By Laurie Baron
President Biden received scathing criticism for labeling MAGA Republicans “semi-fascists.” I selected some quotations from MAGA leaders to test the validity of his characterization.
“The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church. That is not how our Founding Fathers intended it. I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk that’s not in the Constitution.” Lauren Boebert
“Nancy Pelosi is a traitor to our country, she’s guilty of treason. And it’s, uh, it’s a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason.” Marjorie Taylor Greene
“The guns are there, the Second Amendment is there, to make sure all of the rest of the amendments are followed.” Louie Gohmert
“When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that’s the way it’s got to be. It’s total.” Donald Trump
“Trump could immediately seize every single one of these voting machines around the country on his order. He could take military capabilities and he could place them in swing states and basically rerun an election in each of those states.” Michael Flynn
“@TuckerCarlson is CORRECT about Replacement Theory as he explains what is happening to America. The ADL [Anti-Defamation League] is a racist organization.” Matt Gaetz
“Let them call you racists. Let them call you xenophobes. Let them call you nativists. Wear it as a badge of honor.” Steve Bannon speaking at a rally for Marine Le Pen.
The dictionary definition of fascism is: “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictator, state economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”
Biden was mistaken! He should never have used the prefix semi.
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Baron is professor emeritus of history at San Diego State University. He may be contacted via lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com. San Diego Jewish World points out to new readers that this column is satire, and nothing herein should be taken literally.