We Must Put The Fear Of God Into The Hearts Of Fascists

By Jon Hochschartner  Photos: Wikimedia Commons Recently, masked agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement were filmed abducting Connecticut residents, in violation of a state law banning law enforcement from wearing masks while on duty. When bystanders reminded these fascist thugs of the ban, one agent was recorded saying, “Tell them to arrest me. Tell them. I dare you. Who’s going to arrest me?” Connecticut’s Democratic Governor Ned Lamont should feel deep shame these crooked officers weren’t locked up by the end of the day, and, instead, so far as I’m aware, haven’t faced any consequences whatsoever. I will be assessing Democratic candidates, especially presidential hopefuls, on any number of issues, but one I’ve increasingly come to prioritize is a candidate’s willingness to aggressively combat right-wing extremism. Contenders shouldn’t just be willing to jail fascist leaders and their goons. They should be excited to do so. They should be so ruthless in their enthusiasm to stamp out the authoritarian menace that I start to feel uncomfortable about their methods and urge restraint. In order for our flawed democracy to survive, we need to reestablish the rule of law, by putting fascist lawbreakers behind bars. For my entire life, accommodationist Democrats like Lamont, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have shown their Republican counterparts there are no consequences for increasing right-wing radicalization. Now, conservatives in President Donald Trump’s second administration have pushed America to the brink of totalitarian collapse. Thankfully, due to anti-fascist mobilization and Trump’s own mismanagement, this authoritarian effort is losing steam and appears to be on the retreat. The present state of affairs was accomplished in spite of Democratic leadership, not because of it. With a handful of exceptions, who are so few in number they’re barely worth mentioning, Democratic elected officials need to replaced en masse. They must be replaced with those who recognize the urgent task before us: purging anyone associated with the Trump regime from polite society and rebuilding our government so the totalitarian takeover attempt which Republicans participated in is is never possible again. Beyond prosecuting fascist leaders and their lackeys, we will need to abolish the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, and add Democratic-leaning states to the union, at a bare minimum. The anti-totalitarian coalition which makes up the Democratic Party base has a wide range of political priorities. For instance, as an animal activist, I’d like to see a massive increase in state and federal funding into cultivated-meat research. For those who aren’t aware, cultivated meat is grown from livestock cells, without slaughter. I view development of this technology as one of the most promising ways of reducing nonhuman suffering and premature death. However, none of our political priorities can be accomplished under the right-wing dictatorship Trump and his followers have sought to build. All progress in this country is contingent on putting the fear of God in fascists’ hearts. Democratic elected officials who don’t understand this should get out of the way for those who do. Any attempt to turn the page or move past right-wing criminality, as former President Joe Biden did, without imposing severe consequences, will be understood by Republicans not as a gesture of mercy, but an expression of weakness. Conservatives have demonstrated they will merely use it as an opportunity to regroup and plan their next attack on democracy. We can’t allow this to happen again. Jon Hochschartner lives in Connecticut. He is the author of a number of books, including The Animals’ Freedom Fighter: A Biography of Ronnie Lee, Founder of the Animal Liberation Front. Visit his blog at SlaughterFreeAmerica.Substa ck.com.