The word “fascist” has been creeping ever so obnoxiously into America’s political lexicon after leftists adopted it as their favorite slur for those they don’t like. To these people, former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and now newly-minted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are all fascists.
Progressives have been gleefully applying this term to any and everyone who disagrees with their ideology just as much as the term “racist.” They appear to be hoping that this new line of attack will help them scare the public into supporting their cause.
But it ain’t gonna work.
The reason why is because Democrats and their comrades in the activist media erroneously believe the American people don’t know what fascism is. In some respects, they are right. Most don’t know the formal definition of the term. But they do know that the vast majority of people the left accuses of being fascist are nothing of the sort.
But what is amazing about this paradigm is that it has become even more clear that those throwing the F word around don’t even know what it is either. RedState’s Bonchie posted a tweet a few days ago about the leftist outrage over the election of Meloni in Italy. “Every lefty is sure this Italian chick is a fascist. Not one can list why she’s a fascist in real terms,” he wrote.
Every lefty is sure this Italian chick is a fascist. Not one can list why she’s a fascist in real terms.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) September 25, 2022
Even a cursory look at the responses to his tweet demonstrates that leftists who claim Meloni is a fascist have no idea what they are talking about. Bonchie desperately tries to get these folks to provide an example of at least one policy she supports that would fit the definition of fascist. But alas, they could not deliver, so they resorted to providing unfounded generalizations of – stuff. But nothing that would show she is a fascist.
I did the same in my own tweet:
I'm equally blown away how many Americans profess to despise this new Italian PM.
Calling her fascist for no good reason.
It's weird AF. https://t.co/1xJyrHGIdt
— Jeff Charles (@JeffOnTheRight) September 27, 2022
But even then, nobody could give a concrete example of her holding fascist views or supporting fascist policies. The best they could do is resurrect comments she made as a teenager, when she praised Benito Mussolini. She is now 45 years old and, to our knowledge, has not made statements like that at any time in recent memory.
It is not only with Meloni that I get these types of responses. I’ve challenged so-called progressives to show me how Trump or DeSantis are fascists. Each time, I can’t get a coherent response of any policy they enacted or supported that makes them the next iteration of Adolph Hitler.
The reason why is clear: None of these people are fascists.
In fact, the vast majority of people claiming they are Hitler-lite have no idea what fascism is. The rest are lying their asses off. The term has become nothing more than a political weapon to be used against politicians and other high-profile individuals who do not adhere to the tenets of progressivism.
Now, the F word has become about as watered-down as the terms “racist,” “sexist,” “homophobe,” and all the other slurs leftists use against conservatives when they have no real arguments to make. It won’t be long before the term means absolutely nothing to the rest of the population. When everyone is a fascist, nobody is a fascist.
But this also raises another question: Do leftists truly believe they are fooling people into believing non-progressives are all fascists?
It’s not likely.
These people are deranged, but they are not stupid. This leads me to believe that the “fascist” trope is intended more for people who already want to believe this foolishness than for folks in the middle, who won’t fall for it. It is a way to galvanize support for their agenda. This is why President Joe Biden referred to supposed “MAGA extremists” as “semi-fascists.” Since they have nothing to run on, the best way to energize the Democratic base is to convince them they are in danger of living under the American version of the Third Reich. Sure, it’s flimsy. But what else do they have left?
