The Backsliding of Democracy - Will Van Horne

The Backsliding of Democracy - Will Van Horne

On February 21st through February 24th, political luminaries descended upon Maryland’s National Conference Center. The Gaylord site is nestled aside the Potomac River on the flank of the nation’s capital – an unlikely spot for a neo-fascist revolution. The Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) convened here for its annual conference.  Its primary agenda was the showcasing of MAGA’s presidential candidate.  Attendees celebrated hot-button issues like the overthrow of Roe versus Wade, the triumphalism of Christian theology, and the demonization of trans people; they also gave voice to grievances attributable to “Biden’s Stalinist show trials” and the immigrant border “invasion.”

Conference proceedings offered grievance-driven, evidence-free break-out sessions. Often, sessions were racist or nativist in tone. Ohio’s truth teller, House Weaponization Sub-Committee Chair Jim Jordan spoke at a session entitled “What You Talkin’ Bout Fani Willis.”  Perhaps he could have further maligned Georgia’s attorney general by presenting his remarks in Black face. Matt Gaetz – the Florida Congressman who turned House leadership into a chaotic mess, spoke at a panel titled “Burning Down the House.” And Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist (indicted for defrauding donors with his “Build the Wall” campaign grift) was introduced accordingly:

“Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it.” The same moderator noted that, "After we burn that swamp to the ground, we will establish the new American republic on its ashes, and our first order of business will be righteous retribution for those who betrayed America."

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The host’s introduction was capped with a stiff-armed, Nazi salute. Only the Brownshirt was missing. When the former president came to the dais, two things happened. First, he grabbed the American flag intimately, fondling it and kissing it repeatedly. He lip-mouthed “I love you, baby” twice. I couldn’t help but wonder what E. Jean Carroll might have thought of this performance. So Trump cast himself as Lady America’s masculine protector (even while the event promoted America’s overthrow). Strains of Lee Greenwood’s “I’m Proud to be An American” washed over the crowd as he romanced America’s flag. Trump misinterpreted the song’s next line, viz., “where at least I know I’m free,” since he felt perfectly “free” to string together one lie after another.

The 2020 election “was rigged; they cheated like dogs,” a claim refuted by 61 of 62 state appeals courts, regardless of political stripe. Trump touted “the greatest jobs history of any president ever,” when factually, the 2.67 million job loss during his term represents the worst performance since Herbert Hoover in 1933. His predecessor inherited a massive recession but added 11.57 million jobs in two terms. No doubt the COVID crisis contributed to this outcome but why flog a horse that can’t run? When George Floyd ‘s murder triggered national civil unrest, Trump recalls how he heroically “saved Minneapolis” (by calling Minnesota’s National Guard). The Minnesota governor who made the call earlier must be mystified by this needless lie.

Some citizens readily attribute the constant fabrication, and strong ethno-nationalist and anti-democratic leanings of CPAC leaders to a few crackpots or to “Trump-being-Trump.” That would be a mistake. CPAC showcased its true agenda by constantly giving voice to thuggish, authoritarian leaders from Hungary, Brazil, Spain’s Vox Party, Argentina’s security ministry, and other like-minded autocracies. It’s clear that MAGA folks have lied repeatedly about another important thing - antipathy to globalism. They will happily install a neo-fascist political philosophy here, wrapped in a fundamentalist Christian doctrine, and export it to the rest of the world. Beware.

 

Dr. Van Horne is a retired research sociologist, former Director of Fiscal Analysis with the New York State Education Department.