If
neoconservatives and progressives truly understood fascism, they
would stop using the word as a smear term. That is because both
groups, along with most political figures and commentators, embrace
fascist ideas and policies.
Fascism's
distinguishing characteristic is a "mixed economy." Unlike
socialists and communists who seek to abolish private business,
fascists are content to let business remain in private hands.
Instead, fascists use regulations, mandates, and taxes to control
business and run (and ruin) the economy. A fascist system, then, is
one where private businesses serve politicians and bureaucrats
instead of consumers. Does the modern American economy not fit the
definition of fascism?
Fascism
benefits big businesses that can afford the cost of complying with
government regulations, unlike their smaller competitors. Big
businesses, which have more political influence than entrepreneurs or
small businesses, also significantly benefit from government
subsidies. In order to maintain their power, big businesses finance
the "deep state" — the network of lobbyists, journalists,
think tanks, bureaucrats, and congressional staffers who work behind
the scenes to shape government policy.
Obamacare
is an example of fascism that is often mislabeled as socialism.
Obamacare did not create a government-run "single payer"
system as would exist under socialism. Instead, Obamacare extended
government control over health care via mandates, regulations, and
subsidies. The most infamous part of Obamacare — the individual
mandate — forces individuals to purchase a product from a private
industry.
Modern
America's militaristic foreign policy aimed at policing and
perfecting the world is another example of fascism that enjoys strong
bipartisan support. Both right-wing neocons and left-wing
humanitarian interventionists claim our supposedly noble goals
justify any and all actions taken by the U.S. government. Thus, these
supposed human rights champions defend preemptive war, torture, and
presidential kill lists.
Many
politicians supporting a militaristic foreign policy are more
concerned with spreading largesse to the military-industrial complex
than with spreading democracy. This is why some supposed free-market
conservatives sound like Paul Krugman on steroids when discussing the
economic benefits of military spending. Similarly, some anti-war
progressives will support large military budgets if some of the money
is spent in their states or congressional districts.
Mass
surveillance and limits on personal freedom are additional hallmarks
of fascist regimes. While there is a movement to "reform"
the police state, few want to abolish mass surveillance, civil asset
forfeiture, police militarization, and other police-state policies
adopted in the name of the wars on terror and drugs. The federal
government has even used force to stop people from selling raw milk!
Attempts by progressives to silence political opponents are more
examples of how many supposedly anti-fascist Americans are embracing
fascist policies.
The
growth of the welfare-warfare state has been accompanied by an
increase in presidential power. This centralization of power, and the
support it receives from the political class, is one more indication
of the fascistic nature of our current regime. Of course, many in
Congress will fight to rein in the executive branch, as long as the
occupant of the White House is of the opposing party. Even the
fiercest opponents of excessive presidential power instantaneously
become lap dogs when their party wins the White House.
For
all their alleged anti-fascism, today's neoconned conservatives and
progressives both support the use of force to reshape society and the
world. This is the defining characteristic not just of fascists, but
also of authoritarians. The true anti-fascists are those who reject
the initiation of force. The true path to real free markets, peace,
and individual liberty starts with rejecting the bipartisan
authoritarianism in favor of the non-aggression principle.
Ron
Paul is a former congressman and presidential candidate. He can be
reached at the RonPaulInstitute.org
Ross Douthat | New York Times June 2025
President Ronald Reagan
The American people must face it: The U.S. Constitution is dead. The Bill of Rights is dead. The rule of law is dead. Federalism is dead. The American experiment of self-government is dead. The Monroe Doctrine has been replaced with the Donroe Doctrine—a gross perversion of James Monroe’s magnificent manifesto of peace, independence and national sovereignty.
(Liberty-Pac adds George H.W. Bush & Bill Clinton) George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and especially Donald Trump have turned our constitutional republic into a Banana Republic. Trump is not a president; he is a dictator—and a mad dictator at that. In many respects, he is not unlike the emperors of Rome. And our national Congress is almost identical to the Roman senate: utterly meaningless and worthless to the maintenance of law in the face of naked aggression by the chief executive.
Scottish pod-caster George Galloway recently referred to Trump as Caligula—and his historical analogy might not be far off.
The U.S. government has become a rogue state. It is a gangster state. It is run not by statesmen or even politicians. It is run by thugs. Pirates. Mafia dons. Criminals. Thieves. Extortioners. Plunderers. Murderers.
Any of Trump’s MAGA supporters who continue to support Trump in 2026 are proving themselves to be more the tyrants than those on the Left whom they have accused of being tyrants. Tyranny is tyranny whether it is shouted from under a flag, from inside the Oval Office or from behind a pulpit.
Those who supported Trump in 2024 because Trump promised to be a “peace president” are sycophantic hypocrites if they continue to support him now.
During 2025, Trump unilaterally, illegally, unconstitutionally and immorally declared war on seven sovereign states: That is, Trump—on his own authority (which he doesn’t have)—dropped bombs on seven countries. When Japan dropped bombs on our naval installations in Hawaii in 1941, the U.S. (rightly) considered those bombings an act of war. So, Trump declared war on seven countries in just the first year of his second term: Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Iran, Iraq, Syria and now Venezuela.
Now, after attacking and kidnapping Venezuela’s president, Donald Trump is threatening to attack Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil—basically all of South America. He is threatening to seize—with military force, if necessary—Greenland, which is the territory of Denmark. Trump has greenlit an all-out Israeli/U.S. attack on Iran. Seizing the oil of Venezuela is doubtless a prelude to the attack on Iran. Trump is attempting to mitigate the loss of oil from the Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s retaliation following the forthcoming U.S./Israel invasion.
Donald Trump’s campaign promises that he would be a “peace president” are now proven to be nothing but bald-faced lies. Let me remind MAGA of what Trump promised us.
April 2016: We're getting out of the nation building business.
July 2016: We must abandon the failed policy of nation building and regime change that Hillary Clinton pushed in Iraq, in Libya, in Egypt, and in Syria.
August 2016: Our current strategy of nation building and regime change is a proven absolute failure.
September 2016: We will break the cycle of regime change.
September 2016: We will pursue a new, steady foreign policy that seeks to advance the national security interests of the United States - not a reckless interventionist globalism.
August 2019: We’re not looking for regime change [in Iran]. You've seen how that works over the last 20 years. That hasn’t been too good.
Now, Trump is threatening to go to war all over the world.
And let’s not leave out Trump’s military aggression against Russia. Despite Trump’s rhetoric regarding peace with Russia, his actions have spoken much more loudly to the contrary.
In a recent interview, former British diplomat Alastair Crooke reminded us of Trump’s record of military aggression against Russia during 2025.
Now put this together with, first of all, the attack that was in May or June on the strategic bomber fleet of Russia, the attack by drones that were so much in the model that we later saw on the 12th of June by Israel in the surprise attack on Iran, the attack on its strategic bombers, which were out in the open as per the assault treaty.
Then we had, during further negotiations, four long-range attack missiles, American long-range attack missiles, were fired during a previous set of negotiations, and they were fired at Voronezh. Voronezh is where Russia has its early warning over-the-horizon radars. They are nothing; neither the strategic bomber fleet, nor the early warning radars, nor the bunker, the command bunker in the compound at Valdai, have anything to do with what's happening in Ukraine. These are all to do about a nuclear war. [Emphasis added]
In other words, Donald Trump is playing a nuclear game of “chicken” with Russia. Couple that with the crippling economic sanctions against Russia, China and India (all three are nuclear powers), and we can easily see how Trump is literally daring the world to resist him—even to the point of nuclear war.
That’s not politics; it’s not diplomacy; it’s not foreign relations. It’s gangsterism! Donald Trump is an international gangster. A mobster. A goon. A thug.
I know nothing about this pastor, but I totally agree with this segment of his recent sermon in which he called out Donald Trump for who and what he is: “the supreme thug.”
Y'all see the mess yesterday where a press conference was held in Mar-a-Lago, and they are bragging about how swift and sweet the kidnapping was of another nation's leader. Now, to be sure, he's a thug; he's a low life. But he's their thug and their low life. And we really can't talk about somebody else's leader being a thug and a lowlife when our own president got convicted on 34 counts. You talk about the supreme thug.
And, y'all, he's arrested, and they're talking about him [Maduro] because he allegedly is drug trafficking. Now, you gave a pardon and released someone [Honduran President Juan Hernández] who had been convicted of drug trafficking, but somehow this one is someone that you are going to have tried and convicted. I gotta park right there.
Amen, Brother! Preach it!
The presidency of Donald Trump is not America first; it’s not making America great; it’s not even patriotic. It’s sheer gangsterism. It is using position for personal power and greed. It’s international extortion and the worst kind of bullyism and banditry.
And it is very dangerous!
The verdict on Venezuela is still very much out. The potential for long term damage to not just the Western Hemisphere in general but to the United States in particular is very real. And if Trump thinks he has gotten away unscathed with the Venezuelan regime change, he will spread his brazen recklessness and bullying all over the world—something he has already been doing in degrees—but his malignant narcissism and increasing dementia could very easily escalate his madness to levels not seen in the modern age.
And the frightening part of it is that today’s military technology will be completely unforgiving. In the nuclear age, there is no such thing as winning a world war.
And for those evangelical Christians who are reading this column, let me hasten to alert you to this reality: A global nuclear war prompted by a mad U.S. president would NOT be the Second Coming of Christ. The fire of God at the Last Day will be of divine origin, NOT human.
And in the event of global nuclear war, there will be NO “rapture.”
(My upcoming message on Sunday, January 18, will address this topic in detail. The message is entitled: The Second Coming Of Christ – Satan’s Little Season And The Fire Of God. I invite readers to watch it here.)
If nuclear rain falls, it will fall on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) Christians will NOT escape.
Under Donald Trump, we do not have constitutional government; we do not have good government; we do not have lawful government. We have a gangster government.
It’s time the American people face it—before it’s too late.
