The Far Right's Push for Power - Something to Think About 

by Leon Wofsy

Published by Portside
August 14, 2012

The article below is drawn from two pieces written before the
Fletcher/Davidson article on the 2012 elections appeared on
Alternet (August  9)[and on Portside on August 13]. I agree
with the position they take and many of their supporting
arguments. Still, in some respects, I think they don't quite
"cut to the chase".

They describe right-wing populism and "irrationalism" well,
but they don't focus on the very deliberate process by which
the most militantly reactionary elements of finance capital
have proceeded over many years to gain direct control of the
main levers of political power, from school boards to state
legislatures and governors, to the courts and  Congress, with
the presidency in their sites. The Koch brothers, Adelsons and
their like are not just interested in huge profits for Wall
Street. They and their T-Party creations, the Scott Walkers
and Paul Ryans, want to strangle democracy altogether.  Obama
and the Democratic Party elite have earned the sharp criticism
and distrust that Fletcher and Davidson express. But it would
be blindness to the great and present danger not to do
everything possible to repulse that awful crowd. Nor should we
ignore the fact that millions of black, brown, poor and
elderly, women and Gays want Obama to win. For the left to fix
a label on Obama, as if the role of a politician is cast in
stone, isn't helpful or wise -- independent pressure and
action should have the goal of changing political behavior and
finding some common purpose with all who fear the further
destruction of democracy by an unprecedentedly empowered
ultra-Right:

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

The GOP-Tea Party ticket is set.  With the Ryan pick, supposed
distinction between the GOP and the Tea Party falls away.
Given recent results in Senate primaries and, now, the
successful ultra-right pressure on Romney to choose Ryan, the
Tea Party is in control. The GOP belongs to the Koch brothers,
Adelson and the super-pacs of Karl Rove and assorted extremist
reactionary multibillionaires. They decided to throw down the
gauntlet, to avoid ambiguity that might attach to a choice
less provocative than Ryan.

The issues are even more defined now than they seemed before
the GOP ticket was settled, but those who want to see the GOP
defeated in November should hold back the cheers. In the
present economic and political environment, it is unwise to
view the Romney-Ryan ticket primarily as a move of rightwing
desperation. It is an audacious high-stake bid to capture full
and unequivocal control of the government and the direction of
the country.

Would it be crying "wolf" to sound the alarm of fascist danger
in today's political environment?

The term "fascism" should not be used lightly. It's not a
label that describes the capitalist system in general, even as
its evils in this time of crisis spread extreme inequality and
misery everywhere. History has defined fascism in all its
brutality as dictatorship that destroys democratic rights and
institutions, including trade unions and opposing political
parties.  Where there is fascism, there is a direct alliance
of the ruling political party with the most reactionary
sections of corporate and financial power.

Taken as a whole, politics and government in the United States
have moved to the right in this new century. That is the
reality despite the hopes that came with the historic election
of Barack Obama in 2008. Not to overlook some hard-won
progress in health care, Gay rights, and (to a lesser extent)
immigrant rights, progressive gains are outweighed by the
assault on jobs, education, unions, social services, and civil
liberties. Even as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan approach a
messy ending, executive powers have been seized for waging CIA
wars and assassinations anywhere at the President's command.
Against the backdrop of the "Great Recession", futile wars in
the Middle East, and the decline of  "superpower" control in
world affairs, Wall Street's multi-billionaires are more
aggressive than ever in using unlimited financial power to
corrupt politics, the media and "public opinion."

While big money influence taints the political process at all
levels of government and in both major parties, something
special is on the horizon that does indeed raise the alarm
about nascent fascism. It is possible that the GOP, powered
and controlled by the most extremely reactionary moguls of
finance capital, could take over the presidency and the
Congress. They already dominate the Supreme Court and most
courts, most governors and state legislatures.

This is not just the traditional back and forth exchange that
has characterized elections under the two party system. The
GOP has moved to the extreme right, further even than under
Reagan, Nixon and the Bushes. Above all, the Koch brothers,
Adelson, and other fascist-minded oligarchs are wielding their
colossal wealth to control and advance the fortunes of the
GOP. With the injection of the Tea Party into its midst, there
is no tolerance for even "standard" Republicans like Bennet,
Lugar, and Snowe. Within the fold, there is room only for
those who agree to fall in line. Empowered are race haters,
gun idolizers, science deniers and warriors against women,
unions, the poor and the elderly. The centerpiece of the
agenda is to demolish Medicare and reverse every social gain
("entitlement") achieved during and after the New Deal.

The point is not that the results of the November election
could usher in fascism. Democracy cannot easily be destroyed,
and the more it is under assault, the more certain is a rising
struggle to preserve civil liberties and constitutional
rights. It's no small consideration, however, that the type of
reactionary political and financial alliance characteristic of
fascist regimes would have unprecedented control over the
levers of power. That's scary in this period of turmoil,
imperial decline, and deep economic insecurity. Brutality is
the hallmark of fascism, and recent history affirms that
popular uprisings often meet ruthless police, military and
vigilante violence.

Even a defeat for the GOP in November will not produce a
fundamental progressive change of course. That can only happen
as millions of people embrace struggle for their vital
interests, against the greed and privilege of the 1%. It would
be no small step, however, to thwart the fascist-prone
alliance that aims in November to complete an historic
monopoly over all branches of our government.

[Leon Wofsy is Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell
Biology / Immunology at the University of California at
Berkeley. His career in science and academia began when he was
almost forty years old. Earlier, for more than fifteen years,
he was a leader of Marxist youth organizations. That
experience began during the student upheavals at New York's
City College (CCNY) in the late 1930s, and encompassed the
time of McCarthyism in the 1950s. He became a professor at UC
Berkeley in 1964 just as the Free Speech Movement was about to
erupt. He is the author of many scientific papers and articles
on social issues. He edited a book on the Cold War, Before the
Point of No Return (Monthly Review Press, 1986). His memoir,
Looking for the Future (IW Rose Press, 1995) is available
online in the Free Speech Movement Archives, Book Collection,
UC Bancroft Library.]

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