On November 8, we will see which direction our country will be heading. I myself am filled with both trepidation and dread as Christo-fascist candidates and 2020 election deniers gain momentum in the polls. Such candidates include climate-change deniers, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and those who decry a woman’s right to choose, seek to outlaw gay marriage, and demonize Democrats and Jews alike.
And all of these candidates happen to be GOP candidates.
You may disagree with me, but the Republican party has totally and unapologetically morphed into something I really don’t recognize. The Grand Old Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party that supported the abolition of slavery and labor unions. The early Republican Party originally consisted of factory workers, northern Protestants, farmers, professionals, businessmen, and even former black slaves. In 1854, the Republican Party worked to stop the expansion of slavery into American territories after the passing of the Kansas–Nebraska Act.
Of course, the Democratic party has changed too since its inception in 1828. For example, Southern Democrats pushed for the expansion of slavery into Western parts of the nation and stood for individual rights and the sovereignty of states.
Despite current party differences, the price America is paying for the Trump presidency is dear. We are also paying the price for Democrats downplaying the growing threat of fascist political movements that have gained momentum since 2016.
Trump came to power because of the chronic cultivation of authoritarian, xenophobic, and racist beliefs of the American right that have never truly disappeared even after the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Right-wing candidates such as Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Pennsylvania candidate for governor Doug Mastriano, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, and Arizona Senate nominee Blake Masters are carrying on this legacy, unapologetically spewing bigoted slurs and calls for autocratic legislation on both social media and during campaign events.
For example, in a tweet, Kari Lake’s campaign manager called all Native Americans bloodthirsty savages who engage in human sacrifice mocking the observation of Indigenous People’s Day. Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano wants to introduce legislation that forbids the teaching of “certain principles” in schools and to imprison those who do. Mastriano also promotes Christian power and decries the separation of church and state. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s first executive order banned critical race theory (even though CRT is not part of Virginia’s K-12 public school curriculum).
Blake Masters, who has been a staunch anti-abortion proponent, revealed his racism in a tweet mocking racial diversity at the Federal Reserve. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made racist comments during separate Donald Trump rallies last month. In Mesa, Arizona, Greene, spewed rhetoric that echoed the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that nonwhite immigrants will eventually displace white Americans
If these candidates win seats next Tuesday, I’m afraid that America is in big trouble.
But what if they don’t? What if Michael Moore’s prediction is right and the Democrats sweep both houses and elect sane candidates to local and state-level offices?
If there is a “blue tsunami,” the Dems need to make it a priority to protect our Democracy from succumbing to a similar fate of “banana” republics and other fascist states. A good start would be to codify Roe v. Wade, pass the Voting Rights Act, limit Supreme Court justice terms, support labor unions, raise the minimum wage, pass strict gun control laws, and invest in social programs, universal health care, education, and infrastructure.
Although the Republican and the Democratic parties have evolved and changed over the years, we must not let right-wing and authoritarian politics infect either one.
On November 8, we stand at the precipice of a cliff.