding infrastructure, fuelling job growth through state-led investment in green industry, and offering the possibility of security versus precarity. This more than anything can begin the process of dissolving the mass basis for the American far right.
10. The American far right overreached on Wednesday, and the conditions are present to inflict a further strategic defeat. It is worth remembering there is nothing inevitable about the rise of the right. The authoritarians and would-be dictators don't have to win, and the forces of the left, even the forces of liberalism, are stronger on paper than what Trumpism and the alt-right can muster. There is the means and the opportunity to roll them over. Make it so.
I suspect he will spend the rest of what remains of his miserable life desperately trying to avoid going to jail. Not sure he'll have much time for anything else. And will probably be dead sooner rather than later.until the last few day he was a kleptocrat, who was using the right to progress his aims
well until the last few days were he was attempting to go full blow fascist
thankfully he left it to late
and he is a Massive loser who ruined he future chances of being the deal maker for the next GOP presidencal candidate
Trump is best understood first and foremost as an ego. A really overblown, unrestrained and richly (literally) fed ego. It has always been about him, and I'm going back way before he got into politics.
So, personality cult. What follows, once in power, certainly adheres to some rules of 'yep, fascist'. Liberal-democracy obsolete. Check. Racism. Check. Hatred of the left. Check. Etc etc.
But in a way, I find it hard to dignify the orange half-wit with an explanation like 'fascist'. Because that gives him reason, ideology. And he's not exactly Hitler plotting his way to power. He doesn't have ideology as such, he's too all over the place, changeable, dependable on what he thinks suits him at any given moment. That is the centre of Trump. His ego. There's a reason he was/is on Twitter all the time. Seeing that message get out and get liked. Ego. I think all that comes before 'fascism'.
But. Yep, fascist.