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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 Ob
ama, 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.]
