Face It, A Large Percentage of Americans Want A Fascist Government

[Yavin4]

They support Bush, and his illegal policies, because they want a right-wing, Christian, Theocratic, fascist government. They believe that their money, skin color, and/or religious affiliations will protect them They only want constitutional protections for themselves, and no one else.

This is the nation that we live in right now. Some of your fellow Americans do not care at all about constitutional limitations on executive power because Bush looks, talks, and acts just like them. So, he'd never do anything to them.

[GrumpyGreg]

1. If it's a large percentage,as you said,we are doomed to fascism.

[Yavin4]

21. Simply Put. Yep

Fascism is already here.

[kenny blankenship]

31. In Germany only 32 or 34% were really for Fascism at first

(and that had grown suddenly since the mid-late 20s and might have dwindled just as suddenly)
but once Fascism gained a monopoly on power, doing away with other parties and the usual exchange and contests of politics, a large percentage of the rest of the people were swept up in the insanity. Nazi insanity became a national insanity. There is a tipping point after a totalitarian ideology takes over, and after it crowds out and prohibits other ideas and views of the world, it contaminates and infects the whole social organism.

We are right there at the crossing line. If the Republican "permanent control of all branches of government" isn't thrown back now, beginning with the emergence of the supra-Constitutional Dictatorship, we are going to go over the point of no return. History demonstrates that this transformation can flash-over and complete itself with a startling inexplicable speed once it begins.

Obviously the idea that George W. Bush's occupation of the office of President is a lethal challenge to American democracy and not a product of it is not new. But we have hit the limit--we can turn the barbarian back from the gate right now, or accept him and his kind ever after as our lord.

[PDJane]

2. They want certainties.

in a disturbing world, they want to know that they are right, their religion is the only one, and they will accept fascism to have certainty. That's what happened in Germany, too.

[Tom Joad]

3. Resist. Resist. Resist. It keeps you human.

[Loonman]

4. All republics eventually devolve into Empires

Historically.

[Just Me]

5. "A Large Percentage"? C'MON!!!

You don't really believe that, do you? I hope not.

[Daphne08]

6. I'm with you. I don't believe it. n/t

[HereSince1628]

9. Nor me...though I think many don't realize what they are asking for

until it is way to damned late.

[Daphne08]

37. Right.... until it's too late. Fortunately, I believe most Americans

are sensible enough to recognize the danger signs when they see them.

[Carrion]

11. Yes, I do

But a "large percentage" isn't necessarily a majority....!

[K-W]

16. What is definately true is that a large percentage will tolerate it.

And there is a very severe authoritarian streak in this country.

[Yavin4]

25. By Large Percentage, I Mean 30-35%, Bush's Core Supporters

That leaves 70% of the American population. They only need 21% of that group to get a majority. So, what they do is scare the crap out of the fence sitters, flood the MSM with false propaganda, and add a little Diebold special sauce at election time, and voila!, a majority that supports Bush and the Republicans.

[Inland]

7. I believe it is part of the landscape.

The yearning for a Great Leader to put an end to all that nonsense is evident. How far it may go is the big question.

And it's also true, I think, that the assurance that there will never be a majority able to oust Bush or Bush-like proteges is also leading to a lot more leeway. You can't say, "would you want wiretapping without warrants and the ability to declare war in the executive if Clinton were president" because like all fascist wannabees, they don't see any change in power coming anytime soon. They'd stop it first.

[DBoon]

8. But not a majority

I'd say a solid third of Americans really do worship power and physical force, have an authoritarian mindset that believes questioning your government is wrong, and are highly xenophobic.

I'm sorry, but I've had to listen to enough co-workers expound on how wonderful it would be to turn Tehran/Baghdad/etc into radioactive glass, murder political protesters, shoot undocumented immigrants in the back, etc. to make your statement credible

[Birthmark]

10. Actually, it's about a third.

And what they want is to "win" against the "liberals." They will endorse Monarchy, not fascism, in order to achieve that victory. What they will do after they win will be funny, er, I mean is anyone's guess.

[question everything]

12. Your point being?

Even larger percentage believe in evolution, believe that the world was created in seven days - as is. During the Civil War, a large percentage believed in slavery and, I am sure, large percentage does not support equal rights to women and to minority.

This is why we have to carefully craft our message that it would resonate even with the ones whose view of the world is so backward.

Even here, a large percentage believes that a cluster of cells cannot be removed from a woman's body.

[electropop]

22. We don't have to appeal to cretins.

We have to make them understand their attitudes are no longer socially acceptable, and need to be adjusted.

[Yavin4]

27. My Point Is That Fascism Is Here

They tolerate stolen elections, corportate media, an unjustified war, thousands of deaths, torture, detention without formal charges or legal representation, outing of a covert agent, and now spying on Americans without a court issued warrant, an impeachable offense. YET, there's no great public cry for impeachment or even hearings. Why, because a large percentage of Americans accept the idea of a fascist totalitarian government.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. Due tot he media most folks don't even know

most of this... that is part of the problem... but the worm is turning...

Remember we are political junkies, most folks are not

[Bonhomme Richard]

13. It's not a majority percentage but it is the same as........

everywhere. My gut tells me that about 33% of every country's population would prefer some sort of Authoritative type of government. That is why that middle 33% is so important. The problem is that they tend to believe that those in power are basically honest and the also really would like to be left alone unless they can be shown how standing on the sideline will hurt them directly.

[melody]

14. A large percentage of all people want fascism

That's why calmer heads must prevail. Thankfully, the reactionary, fundamentalist element is still the minority.

[AndyTiedye]

28. But They Own the Voting Machinez!

Thankfully, the reactionary, fundamentalist element is still the minority.

He who votes decides nothing. He who counts the votes decides everything.
Josef Stalin

[melody]

32. Exactly. n/t

[mike_c]

15. I think a significant percentage do indeed....

They don't like the name "fascism, but they want the perceived safety and lack of risk associated with a police state, and they inherently believe themselves to be members of the "protected classes."

That is one reason that I think elective democracy is failing us. The United States' republic was founded on an ideal, a philosophy of individual liberty. Yes, it was flawed even at the time (slavery, native Americans, etc) and has taken some abominable hits since, but nonetheless there was hope for the American experiment for as long as the essential ideal was considered more important than the short-term desires of the electorate. Those days are gone, perhaps because of the modern media and the speed with which skilled propogandists can sell entirely different agendas to an electorate kept fearful for their sefety.

[gratuitous]

17. I disagree

A large percentage of Americans are told 24-7 to live in fear, and that the only thing keeping whatever is threatening them away is to trust the corrupt Bush administration. With the steady drumbeat of fear, it's not surprising that many otherwise canny adults succumb to the message, against their own interests and the plain evidence before them.

You see it in innumerable ways, but the most insidious (for me) is when someone has to acknowledge the Fearful Talking Point before talking sense. For example, having to say "Yes, terrorism is a global threat" in prefacing a remark about how we're addressing the problem all wrong. Terrorism is not a global threat. Let's be candid about this. Al Qaeda is not going to blow up Hootie's Gas 'N' Gulp in Casper, Wyoming. They just plain aren't. But by prefacing the remarks with "terrorism is a global threat," we buy into the absurd talking points of fear, however subconsciously, and they get reinforced among the regulars at Hootie's, who fancy themselves as being on the front lines horribly exposed to the next car bomb or hijacked jetliner.

So they buy into fascism by another name, which is the snake oil being peddled by Bush and his cronies. The Hootie's regulars like to think of themselves as so important to America's freedom that Osama bin Laden whiles away his free hours plotting against them, and it suits the fascists in Bush's administration to make them think so. The truth is, of course, that Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il or whoever the Villain of the Month is, doesn't even know about Casper, Wyoming, and couldn't care less about Hootie's Gas 'N' Gulp.

These people have been manipulated, willingly or not, into thinking that they're the most important people on the planet (a comforting thought), and the administration is perfectly willing to let them feel that way, so that they can say that they are protecting us all when in reality they're doing nothing, and less than nothing. In fact, we're more vulnerable than we were five years ago, according to the just-released follow-up report from the 9/11 Commission, which gave the adminsitration mostly D's and F's for their efforts to this point. But the guys at Hootie's are in infinitesimally small danger either way.

[rd_kent]

18. No, they just THINK they do.

The minute they get what they think they want, federal police in the streets, doors being kicked in in the middle of the night, access to media and news denied,etc, they will be singing a different tune.

[Aristus]

24. And when they've solidified their hold on power, they'll confiscate

all the guns. Hope that wakes some of the Freepers up, but I'm not holding my breath.

[rd_kent]

26. NAH, they wont wak up till its too late

[peace frog]

19. Not a "large" percentage but

even 20% - 30% is disturbing. The dumbing down of education has left its mark, ie, citizens ignorant of their own civil rights.

[Yavin4]

29. For Those That Disagree With My Post

Tell me, where's the cry for impeachment? Stolen elections (twice), unjustified war, false intelligence, negligence on 9/11, torture, detention without legal representation, and now domestic spying. Where's the cry for impeachment?

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. It is starting problem yuio have is

for the most part you don't access to the media, so if your basis is what's on the media you are in trouble. But the I word is started to be used even by the MSM

[electropop]

20. I think it's a subset of the 35% who support Bush.

Probably only about half understand that Bush & the GOP are Fascist, and approve. The rest think he's "protectin' freedum."

I wouldn't call 17% a large percentage, though it is still depressing that we have so many kooks in this country.

[indepat]

23. Tis a shame they all could not have lived in one of the fascist countries

in the 1930s to early 1940s.

[milkyway]

30. Some want fascism as long as it's not called fascism. But there are many

who want a good dose of socialism (even those in the center or right), but don't dare call it that.

[parhelion]

33. Sadly True.

I feel the OP is correct. There is a large percentage of people beyond the 30 - 35% of hardcore Bushitler supporters who simply can not or will not question authority or move outside the mainstream for a variety of reasons. A number of those reasons have already been mentioned - ignorance, fear, apathy and a need to belong to the group. This has to mirror what was happening in Germany or Italy during the 30s and 40s. Surely, not all of the people in those countries were pure evil, they simply went with the flow and were easily manipulated by propaganda. Just like here in America now. The neo-con Republicans in charge here are masters of propaganda. They made it seem mainstream and patriotic to criticize and belittle a Democratic president, but a few short years later and they've completely turned the tables. Now it's unpatriotic to question anything the dictator does. You might even be branded a terrorist sympathizer. Even blatant abuse of power and disregard of the Constitution are acceptable now. And the sheep continue to willingly give up their rights in order to feel safe, leaving us, the people who have seen it happening all along, increasingly isolated and ostracized. It's ironic that we, the enlightened, now have justifiable fear of the very government whom the sheep expect to protect them.

It's not all negative though. There are at least signs of the general public awakening to this nightmare. But until there is enough public demand to remove these criminals, I fear it may be too late.

[ucmike]

34. Americans want to control the mysterious "they"

who cause all the problems. "they" attacked us on 9/11, "they" are taking all the good jobs, "they" want to ban christmas....

so americans who don't question the govt are in favor of wiretapping, guantanamo, torture, etc. because in their minds it doesn't apply to themselves. they (the americans) will support it, or not question it, to protect "us" from "them".

what they're missing is that the collective, protected, "us" becomes the oppressed, victimized, "they" as power is centralized, corrupted, and unchecked.