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.
1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism - e.g., Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism.
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights (Abu Ghraib?)
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause - a means to divert the people's attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions.
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism - used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.
5. Rampant sexism - adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic.
6. A controlled mass media - Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats.
7. Obsession with national security - usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints (the Patriot Act?)
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together - 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 - 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. (CAFTA, tax $ to assist oil companies, bankruptcy laws, etc.?)
10. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts - Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal (global warming, ID, etc.?)
11. Rampant cronyism and corruption - the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves (Halliburton?)
12. Fraudulent elections.