Back in the 2010s, when I was still researching the Work-Standard, I once came across a misconception from US History. I did not pay much attention to it until Bogumil wrote a post on the subject on ARPLAN a few years ago. In contemporary America these days, it is fairly common for me to hear the Jeffersonian Factions accusing the other Faction of being “fascists” and “communists.” The Republicans are the “fascists,” the Democrats the “communists.” To be honest, I strongly believe that these epithets have become words that have no meaning other than to be used as derogatory insults. I am willing to argue that whoever levels those accusations without providing enough convincing evidence has never interacted with actual Fascists and Communists in their own life. This is hardly surprising in an America where such movements had never gained traction at any point in the last century.
From the standpoint of the Jeffersonians, something tells me that they tolerated such insults since the Vietnam War in order to instill ideological conformity and deter deviations from Jeffersonianism. There can be no opposing Ideologies and Worldviews inside the Democratic-Republican Party because the Democrats and Republicans are supposed to be bound to the same Jeffersonian Worldview that defines American Liberal Capitalist Parliamentary Democracy. Not even Hamiltonianism should be allowed in the Democratic-Republican Party. At least, that is one side of the claim.
The other side of the claim is that there are imaginary fascists and communists lurking behind Republicans and Democrats, plotting and scheming to take over their Factions. On some unspecified date, these imaginary fascists and communists would eventually subvert the Democratic-Republican Party and bring America away from Jeffersonianism. The propaganda is always framed as the Democratic-Republican Party represents the ‘true All-American political party’ and that any other political alternative is not American. While such thinking was a fringe view teetering on the realm of Conspiracy Theory, it did gain some credibility after the rise of Protectionist and Social-Democratic views among the Democrats and Republicans.
However, true Social-Democracy and Protectionism are not indicative of Fascist Italy or the Soviet Union, which are oftentimes what frequently comes to mind in these insults. Again, the direction of the rhetoric is fixated on the definition of Americaness, a subject that was not only raised in The Work-Standard (3rd Ed.), but also in the Culture Wars. I also find it rather interesting that it became fashionable to baselessly accuse people of being these imaginary communists and fascists around the same time as the Counterculture and the Vietnam War. After all, the Culture Wars did begin in the 1960s, did they not?
I am inclined to imagine some twenty-something Baby Boomers in the 1960s accusing Americans of supporting the Vietnam War as ‘fascists’ and ‘communists’ for those in opposition. But historically, the supporters were called the “Hawks,” whereas the opponents were known as the “Doves.” What most Americans and non-Americans both at the time and in contemporary times do not realize is that the “Hawks” and “Doves” from the days before the War of 1812. The Democratic-Republican Party were the Hawks because they advocated declaring war on Canada, subjugating Latin America, and supporting the French in the Napoleonic Wars. The Federalist Party were the Doves opposing such wars because they were unjust and unnecessary for America.
The rationale there was pretty simple: whoever vehemently opposes the Democratic-Republican Party is a potential ally of the Federalist Party; “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” I may have my own disagreements, but at least I can work with them as part of the Federalist Party.
Therefore, because of how outlandish and ridiculous the evidence for these imaginary communists and fascists are, I literally went out of my way to write an aphorism to ridicule what comes across to me as paranoia driven by Conspiracy Theory:
“Fascists behind every Bush, Communists under every Rose Field.”
The ‘Bush’ refers to the two Bushes, the ‘Rose Field’ to the two Roosevelts (as the surname Roosevelt is Dutch for ‘Rose Field’). It is rather amusing to know that there are a lot of ignorant Americans who willingly fall for such an aphorism. I would not be too surprised if there are some Democratic and Republican voters literally searching for imaginary enemies with imaginary friends on Social Media. Nowadays, come to think of it, that does not seem too far-fetched.
In reality, there are no Fascists and Communists working together to take over the Democratic-Republican Party. A much stronger case could be made that there have been Democrats and Republicans subverting actual Fascists and Communists to become “Controlled Opposition.” There have been plenty of instances in US History where the Democratic-Republican Party have sought to subvert opposing parties and movements in order to bring them in line with Jeffersonianism. Some stick with the Democrats and Republicans, others fluctuate between the Democrats and the Republicans. As long as the controlled opposition do not usurp the Democratic-Republican Party, their existence will be tolerated across different Presidencies and Congresses.
Genuine adherence to any opposing Worldview and Ideology will never be tolerated inside Congress, Presidency, or the Supreme Court as long as they remain under the Democratic-Republican Party. Any dog whistling is indicative of trying to attract votes and appealing to the American electorate. After all, there are plenty of Checks and Balances to keep anyone who is not a Democrat or Republican from attaining political power.
How does one know whether someone’s adherence is genuine? Find out if they are designing and proposing policies more in line with their preferred Worldview and Ideology. They never compromise on the content and spirit–the essence–of those policies. They try to mold those same policies to suit the organizational structure of American Federalism. They also cannot be a Populist because all Populists are motivated by temporary passions, not timeless ideas. And more importantly, they are guided by a distinct vision of America that differs from the one proposed by Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and the rest of the Democrats and Republicans.
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