GOP RIP

​I have long-since come to the conclusion that the Republican Party is dead as a democratic institution.

It still exists, but not on behalf of democracy, no more than the Klu Klux Klan or American Communist Party do.  Its members may cry in outrage, but that's just the sound of self-delusion.

This isn't to say that every Republican is doesn't believe in the foundations of democracy.  Many do. Maybe most do -- though I think it's more a case that most probably think they do, while in truth they only believe in some of the tenets of democracy that suit their interests.  But the party they belong to doesn't.

It's like being a civil rights advocate who joins a country club that offers many wonderful features but restricts membership to white people only.  That policy might bother you, and maybe even once in a while you mention to others that you'd like the rules to change, but the golf course is so nice, and they have a good dining room with a wonderful Sunday brunch and a wonderful swimming pool.  Soooo, okay, you put up with it for the things you like.  And meanwhile, most of the other members joined the club specifically because of the membership policy.

Of course, it's actually much worse than this, since you don't have to join to a country club to play golf, or to dine out, or to go swimming.  And there are a lot of country clubs around.  But this is the one nation that we all here live in and are expected to live under its laws.

This isn't about individual members and what they individually think at individual times.  It's about the Republican Party that they belong to and give their enabling support to pass laws and lead the country.  And it's that Republican Party which no longer exists as a democratic institution that believes in democracy.

And no, this is not hyperbole.  Neither is it hyberbole when I say that today's Republican Party is a fascist organization.

Back in April, 2018, I wrote about Trump and how he was a fascist.  I won't repeat the article -- you can read it here -- but the short lead-in is that there are three book tenets to fascism:  the use of force and violence against its citizens, xenophobia against outsiders and those different, and an effort to discredit other sources of power, like the press, judiciary, police and intelligence services.

That now is today's Republican Party.

I'm not going to start listing all the examples over the past four years -- that then just becomes A List.  And it would go on for volumes.  Moreover, if you've only been paying just random attention for the past four years (let alone longer), you should have just a smattering of an idea of only some of the many examples.  Now, to be clear, some people when seeing these examples (just one: using the U.S. military, helicopters and tear gas against peaceful protesters), they interpret them as necessary to protect society.  The thing is -- believing that it is necessary doesn't make such an action not fascist.  The action is fascist -- it is, in fact, the very definition of fascism -- and support of such actions is supporting fascism...whether you personally think it's fascist or not.  Because the actual definition of "fascist" explains very clearly that it is.  You may not believe that 2+2 equals 4, but it doesn't matter, because it does.  You may not believe that you hate minorities -- and you might not hate minorities! -- but if you belong to the American Nazi Party, you are part of an organization that does hate minorities, and you are enabling them.  (And in fairness, if you do belong to the American Nazi Party, it's pretty likely that you do hate minorities.  Or are a blithering, clueless idiot with no perception of real life.)

But again, this isn't about individuals.  It's about the Republican Party today.  And through most of its actions over the past four years (and longer) and growing more each day, the GOP is dead as a democratic institution and has become fascist.

And for the brief moment, we are going to ignore all their actions over the past four years (and longer) and just look at their reaction to the U.S. Presidential Election.  And we're not even going to burden people with an avalanche of details.  We are just going to note the following.

Joe Biden won 306 Electoral votes to Trump's 232.  (The same margin Trump won by in 2016.)  Joe Biden has receive over 7 MILLION more votes than Trump across the nation.  Every election recount has confirmed these results.  The votes have been certified in every state.  Let's repeat that -- Certified...In...Every...State.  There have been 51 lawsuits filed by Republican lawyers, and Republicans have lost 50 of those cases -- the only luit they won was to allow observers to be four feet closer (which is a terrible idea in a pandemic).  And...

Trump keeps insisting that he won.  Almost no Republican officials contradict him.  Only six Republican senators out of 53 have congratulated President-Elect Joe Biden  Seventeen Republicans states and Trump's White House have joined Texas as "friends" in it's Supreme Court challenge of the results in four battleground that Joe Biden won.  A Republican congressman not only insists that Trump "won," but did so in a landslide and is calling on Congress to throw out the Electors and name their own.  One of Trump's former lawyers called for the death of the federal official in charge of cybersecurity who said the election was safe with no fraud.  A Pennsylvania state official said she is scared to certify her state's votes out of fear that her house will be bombed.  Angry protests were held outside the home of the Michigan Secretary of State.  Idaho was holding a Zoom meeting of health officials, and had to cancel it because protests outside one member's home was growing in its violent risk that she was in tears.  And other death threats -- because they say Trump not only won, but in a landslide.  And Republican officials are silent about pretty much everything.  (And we aren't even including the right-wing conspiracy to kidnap and murder the governor of Michigan, because that happened before the election.)  ​

And all of that is just touching the barest surface on only one issue, the most-recent issue of the Republican Party over the past four years (and longer).  An issue that is about the election of President of the United States and the leadership of the country.

This is not about Trump, we know who he is -- a sociopathic, delusional, white supremacist, pathological lying con man -- this is about the Republican Party that enables him, is shredding democracy and is complicit.

Today's Republican Party is dead as a democratic institution.  And is fascist.

And if the Republican Party doesn't like that being said about them, then they should stop being fascist and fighting democracy.