Editor's note: Nina-Bytes is a weekday blogging series that features short analysis and commentary on articles from around the web.
Yesterday on my Facebook Journal, I published several discussions that touched on what it means when fascist lies, fantasies, and conspiracy theories acquire the force of law, and with it real power to distort our supposedly democratic society. Today then, let's look at a couple of articles that demonstrate what fascists weaponizing "unreality" in the political process actually looks like, and why that's a very ominous sign in a Pig Empire actively falling under overt fascist rule.
First up, let's take a look at this October 24th, 2022 article about the Pennsylvania GOP's most recent attempt to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, written by Akela Lacy over on the Intercept:
Larry Krasner Impeachment Committee Relies on Widely Panned Journal Study
Frankly I don't want to wade too deeply into the left wing side of the debate about the so-called "progressive prosecutor" movement here; you can be certain that American fascists aren't tossing their cookies about guys like Krasner because of his insufficient commitment to prison abolition. As the article notes, what we're really talking about here is an establishment Republican (and conservative Democrat) attempt to remove a marginally progressive official they loathe, explicitly against the will of his constituents; who surprise, surprise, aren't affluent white fascists:
"Monday’s report is the latest step in a series of yearslong efforts to curb Krasner’s power or remove him from office entirely — despite the fact that the progressive DA was overwhelmingly reelected a year ago. Krasner’s attempts to implement criminal justice reforms and address the underlying causes of mass incarceration have made him a target of lawmakers from both parties since his election in 2017. As removal efforts built steam among Republicans, state House Democrats joined the opposing party last month in voting to hold Krasner in contempt for his refusal to comply with a subpoena in the impeachment efforts."
While this all looks very official, the twist here is that almost every accusation against Krasner is pure nonsense. The arguments being used to impeach Krasner are based on fascist election propaganda about crime, conspiracy theories, and a politically-motivated study that's been widely debunked by data scientists. It's not just about Larry Krasner either, research shows that there is literally no evidence linking progressive prosecutors to rising crime rates in cities anywhere; which exposes a lie that underpins the entire unhinged fascist attack on any prosecutor that so much as utters the words "bail reform." Bonus points if you guessed that this "moral panic about crime as politics" operation is secretly about race; because it is.
In other words reactionary politicians are transforming lies, into the force of law, for the purposes of actively violating the democratic will of Philadelphia voters; which is precisely what legally and politically-empowered fascism in progress looks like. Why is that bad news even if you don't live in Philly? Because as this October 25th, 2002 article by Kaleigh Rogers at FiveThirtyEight points out, fascist fantasy as the law of the land seems poised to strike well beyond the mean streets of Pennsylvania:
Most Candidates Who Think 2020 Was Rigged Are Probably Going To Win In November
If you've read my writing, you know I loathe "horse race" political coverage as much as anyone reading this does, so let's not waste too much time on this piece of fluff. The important point we need to take from this article is that over a hundred Republicans pushing the objectively fascist "Big Lie" about the 2020 election, are about to take real political power in Amerikkkan society;
"Luna is one of well over a hundred of candidates running this fall who have denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election and have a strong chance of winning their race. Of the 185 Republican candidates running for House, Senate and governor’s seats who have denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election, 124 — or 67 percent — are in races our forecast currently pins at “Solid R,” meaning they have a 95-in-100 or better chance of winning. Overall, a bigger share of election deniers are running in Solid R races than Republican candidates in general: Of the 496 Republican candidates running for House, Senate and governor, 225 — or 45 percent — are in Solid R races."
As you can see, this problem isn't really about Democrats versus Republicans, but rather a Republican Party happily nominating fascist conspiracy theorists in safe seats, over pretty much every other type of reactionary on offer. This is not only evidence that the party as a whole has embraced fascism, but also a deadly perilous moment in American history. Fascists stand on the verge of legally declaring their reactionary propaganda and conspiracy theories the understood law of the land, and no amount of "respecting the standards and norms" is going to protect us from that kind of nightmare.
nina illingworth
Anarcho-syndicalist writer, critic, and analyst.
You can find my work at NIDC, Can’t You Read, Media Madness and my Patreon Blog
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“It’s ok Willie; swing heil, swing heil…”
