Matt Gaetz And The Ugly Mug of Fascism
At the Iowa State Fair, Florida Republican Rep Matt Gaetz declared that only "force" can change the corruptness in Washington. He followed it up by stating that House Republicans have a duty to investigate Jack Smith, the judge presiding over some of Trump's many indictments.
Gaetz may not be wrong that force is needed for truly transformative change but lets examine what Republicans mean by "change." The January 6th insurrection was a coup attempt in all but foresight. Just because the crowd lacked the braincells to pull off a successful coup doesn't negate the intent. What would they have done with success? Hang Mike Pence alongside every Democrat and install Trump as perpetual dictator? That's certainly one form of change. Its exactly what the crowd called for.
When actions like this are taken by a political party in countries with a history of coup's, the organization would be disbanded and its leaders jailed. Here in America, if one party takes a shot at the crown, they can just walk it off and try again later. If Democrats had tried a January 6th like event, their families would be considered terrorists and representatives would be getting deported to Guantanamo Bay for "enhanced interrogation." If the black panthers had tried January 6th not a single person would have walked out of the Capitol building alive. Yet here we have the leadership of a political party who has a history of attempting to reclaim power with violence declaring proudly that they will do it again.
Couple that with a president who may get reinstated despite being indicted for and likely convicted of a myriad of crimes committed both inside and outside of office. The Republican party cannot continue to exist as it stands. It is an organized and dangerous terrorist organization that uses its followers as pawns that will commit violence on its behalf. Their parties end goal is the restoration of the Confederacy in government and the complete destruction of earth by mining its resources and spewing CO2 into the atmosphere to commit global genocide. They want to stroke the ego of bigots and line the pockets of parasites.
America's legal system was not designed for the presence of bad faith political actors. Despite the founding fathers warnings about the dangers of factionalism and political parties, it has finally evolved to reached the conclusion they warned against. If the Republican party continues to thrive as it is, the American experiment is over. Trump's win in 2024 will be the nail in the coffin as he crosses the Rubicon. Would he ever give up power if it meant being jailed? Would you ever give up power if it meant being jailed?
Gaetz's comment isn't special. In fact, the lack of uniqueness is the entire point of this article. If one singular member of the Republican party was a violent lunatic, the backlash would be tsunami sized. If one lone wolf wanted to cause violence they would be denounced by the rest of the pack. Gaetz is simply a standard Republican. An every-man representative in the House and Senate. He doesn't have the wild eyed sensationalism of Marjorie Taylor-Greene nor the charisma of Donald Trump. He repeats the talking points he thinks will appeal to his voters. This is what the voters want to hear. They, like the Confederates before them, want their leaders to take "their" country back. This powder keg of conspiracy theories, FOX News, and Twitter has bred a voting base that's buying what Matt's selling.
Its not just the leadership, its the entire party. If you think de-escalation is possible, you haven't been paying attention.
