Friday afternoon, White House press secretary Sean Spicer held what’s called a ‘gaggle’ with reporters, where he responds to questions on the record but without television cameras present. Controversy erupted when Spicer took the unprecedented step of barring major media organizations from the briefing. Among the journalists who were prevented from attending were those from the New York Times, CNN, the BBC and the Los Angeles Times. Other establishment news outlets, as well as right-wing journalists from Breitbart News, the Washington Times and One America News Network were allowed to attend. Reporters from Time magazine and the Associated Press declined to participate in the briefing because their peers were turned away.
“We’re going to aggressively push back,” Sean Spicer said, according to a recording of the session provided by a reporter who was allowed to attend. “We’re just not going to sit back and let, you know, false narratives, false stories, inaccurate facts get out there.” The fact the President of the United States is sworn to defend the constitution, which explicitly means freedom of the press, is lost on Spicer and his cohorts. Fascists are not people who can be debated & persuaded, especially once they have seized power. They only understand hatred & violence.
In that spirit, president Donald Trump simultaneously escalated his attacks on journalists as “the enemy of the people.” He accused the New York Times and CNN of being, “a great danger to our country.” The fact Trump lost the popular vote count by nearly 3 million, meaning a majority of American people disagree with him, means nothing to a sociopath who demands absolute loyalty & obedience as commander-in-chief of the military.
The complacency in the liberal media concerning this rapid fascist takeover is serving to chloroform the public. The dangers of fascism have quickly made themselves apparent, as anti-immigration hatred, a police state build-up, and militarism are all unquestionably on the march. The Democratic party has done nothing to sound the alarm, proving once again they are the most duplicitous enemy of the working class. Madmen have assumed control, while leading Democratic stick-figures Elizabeth Warren & Bernie Sanders can barely summon up a mild-to-hysterical protest, before kneeling to the diktats of reaction.
The beacon of liberalism responded to Spicer’s unprecedented media exclusion with yet another mealy-mouthed statement. “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations… Blah, blah, blah….” The point is, no political action from the working class is ever discussed or encouraged from these media outlets or any other liberal establishment. No conclusions are ever drawn, as it’s always a collective “oh, shucks” and “move on.”
This is because these liberals defends capitalism above all else, and fear a revolution from below more than fascism– out of class interest. They view fascism as a tool to subdue workers’ discontent and maintain order, yet fail to realize this is the exact type of failed political ‘thinking’ that led to WWII in Europe. The workers of the United States and around the world must unite internationally as class brothers & sisters to fight the rising tide of fascism. They are the only political force that can stave off a future fascist nightmare, but they need to be armed with class consciousness and an international socialist perspective.
If the current bourgeois political trajectory is allowed to continue at this pace, the working people of the world will barely get a chance to ‘protest’ the jackboot of fascism crushing the face of humanity– forever. That last sentence is a paraphrase from George Orwell’s vision of humanity in 1984, quoted in an interview. Sales of that classic novel, describing a totalitarian state manipulated by deep & powerful forces (Big Brother), have surged since Donald Trump became President-elect.
The crisis hour for humanity is nearing, and bold planning & action will be necessary to avert disaster. Working people need to understand that the fascists in charge don’t care a whit about human culture & society. These haters are angry people, who have lost their humanity, and yet have been allowed to hold the reins of power through the complete irrationality of capitalism. They are the least-qualified class of people to rule, yet they now exercise dominance over much of the world and it’s resources. The workers of the world need to organize & strike simultaneously and soon, to send a message of strength to each other that they will no longer be ignored in political & economic discussions.
As articulated in my recent final update to “Fascism Wins Election 2016,” fascism theoretically relies on two public elements. One is the dictator, who masquerades as the clown for as long as possible to entertain the masses. The dictator initially appeals to the lowest vermin in society with hysterical racism & bullying prejudice to establish his political base. Those dissatisfied with the current economic situation also become persuaded by his charms & promises (which he never keeps), and become part of this loose constituency through their complacency. When disparity become the society norm, fascism sweeps away parliamentary rule and society becomes a police state. Liberals worship wealth & celebrity above all else, and therefore accept this dictator as legitimate on behalf of their constituents. That’s half the playbook.
The other decisive element for fascism to gain control over society is a brilliant, yet diabolical propaganda minister. Under Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany, it was Joseph Goebbels as the criminal mastermind running the show– all the way down to their ends in a Berlin bunker. Goebbels was the one who organized and kept Hitler respectable, just long enough to fool people into a second World War. US political policy (foreign & domestic) is now largely determined by press secretary Sean Spicer, who coordinates with the hidden deep state in a manner similar to Goebbels. Notice that it is Sean Spicer who is constantly correcting, re-shaping and ‘clarifying’ (into line with deep state interests) whatever ‘absurdities’ loud-mouthed President Trump blurts out. Trump’s ego won’t let him publicly admit he is being manipulated, yet surely he must know that he is, somewhere in his demented mind. As long as Donald Trump thinks he’s fooling most of the people, Spicer will continue to be the voice he most relies upon.
Therefore, any serious political critiques and attacks must be directed at this vital node. This Trump/Spicer focal point is the clearest representation of conflicting US ruling class interests, and its exposure is necessary to crack the capitalist facade and defeat fascism. Any political writings that ignore the importance of this theoretical point, are seeking to shift focus in other directions and become part of this evil propaganda machine meant to disorient people to the dangers ahead.
In comparing Sean Spicer to a movie villain, look no further than The Godfather– Part 3, in which Enzo Robutti brilliantly portrays Don Licio Lucchesi, the nebulous underworld figure who can invisibly pressure a high-level financial deal with the Vatican and simultaneously order the massacre of NYC mafia-family heads. Lucchesi’s Black Hand reaches into both worlds with subtle yet powerful influence, and makes certain all ships are sailing in the same direction. This is the power that Sean Spicer now wields which must be recognized and organized against in order to defeat fascism.
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