Hi, Friend,

Will you be voting to put a Fascist in the State Legislature on Thursday?

When conservatives and Republicans (which are not synonyms) go to the polls on Thursday, they need to know if they are voting for fascism or, more specifically, a fascist. Keep reading, and I will highlight campaign material that will help you know.

I hate to use that word, because liberals routinely accuse conservatives of being fascist. Most liberals are fascist and don’t know it because they don’t know what fascism is.

But fascism and fascist, rightly defined, correctly describe many Republicans in the legislature and running for the legislature. As correctly defined my use of those words is no more derogatory than calling a female dog a bitch. Those who want to make something of it will and the rest know that the term is correct.

To understand what fascism is, I have taken the following from an essay by an economist at Loyola University, Thomas DiLorenzo, that was published by the Foundation for Economic Liberty. I’m sure you will pick up on the similarity to the “business” and “economy” themes touted by Republicans as evidence of being conservative:

When people hear the word “fascism” they naturally think of its ugly racism and anti-Semitism as practiced by the totalitarian regimes of Mussolini and Hitler. But there was also an economic policy component of fascism, known in Europe during the 1920s and ‘30s as “corporatism,” that was an essential ingredient of economic totalitarianism as practiced by Mussolini and Hitler. So-called corporatism was adopted in Italy and Germany during the 1930s and was held up as a “model” by quite a few intellectuals and policy makers in the United States and Europe. A version of economic fascism was in fact adopted in the United States in the 1930s and survives to this day. In the United States these policies were not called “fascism” but “planned capitalism.” The word fascism may no longer be politically acceptable, but its synonym “industrial policy” is as popular as ever. . . .  (emphasis is added)

“The Fascist conception of life,” Mussolini wrote, “stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with the State. It is opposed to classical liberalism [which] denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual.” . . . .  (emphasis is added)

Mussolini thought it was unnatural for a government to protect individual rights: “The maxim that society exists only for the well-being and freedom of the individuals composing it does not seem to be in conformity with nature’s plans.” “If classical liberalism spells individualism,” Mussolini continued, “Fascism spells government.” . . . (emphasis is added)

Isn’t the whole idea behind the massive regulation and regimentation of American industry and society the notion that individuals should be forced to behave in ways defined by a small governmental elite? 

With that is context, what do you make of this campaign mailer run by a political action committee saying a Republican challenger to the incumbent is “anti-business and anti-capitalism”?

More specifically, the material quotes the targeted challenger as saying, “I am not pro-business.”

Thankfully, the material cites us to the statement containing the quote, which is found at the TennesseeStands website. Here is the context for the quote:

“Here is the point. Should we support businesses in Tennessee and work to see that they succeed? Yes. Should taxpayers be on the hook for a Half Billion dollars to lure corporations into Tennessee regardless of the proposed economic impact? No.

I don’t know about you. But I am not willing to sacrifice my values and the kind of Tennessee that I want to hand off to my children, on the altar of corporate welfare. If being pro-business means that values no longer matter and that our liberties are sold off to the highest bidder, then count me out.  (emphasis added)

If we put honoring God first and work hard to ensure that liberty is secured and that government is held accountable to the confines of its constitutional duties, then businesses will succeed and families will thrive.

I am not pro-business. I am pro-Tennessee.” 

This candidate says people and values are more important than using tax money to bring in large corporations that immediately begin to protest our values.

Maybe you like that; maybe you don’t.

But I hope the definition of fascism I’ve provided, the material I’ve quoted from, and what the targeted primary challenger said help you know how to understand why some Republicans only want to talk about the economy and “bringing in jobs” (with your money) and the importance of their election to keeping our planned economy going.

Now go vote wisely.