Fascism in the GOP didn't start with Trump

[SamuelTheThird]

The Neocons often spoke about 'spreading democracy' around the world, but the truth is they had a hermetic ideology- they believed in a small elite at home ruling a religiously cowed, ignorant populace (going back to coded readings of Leo Strauss). There once was a really great article where some of them actually admitted to an intrepid reporter that this was the case. That article disappeared off the map.

Then you have the Dominionists, which were/are theocratic fascists. Charlie Kirk would invite them to speak at events he hosted.

[rampartd]

1. the roots of this madness are exposed in the classic 1964 article

hofstader's "paranoid style of american politics"

https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/

also important to trumpian tactics are the "know nothings"

The Know-Nothing Party, officially known as the American Party, was a nativist political movement in the United States during the mid-1850s. It emerged in response to fears that cities were being overwhelmed by Irish Catholic immigrants, whom its members viewed as hostile to American values and controlled by the Pope. The party was characterized by its strong anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiments, and it sought to limit immigration and promote the interests of native-born Americans.