BUSH WATCH...Bush Fascist Index

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Sun, 09 Oct 2005 17:25:27 -0000

BUSH WATCH...Bush Fascist Index

 

 

 

 

http://www.bushwatch.net/fascism.htm

 

 

 

 

BUSH WATCH...Bush Fascist Index

 

 

 

The Bush Fascist Index

 

" Fascism: Any program for setting up a centralized authcratic national

regime with severely nationalistic policies, exercising regimentation

of industry, commerce, and finance, rigid censorship, and forcible

suppression of opposition. " --Merriam-Webster Dictionary

 

Early on during the first term of the Bush presidency many

progressives characterized Bush's statements and actions as " fascist "

and, for dramatic effect, compared him with Adolph Hitler. While they

were reacting to Bush policy, they also recalled that the U.S.

government found that Bush's grandfather had illegally aided the Nazis

during the 30's. Conservatives responded that the comparison was

exaggerated, since Bush had not done the things that Hitler had done,

like imprisoning and murdering European jews. Nevertheless, it's clear

that it was Bush's fascist leanings that progressives were focusing

upon. In comparison with what had came before, a trend toward fascism

was seen in the early days of the Bush presidency, and became more

pronounced after 9/11.

 

In 2002, Laurence W. Britt's Fascism Anyone? analyzed seven fascist

regimes in order to find the common threads that mark them as fascist:

Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal,

Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia. He

found 14 common characteristics (reprinted below, with 6 additions by

Umberto Eco) and concluded:

 

" Does any of this ring alarm bells? Of course not. After all, this is

America, officially a democracy with the rule of law, a constitution,

a free press, honest elections, and a well-informed public constantly

being put on guard against evils. Historical comparisons like these

are just exercises in verbal gymnastics. Maybe, maybe not. "

 

We think " maybe not. " It's just a matter of degree. Reading the daily

news, we come across numerous critics of the Bush Administration who

document, point to, or warn about each of the characteristics used to

identify a fascist regime. We're presently constructing a Bush Fascist

Index, which will consist of 20 characteristics, each multiplied by a

" grade " of 1 through 5. Your input is invited. Further analysis of the

past as well as future events will likely change the total index

score, once it is computed. --Politex, 03.03.05

 

20 Characteristics Of A Fascist Political Party

 

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the

prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins,

the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the

regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always

obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity

were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually

coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on

xenophobia.

 

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves

viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing

the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda,

the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by

marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was

egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

 

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most

significant common thread among these regimes was the use of

scapegoating as a means to divert the people's attention from other

problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in

controlled directions. The methods of choicerelentless propaganda

and disinformationwere usually effective. Often the regimes would

incite 'spontaneous' acts against the target scapegoats, usually

communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities,

traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists,

homosexuals, and 'terrorists.' Active opponents of these regimes were

inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

 

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always

identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure

that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was

allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The

military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used

whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations,

and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

 

5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and

the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably

viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly

anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually

codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox

religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

 

6. A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media

were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to

stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power

to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing

and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and

implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically

compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in

keeping the general public unaware of the regimes excesses.

 

7. Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security

apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually

an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any

constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting

'national security,' and questioning its activities was portrayed as

unpatriotic or even treasonous.

 

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes,

the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless

by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves

to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray

themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the

ruling elites behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the

religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the

illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and

opponents of the godless. A perception was manufactured that

opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.

 

9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of

ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large

corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The

ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure

military production (in developed states), but also as an additional

means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often

pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of

interests, especially in the repression of have-not citizens.

 

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was

seen as the one power center that could challenge the political

hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was

inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass,

viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being

poor was considered akin to a vice.

 

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.

Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression

associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and

academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and

the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically

unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or

expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed.

To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national

interest or they had no right to exist.

 

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes

maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison

populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked

power, leading to rampant abuse. 'Normal' and political crime were

often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used

against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of

criminals or 'traitors' was often promoted among the population as an

excuse for more police power.

 

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and

close to the power elite often used their position to enrich

themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would

receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in

turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the

power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other

sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the

national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this

corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the

general population.

 

14. Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or

public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with

candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power

elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining

control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising

opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a

last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

Here are six more characteristics found in Umberto Eco's " Eternal

Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt, " from New York

Review of Books, 22 June 1995, pp.12-15.

 

15. Ur-Fascism is based upon a selective populism, a qualitative

populism, one might say. In a democracy, the citizens have individual

rights, but the citizens in their entirety have a political impact

only from a quantitative point of view -- one follows the decisions of

the majority. For Ur-Fascism, however, individuals as individuals have

no rights, and the People is conceived as a quality, a monolithic

entity expressing the Common Will. Since no large quantity of human

beings can have a common will, the Leader pretends to be their

interpreter. Having lost their power of delegation, citizens do not

act; they are only called on to play the role of the People. Thus the

People is only a theatrical fiction. There is in our future a TV or

Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group

of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.

Because of its qualitative populism, Ur-Fascism must be against

" rotten " parliamentary governments. Wherever a politician casts doubt

on the legitimacy of a parliament because it no longer represents the

Voice of the People, we can smell Ur-Fascism.

 

16. Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. Newspeak was invented by Orwell, in

Nineteen Eighty-Four, as the official language of what he called

Ingsoc, English Socialism. But elements of Ur-Fascism are common to

different forms of dictatorship. All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks

made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in

order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning. But

we must be ready to identify other kinds of Newspeak, even if they

take the apparently innocent form of a popular talk show. [When

fascism is employed in a society with democratic tradions, one strand

of Newspeak is to use the traditional words, like " freedom, " but to

give them new meaning. This strategy is also employed when new

programs are initiated. --Politex]

 

17. [As opposed to Ur-Fascism,] the critical spirit makes

distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern

culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to

improve knowledge. For Ur-Fascism, disagreement is treason. Ur-Fascism

grows up and seeks consensus by exploiting and exacerbating the

natural fear of difference. The first appeal of a fascist or

prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus

Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.

 

18. Ur-Fascism derives from individual or social frustration. That is

why one of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the

appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an

economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened

by the pressure of lower social groups. In our time, when the old

" proletarians " are becoming petty bourgeois (and the lumpen are

largely excluded from the political scene), the fascism of tomorrow

will find its audience in this new majority.

 

19. For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is

lived for struggle. Thus pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. It is

bad because life is permanent warfare. This, however, brings about an

Armageddon complex. Since enemies have to be defeated, there must be a

final battle, after which the movement will have control of the world.

But such " final solutions " implies a further era of peace, a Golden

Age, which contradicts the principle of permanent war. No fascist

leader has ever succeeded in solving this predicament.

 

20. [The Ur-Fascist leader presents himself as the heroic

representative of the characterists of fascism. As such, his image is

ubiqutous in the media, and is often photographed in costume in

conjunction with images or people that represent the fascist

characteristics noted above. --Politex] Since both permanent war and

heroism are difficult games to play, the Ur-Fascist transfers his will

to power to sexual matters. This is the origin of machismo (which

implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of

nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality). Since even

sex is a difficult game to play, the Ur-Fascist hero tends to play

with weapons -- doing so becomes an ersatz phallic exercise.

 

Feel-Good Dictator

 

" A well-respected German historian has a radical new theory to explain

a nagging question: Why did average Germans so heartily support the

Nazis and Third Reich? Hitler, says Goetz Aly, was a 'feel good

dictator,' a leader who not only made Germans feel important, but also

made sure they were well cared-for by the state.

 

" To do so, he gave them huge tax breaks and introduced social benefits

that even today anchor the society. He also ensured that even in the

last days of the war not a single German went hungry. Despite

near-constant warfare, never once during his 12 years in power did

Hitler raise taxes for working class people....As such, most Germans

saw Nazism as a " warm-hearted " protector, says Aly, author of the new

book " Hitler's People's State: Robbery, Racial War and National

Socialism " and currently a guest lecturer at the University of

Frankfurt. They were only too happy to overlook the Third Reich's

unsavory, murderous side.

 

" Financing such home front " happiness " was not simple and Hitler

essentially achieved it by robbing and murdering others, Aly claims.

Jews. Slave laborers. Conquered lands. All offered tremendous

opportunities for plunder, and the Nazis exploited it fully, he says....

 

" ...Hitler continued on the easy path of self deception, spurring the

war greedily forward. And the German people -- fat with bounty -- kept

quiet about where all the wealth originated, he says. Was it a

deplorable weakness of human nature or insatiable German avarice? It's

hard to say, but imagine if today's beleaguered government of German

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder could offer jobs and higher benefits to

the masses. 'No one would ask where the money came from and they would

directly win the next election.'

 

Aly says....'It is still important to ask the most fundamental

questions, namely how all this happened. What were the most important

elements that allowed this criminal regime to thrive? So much came out

of the German middle class. That is the most troubling aspect of the

history.'

 

" Aly insists it is always 'much easier to say it was the fault of a

small group of elites, the power-crazed SS commanders, or even big

businesses' than to point to your own greed. " --Spiegel, 03.22.05

 

 

 

 

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