They are men with little imagination, who seek to exalt themselves by squishing everyone else down into a mass of un-individuated peons. One of many right-wing Big Lies is that fascism is the opposite of communism — not so. Both are forms of collectivism, in which the masses must be relegated to nothingness by the immense, overwhelming pressures of society — such that a few secular gods of Greatness Thinking may shine above all the rest.
Fascists are Dittoheads
The ethos of “copying” is a signature psychological trait of fundamentalist minds devoid of creativity. Both Trump and Koch have fashioned themselves as carbon copies of Daddy — in true Strict Father Morality style. Thus they feel completely anachronistic in modern times — where children are falling farther and farther from the proverbial trees, ideologically speaking.
Propaganda is a form of communication that aims to influence people’s beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors towards a particular cause, idea, or ideology. It involves the use of persuasive influence techniques to shape public opinion and to create a favorable image of a person, group, or organization, while discrediting or demonizing its opponents.
Propaganda can take many different forms, including posters, speeches, films, radio broadcasts, social media posts, and news articles. It can be used for political, social, religious, or commercial purposes, and it is often associated with authoritarian regimes or totalitarian societies.
One of the key characteristics of propaganda is its use of emotional appeals, rather than rational arguments, to sway people’s opinions. Propagandists often appeal to people’s fears, hopes, bigotries, or prejudices, and use catchy slogans, symbols, or images to make their message more memorable and persuasive. They may also use repetition, exaggeration, or distortion of facts to reinforce their message and to create a sense of urgency or crisis.
Disinformation at scale
Another key feature of propaganda is its use of selective or biased information to support its claims and to discredit opposing views. Propagandists may use half-truths, rumors, lies, or Big Lies to create a false or misleading picture of the situation, and to manipulate people’s perceptions of reality. They may also use censorship or propaganda techniques such as suppression of dissent, demonization of opponents, or use of fear to create a chilling climate of fear and intimidation.
Propaganda can also be used to create a sense of unity or identity among a group of people, by emphasizing their shared values, beliefs, or interests, and by portraying outsiders or enemies as a threat to their well-being. Propaganda can thus be used to mobilize people for a common cause, such as a war or a political campaign, or to reinforce existing social norms and values.
However, propaganda can also have negative consequences, such as creating divisions, fostering hatred, or suppressing dissent. It can lead to the dehumanization of other groups or individuals, and to the justification of violence or discrimination. Propaganda can also undermine democracy by limiting people’s access to accurate information and by creating a distorted view of reality.
To resist propaganda, it is important to be critical of the messages we receive, to question the sources and motives of the information, and to seek out alternative perspectives and sources of information. We should also be aware of our own biases and prejudices, and strive to be open-minded and tolerant of different opinions and viewpoints.
Gerrymandering is a political tactic used to manipulate the boundaries of electoral districts to favor one political party over another. It’s essentially the opposite of what the Founders meant by representative democracy — voters are supposed to choose their representatives, and not the other way around.
The practice is named after Elbridge Gerry, a governor of Massachusetts who in 1812 approved a redistricting plan that created a district that resembled a salamander. The term “gerrymandering” combines the words “Gerry” and “salamander.”
The objective of gerrymandering is to create “safe” districts for a particular political party or group by concentrating voters who are likely to support that party into a small number of districts, while diluting their votes in other districts. This is done by drawing district boundaries in a way that groups together like-minded voters or separates them from voters who are likely to vote for the opposing party. It’s a way of cherry-picking one’s constituents, and manipulating the outcome unfairly in your favor — with one net effect being the dilution of the voting rights of your opposition.
Gerrymandering is typically carried out by state legislatures, who have the authority to redraw electoral district boundaries every ten years after the release of the Census data. The redistricting process is supposed to ensure that each district has roughly the same number of residents, but lawmakers often use this opportunity to manipulate the boundaries in a way that benefits their party.
Partisan and racial gerrymandering
There are two main types of gerrymandering: partisan gerrymandering and racial gerrymandering. Partisan gerrymandering is when district boundaries are drawn in a way that benefits one political party over another. Racial gerrymandering is when district boundaries are drawn in a way that dilutes the voting power of racial minorities — which, in turn, tends to help the Republican Party and hurt the Democratic Party.
Partisan gerrymandering can be carried out in several ways. One common method is “packing,” which involves drawing district boundaries so that a high concentration of voters who support one party are all in one district. This leaves other districts with fewer voters who support that party, making it easier for the opposing party to win those districts. Another method is “cracking,” which involves breaking up a concentration of voters who support one party by drawing district boundaries so that they are spread out across multiple districts. This dilutes their voting power and makes it harder for them to win any of those districts.
Racial gerrymandering is usually carried out to dilute the voting power of racial minorities, particularly African Americans and Hispanics. This is done by drawing district boundaries that split up minority communities and dilute their voting power by spreading them across multiple districts. Racial gerrymandering is illegal under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race.
Effects of gerrymandering
The effects of gerrymandering can be significant. By manipulating district boundaries, lawmakers can create a situation where one party has a significant advantage over the other, making it easier for them to win elections. This can lead to a lack of political competition, which can make it harder for voters to hold their elected officials accountable. In other words, gerrymandering can lead to increased corruption in government at all levels.
Gerrymandering also has the potential to create a lack of diversity in government. By concentrating voters of a particular political party or race into a small number of districts, lawmakers can create a situation where the views and interests of some voters are not represented in government. This can lead to a situation where elected officials are not truly representative of their constituents — which is the essence of the American Dream.
Efforts to combat gerrymandering have included legal challenges to redistricting plans, the use of independent redistricting commissions, and the adoption of alternative voting systems like ranked-choice voting. Despite these efforts, gerrymandering remains a significant issue in many states, and its effects can be seen in elections at all levels of government, from school boards to Congress to the White House.
We glibly believed it could never happen here even though we’ve been warned again and again. And in some sense, even though it’s been here all along — hiding in plain sight. It could happen here, and it did, because it’s happened here before. This dictionary of American authoritarianism collects definitions and charts the rise of language, ideology, tactics, and historical movements of American authoritarians, to arm us with the knowledge we need to understand the tricks of the trade.
For a long time it was convenient to think of authoritarian personality as primarily a European problem, or in any case, a phenomenon that happened elsewhere. We are still waking up (…again) to the scope and depth of the problem, while anti-government groups organize relatively openly and we have yet to see justice for the January 6 attack on our capital. There is much work to be done, and in the meantime we can always continue to educate ourselves about our nation’s history — and the role of slavery, white nationalism, and racism in the shaping of the country and the future class structure of today’s America.
The myth of white innocence is toxic to this understanding. Those who say they “don’t see” race or “don’t want to talk about” race put their white privilege on full display in demanding their right to opt-out of the discussion on race. They’re not interested in having a discussion on race — they’re interested in silencing events like the Tulsa Race Massacre and ensuring we lack the language even to describe the horrors being visited upon human beings by the silencers. The only “discussion” they want to have about the matter is spoken in the words of Smith & Wesson, Chapter AR-15.
American Authoritarianism
White supremacy, in fact, in part inspired Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. In turn, the Nazis inspired the original America First movement at the hands of Charles Lindbergh, a notoriously avowed anti-Semite who vociferously opposed America’s involvement in World War II. Lindbergh and the other early movement conservative extremists lost the battle, and the Allies won the war — thus, fascism as an ideology was defeated in the popular mind for a goodly while.
But prejudice and bigotry are beasts that never sleep — only fitfully slumber and simmer beneath the surface. Bigotry has been rebuilding covertly for years and decades, if it can even be said to have gone away. America has always had its strain of autocratic fascination — and that strain of authoritarianism began flirting with what became fascism in the 20th century. The extremists yearning for a consummation of American fascism have continued to work diligently for almost a century, and have now largely succeeded in injecting a virulent form of nationalism, xenophobia, and isolationism into mainstream GOP politics in the 21st century.
The election of Donald Trump in 2016 seemed to unleash these latent forces that have been amassing since the Reagan years, growing more virulent during the 1990s. From Pat Buchanan and Newt Gingrich of yesteryear to Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ron DeSantis today, the American right-wing is more and more overtly appealing to anti-democratic methods and ideologies — and no longer seem to be regarded as the kooks and cranks of the Republican Party as their equivalents were during the John Birch Society era.
Authoritarianism Dictionary
I’ll be adding to this authoritarianism dictionary over time, as I can chip away at it and as new words get added to the lexicon. It’s highly encouraging that the American people were able to throw off the would-be dictator Trump, but the Republican party continues to press their seditious aims in his name. They continue to trade on the Confederate ideals long defeated, discredited, and dishonored in this nation. Let’s educate each other on the techniques being used against us by the powerful to limit our frames, and to inhibit our awareness, our choices, and our awareness of our choices.
The hour is late, and we must act with all haste.
Term
Topic
Definition
1st Amendment
government
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
2nd Amendment
government
"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
13th Amendment
white supremacy
The Amendment that put an end to slavery. It was passed by Congress and ratified by 2/3 of the states in 1865.
14th Amendment
white supremacy
The second Constitutional Amendment passed following the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to freed African American former slaves, along with equal civil and legal rights as specified in the Constitution.
15th Amendment
white supremacy
Third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments, the Fifteenth gave African Americans the right to vote -- and prohibited any type of voter discrimination on the basis of race.
19th Amendment
misogyny
The woman's Suffrage Amendment gave women the right to vote in the United States.
4chan
alt-Right
A notorious internet message board with an unruly culture capable of trolling, pranks, and crimes.
4GW
Fourth-generation warfare, a model of hybrid warfare proposed by William S. Lind (of "cultural Marxism" fame)
8chan
alt-Right
If 4chan wasn't raw and lawless enough for you, you could try the even more right-wing "free speech"-haven 8chan while it still stood (now 8kun). Described by its founder Frederick Bennan as "if 4chan and reddit had a baby," the site is notorious for incubating Gamergate, which morphed into PizzaGate, which morphed into QAnon -- and for generally being a cesspool of humanity's worst stuff.
8kun
alt-Right
The rebranded incarnation of 8chan after being booted offline and haggling with its founder, Frederick Brennan.
abortion
religious extremism
The safe medical procedure for ending a pregnancy.
active measures
Russian
A style of political warfare originating in the Soviet Union in the 1920s incorporating spycraft, disinformation, propaganda, sabotage, and destabilization, among other offensive programs targeting the USSR's geopolitical foes including the United States.
ad populum
Rhetorical fallacy that assumes an opinion shared by the majority is correct -- without consideration of the credentials of the group.
aggrieved entitlement
white supremacy
A term coined by sociologist Michael Kimmel, who documents the perceived emasculation of America's white male uneducated class and their reactionary rage against social justice and marginal groups getting the spotlight.
America's "original sin"
white supremacy
A reference to the institution of slavery.
amoral
abuse & control
Without morality; without empathy or compassion.
anti-abortion
religious extremism
Political movement formed in the 1970s to overturn Roe v. Wade, that has become a major pillar of the Republican Party
anti-Communist
conspiracy theory
The Cold War Red Scare was promulgated by Senator Eugene McCarthy with help from lawyer Roy Cohn -- who later famously weaned Donald Trump in his image. The John Birch Society and movement conservatives seethed about ehe enemies within, as middle America set about booming with the Boomers for an entire generation of widely shared prosperity.
anti-intraception
psychological warfare
Psychologist Theodor Adorno's term for individuals who resist self-reflection and exhibit the absence of looking inward.
anti-racism
A proactive stance against racial prejudice and systemic discrimination, advocating for policies and practices that promote racial equity and justice.
anti-Semitism
Hostility, prejudice, or discrimination against Jewish people, manifesting in social, economic, and political exclusion or violence.
anti-tax
plutocracy
A political position opposing taxation, often advocating for reduced government spending and intervention in economic affairs.
armed robbery
organized crime
The act of stealing from a person or place using weapons or the threat of violence, constituting a serious criminal offense.
aryan
Historically misappropriated by Nazi ideology to denote a supposed "master race," originally referring to Indo-Iranian language speakers.
Ashe experiments
psychological warfare
A series of 1950s social psychology studies by Solomon Asch demonstrating the influence of group pressure on individual conformity.
ASPD
abuse & control
A mental health condition characterized by a pervasive disregard for others' rights, often leading to deceitful, manipulative, or criminal behavior.
assassination
paramilitary
The killing of a head of state or other important figure for political or ideological reasons, as opposed to murder as a crime of passion.
astroturfing
psychological warfare
The deceptive practice of creating the illusion of grassroots support for a cause or organization, often orchestrated by vested interests.
authoritarianism
government
A governance system where power is concentrated in a single authority, limiting political freedoms and often suppressing dissent.
banality of evil
Hannah Arendt coined the phrase “banality of evil” to refer to the confoundingly commonplace motives of the Nazis who perpetrated some of the worst war crimes in history -- they would never have struck anyone as potential mass murderers before the war.
banana republic
plutocracy
politically unstable countries whose economies are monocultures controlled by an oligarchy; puppet states
bandwagon
The phenomenon where individuals adopt beliefs or behaviors because others do, often leading to a majority opinion or trend.
Biblical inerrancy
The doctrine asserting that the Bible, in its original manuscripts, is without error in all its teachings, encompassing theology, history, and science
The Big Lie
A propaganda technique involving the repetition of a colossal falsehood to make it accepted as truth; notably used by Adolf Hitler to describe the deceit he attributed to his enemies.
birth control
misogyny
Methods or devices used to prevent pregnancy, enabling individuals to plan if and when to have children.
birtherism
Conspiracy theory started by Donald Trump claiming that Barack Obama wasn't born in the U.S. and thus, ineligible for the presidency
bitcoin
alt-Right
A decentralized digital currency operating without a central authority, utilizing blockchain technology for secure transactions.
Black Codes
white supremacy
Laws enacted in the post-Civil War Southern United States aiming to restrict African Americans' freedom and compel them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt.
black-pilled
A term denoting a pessimistic worldview, often associated with the belief that societal decline is inevitable and irreversible.
BLM
white supremacy
A decentralized social and political movement that began in 2013, aiming to address systemic racism and violence against Black individuals, particularly focusing on issues like police brutality and racial inequality
BLM (Bureau of Land Management)
government
An agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, established in 1946, responsible for administering public lands, primarily in the western United States, overseeing activities such as energy development, livestock grazing, and recreation.
blockchain
alt-Right
Digital ledger of events and transactions that powers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
blood libel
conspiracy theory
A false and anti-Semitic accusation alleging that Jewish people use the blood of Christians, particularly children, in religious rituals.
Blue Checks
psychological warfare
Reference to Twitter's "verified" feature for certain members, who have satisfied the company that they are who they say they are. Originally the feature was meant to identify the official accounts of news sites and reporters, so it has both an association with -- and a legitimate lineage from -- the media industry.
bolt hole
End Times
A type of retreat or refuge for those in the survivalist subculture, to be absconded to in case of disaster or apocalypse (see also: bug-out location).
Brooks Brothers Riot
Sedition Caucus
A coordinated protest by Republican operatives led by notorious dirty trickster Roger Stone on November 22, 2000, aimed at halting the vote recount in Miami-Dade County during the U.S. presidential election, effectively influencing the election outcome
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
white supremacy
Supreme Court decision ordering the desegregation of schools. Resistance to the ruling took the form of "states' rights" advocates, among much else.
bugman
A derogatory term used by some in the New Right to describe liberal men perceived as lacking traditional masculinity and practical life skills.
bug-out location (BOL)
End Times
A predetermined, often remote, refuge selected by survivalists to retreat to in case of emergencies or societal collapse (see also: bolt hole).
Calexit
Sedition Caucus
A movement advocating for California's secession from the United States to form an independent nation, drawing inspiration from Brexit and gaining attention after the 2016 presidential election
Calvinism
The ideology of predestination means you can't do anything to change your fate, but you can *act* like you're saved and that's close enough, to Calvin.
capital gains tax
plutocracy
A tax levied on the profit realized from the sale of a non-inventory asset, such as stocks or real estate, with rates often lower than those for ordinary income, leading to debates over tax equity.
carried-interest tax
A tax provision allowing investment managers to pay capital gains tax rates on their share of profits, rather than higher ordinary income rates, prompting criticism for favoring wealthy investors over average wage earners.
the Cathedral
conspiracy theory
A term used in certain conspiracy theories to describe an alleged alliance of academia, media, and government institutions purportedly working together to promote a unified ideological agenda (see: Curtis Yarvin)
cathexis
A kind of fusion the people of a nation may claim to feel with the fascist leader.
Citizens United
A Supreme Court case that opened the doorway wide to the influence of dark -- i.e. untradeable, not transparent -- money in American politics.
civil society
The sphere of voluntary associations, organizations, and institutions that exist independently of the government and market, facilitating collective action and public discourse.
Civil War
white supremacy
A conflict between factions or regions within a single country, often over political, social, or economic issues; notably, the American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought over primarily slavery.
climate change denialism
The rejection or dismissal of the scientific consensus on the extent and causes of global climate change, often hindering environmental policy and action.
clown world
conspiracy theory
A slang term used to describe a perception of modern society as absurd or illogical, often employed in a derogatory context to criticize contemporary social and political developments
CloudFlare
Big Tech
A company that protects websites from cyberattacks, it dropped support for 8chan after the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso. The shooter had posted his anti-immigrant manifesto on 8chan before the event, another in a series of eerily similar patterned shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand and a San Diego synagogue.
Cluster B
abuse & control
A category in the DSM-5 encompassing personality disorders characterized by dramatic, emotional, or erratic behaviors, including antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders
collective narcissism
abuse & control
A psychological phenomenon where individuals exhibit an inflated, unrealistic belief in the greatness of their in-group, leading to sensitivity to criticism and hostility toward out-groups.
Columbine Massacre
political violence
The April 20, 1999, school shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, where two students killed 13 people and wounded over 20 others before committing suicide, profoundly impacting U.S. discourse on gun control and school safety.
Communism
government
A political and economic ideology advocating for a classless society where the means of production are communally owned, aiming to eliminate private property and achieve equal distribution of resources.
The Confederacy
political violence
The Confederate States of America, a coalition of 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States in 1860–1861, leading to the Civil War, primarily over the issue of slavery.
conscience
An individual's internal sense of right and wrong, guiding moral decisions and ethical behavior.
conspiracy theory
psychological warfare
A belief or explanation suggesting that events or situations are the result of a secret, often sinister, plot by a group of people or organizations, typically lacking credible evidence.
convict leasing
white supremacy
A system, prevalent in the Southern United States after the Civil War, where prisoners were leased to private businesses for labor, effectively perpetuating forced labor and racial oppression.
copperheadism
white supremacy
A citizen of the North who was against the Civil War and favored negotiating a settlement with the South was referred to, pejoratively, as a copperhead.
covert narcissist
psychological warfare
An individual exhibiting narcissistic traits in subtle or concealed ways, often appearing modest or self-effacing while harboring a strong sense of entitlement and a need for admiration.
Critical Race Theory (CRT)
white supremacy
An academic framework that examines how laws and systems perpetuate racial inequalities, emphasizing the role of institutional and structural racism in society.
Critical Theory
conspiracy theory
A philosophical approach originating from the Frankfurt School of ex-pat Germans who had either escaped or survived Nazi Germany, aiming to critique and change society by analyzing power structures, ideologies, and social injustices.
crocodile tears
A term describing insincere or feigned expressions of sorrow, derived from the ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears while consuming their prey.
crying wolf
The act of raising false alarms or exaggerating dangers, leading others to become skeptical of future warnings, based on Aesop's fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."
cultism
The practices and behaviors associated with cults, often involving extreme devotion to a person, idea, or organization, sometimes leading to manipulation or exploitation.
cults
abuse & control
Groups characterized by unorthodox beliefs, intense devotion to a charismatic leader, and practices that may include manipulation, coercion, and isolation from mainstream society.
cultural Marxism
A conspiracy theory alleging that Marxist theorists are subverting Western culture to undermine traditional values, often criticized for its anti-Semitic and far-right origins.
Dark Enlightenment
Also known as neoreaction, a political and philosophical movement rejecting egalitarianism and democracy, advocating for a return to hierarchical and authoritarian governance structures.
Dark MAGA
A fringe movement within the pro-Trump community that embraces authoritarian imagery and rhetoric, often depicted through dystopian and aggressive visuals, advocating for a more radical approach to achieving political goals.
dark money
plutocracy
Political spending by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors, allowing for anonymous influence on elections and policy decisions.
death cult
A pejorative term used to describe groups or ideologies that glorify death or engage in practices leading to mass casualties, often applied to extremist organizations or apocalyptic movements.
deep state
conspiracy theory
A term referring to an alleged clandestine network of non-elected government officials and private entities purported to operate independently of elected leadership, influencing and enacting policy without public oversight
democratic socialism
government
A political ideology advocating for a socialist economy characterized by social or collective ownership of the means of production, integrated within a democratic political system that emphasizes political democracy alongside social ownership
desegregation
white supremacy
The end of segregation between white and Black society in the U.S., ending formally in the 1950s and 60s.
disinformation
psychological warfare
Deliberately false or misleading information spread with the intent to deceive or mislead, often used to manipulate public opinion or obscure the truth.
dispensationalism
A theological framework within Christian eschatology that divides history into distinct periods or "dispensations," each marked by specific divine revelations and covenants between God and humanity.
domestic violence
abuse & control
A pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship used by one partner to gain or maintain control over another intimate partner, encompassing physical, emotional, sexual, or psychological harm.
Doomsday Clock
End Times
A symbolic clock created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, representing the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, with midnight symbolizing the apocalypse; the time is adjusted based on current global threats.
double standard
misogyny
The application of different sets of principles for similar situations, leading to unfair or biased treatment of individuals or groups.
down ballot
government
Refers to political races or issues listed below the top positions on an election ballot, such as local or state offices, which often receive less attention from voters and media.
doxing
abuse & control
The act of publicly revealing an individual's private or personal information without their consent, typically with malicious intent, often leading to harassment or threats.
Drain the Swamp
MAGA
Campaign slogan of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential contest and an ironic political metaphor advocating for the elimination of corruption and entrenched interests within government institutions, signifying reform and transparency; in reality, Trump dramatically increased corruption and self-dealing.
eco-fascist
An individual or ideology that combines environmental concerns with authoritarian, nationalist, or racist beliefs, often advocating for extreme measures to reduce human impact on the environment, sometimes at the expense of marginalized groups.
El Paso Walmart shooting
A mass shooting that occurred on August 3, 2019, in El Paso, Texas, where a gunman killed 23 people and injured 23 others at a Walmart store, targeting Hispanic individuals in what was deemed an act of domestic terrorism.
Emancipation Proclamation
white supremacy
An executive order issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War, declaring the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory, paving the way for the abolition of slavery in the United States.
empathy
The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, fostering compassion and connection by recognizing and appreciating others' emotional experiences.
estate tax
plutocracy
A tax levied on the net value of a deceased person's estate before distribution to heirs, applicable when the estate's value exceeds a certain threshold, and often subject to debate regarding its impact on wealth transfer and economic inequality.
"Eternal Rome"
Ideology positing Russia as a geopolitical bulwark of conservatism against a weak-kneed West (part of Alexander Dugin's reformulation of Eurasianism theory)
ethnic cleansing
exfiltration
cybersecurity
The removal or copying of data from one server to another without the knowledge of the owner
extra-Constitutional
facial recognition
surveillance capitalism
Technology that matches surveillance video and photography with large databases of known subjects' faces to identify them
Fairness Doctrine
1949 FCC policy requiring broadcast networks to present controversial issues important to the public in a non-partisan way, that was repealed under Reagan in 1987.
fake news
disinformation
false flag
Russian
covert operations designed to deceive by appearing as though they are carried out by other entities, groups, or nations than those who actually executed them
fascism
government
fellow travellers
fifth column
fifth world war
Russian
non-linear war; the war of all against all
filibuster
Financial Crimes Enforcement NEtwork (FinCEN)
organized crime
Department within the Treasury that handles and maiontains FBAR filings from US persons holding in excess of $10,000 in foreign banks.
FISA Court
organized crime
FISA warrant
organized crime
fiscal policy
plutocracy
flat earthers
conspiracy theory
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)
psychological warfare
Legal statute requiring those persons lobbying on behalf of a foreign government or other entity to register such with the U.S. government.
foreign bank account report (FBAR)
organized crime
Required disclosure to the US treasury by persons holding in excess of $10,000 in funds in foreign banks.
forensics
law enforcement
forever wars
The Frankfurt School
Freedmen's Bureau
FreedomFest
Conservative evangelical event annually in Las Vegas
Free Speech
free trade
plutocracy
fronto-paralimbic area
Part of the brain associated with empathy, along with the anterior insula
fundamentalism
Gab
alt-Right
GamerGate
alt-Right
genocide
gerrymandering
government
The practice of selecting voter districts based on party registration lines so as to make it easier to control larger blocks of the elctorate.
gift tax
plutocracy
"global cabal"
conspiracy theory
euphemism in far-right Russian discourse to refer to a perceived "Jewish conspiracy" behind the international order of institutions like NATO and the EU
globalists
Grand Jury
16 to 23 people impaneled to hear evidence from a legal prosecution, and decide if said prosecution has a caseworthy set of evidence to bring charges.
Greensboro Massacre
white supremacy
Great Awakening
Great Migration
white supremacy
Great Society
government
greed
Guantanamo
happy talk
Tim Snyder's term for the ubiquitous affect of technology & unquestionable conviction that tech is helping significantly and never harming.
human trafficking
organized crime
hybrid warfare
psychological warfare
hypercapitalism
incel
misogyny
"involuntary celibate" -- a male individual who believes society owes him sex
inflation
plutocracy
information warfare
disinformation
integralist
interest rates
plutocracy
internationalist
conspiracy theory
Another word for "globalist" or "cosmopolitanist," all of them also words for Jewish people
interposition
white supremacy
Dubious theory underpinning the idea of states' rights, which is that individual states have veto power over any laws passed by the federal government
Iran-Contra
iron triangle
A conspiracy between organized criminals, corrupt government officials, and business leaders to turn the state into a kleptocracy -- or "rule by thieves"
Jim Crow South
white supremacy
Johnson Amendment
prosperity gospel
Allowed televangelists to funnel tax-free riches into luxury goods and political advocacy
Karen
white supremacy
kayfabe
The "play pretend" convention of presenting a staged performance as if it were spontaneous and authentic -- a trope of professional wrestling.
kleptocracy
Literally, "rule by thieves" -- a system of government in which the people at the top steal wealth from the nation and its people for themselves and their cronies.
Kochtopus
plutocracy
Term for the sprawling political machinery of the Kansas-based billionaire Koch Industries inheritees, Charles and David.
kompromat
Russian
compromising material on a head of state or other important figure; typically used for blackmail purposes
lamestream media
alt-Right
late Republican period
A way of stating a common belief on the New Right, that America is a kind of late-stage Rome awaiting its Caesar
leaderless resistance
liberalism
government
Political and ethical framework based on individual liberty via human rights and equal protection
libertines
literacy tests
lobbying
government
"Lock her up!"
MAGA
Chant led by Mike Flynn at the RNC in 2016, referring to Hillary Clinton's email scandal which turned out to be a nothingburger
Logan Act
government
Lost Cause religion
conspiracy theory
After the Civil War, the Confederates never accepted defeat. Instead, they wove a noble victim mythology into white southern Christianity, in an attempt to memory hole the terrorism they'd wrought -- and wished to continue practicing without scrutiny or accountability, thank you very much.
lynching
white supremacy
Extrajudicial murder, sometimes publicly, of Black men and women -- often for invented crimes
Machiavellian
machine learning
Big Tech
Mafia state
organized crime
A systematic corruption of government by organized crime syndicates.
MAGA
MAGA
"Make America Great Again" -- one of Donald Trump's campaign slogans.
malignant envy
psychological warfare
malignant narcissism
abuse & control
"man code"
Mentioned by Raffensberger in relation to the Trump extortion call: that if Trump hadn't lied about it in public, he might not have released the tape, just chalking it up to "private criminal attempts between two men" aka "man code"
manosphere
misogyny
Marxism
government
the matrix
mental predation
abuse & control
#MeToo
misogyny
microaggressions
micropenis
misogyny
micro-propaganda machine
The “micro-propaganda machine” (MPM) — an influence network that can tailor people’s opinions, emotional reactions, and create “viral” sharing episodes around what should be serious or contemplative issues
millennarianism
conspiracy theory
minority rule
mirror neurons
misogyny
misogyny
MK Ultra
Reportedly a CIA program in the 50s that conducted research into mind control and brainwashing -- its findings were apparently so shocking that the program was shut down and never heard from again.
money laundering
organized crime
Attempts and processes to obscure the sources of funds moving into or through a system
multiculturalism
narcissism
abuse & control
narcissistic collusion
abuse & control
natality
Hannah Arendt's term, and her most hopefuly theory for the future of humankind -- that it will continually be renewed by the literal birth of new generations of humans to reinterpret the human condition and our existence in the world.
national debt
plutocracy
national deficit
plutocracy
national security
NDA
Non-disclosure agreement
negging
abuse & control
neomania
obsession with the new -- a hallmark of American culture
neo-reactionaries
New Deal
government
New Jim Crow
white supremacy
New Right
non-linear warfare
Russian
normalcy bias
novichok
Russian
military-grade nerve agent developed by Russia and used in the poisoning of former FSB agent turned Putin critic Andrei Skripal and his daughter in Lonson in March, 2018
nullification
white supremacy
NRx
neo-Reactionary, an extremist techophilic ideology popular on the right
obstruction
Oklahoma City bombing
oligarchy
plutocracy
one-party state
government
open source intelligence
intelligence
oppo
intelligence
short form of opposition research
outrage industry
surveillance capitalism
PAC
Palantir
surveillance capitalism
paralipsis
disinformation
A rhetorical device in which the speaker feigns ignorance of the thing he or she is saying; "Saying / not saying" -- it offers a thin veneer of plausible deniability in a naked attempt to escape accountabilitty for saying exactly that.
paralogic
psychological warfare
paranoia
Extreme fear to the point of (or beyond) psychological pathology.
pathocracy
organized crime
patriarchy
misogyny
peculiar institution
white supremacy
slavery
peonage
white supremacy
plausible deniability
organized crime
Plessy v. Ferguson
government
1896
plutocracy
government
Political rule by the rich.
political correctness
poll tax
ponerology
The study of evil
populism
government
post-leftist
postmodernism
disinformation
post-truth
disinformation
Potemkin village
government
Any structure or facade built expressly for the purpose of making the situation appear more favorable than it really is
Powell Memo
plutocracy
Lewis Powell's 1970s memo to the wealthy white male elite, in anger over the crackdown against tobacco companies, as a call to arms to organize politically against "anti-capitalist" forces
PR
abuse & control
public relations
previous question rule
A parliamentary rule present in the initial decades of the Senate, borrowed from British law, that allowed the majority proponents of a bill or measure to call an end to debate about the provision with a short warning period of usually about 5 minutes.
Progressive Era
government
propaganda
abuse & control
prosperity gospel
prosocial behavior
psychopath
abuse & control
psyops
Russian
Psychological operations
PUA
misogyny
"Pick Up Artist" -- a self-styled lothario who helps train other would-be casanovas in his ways of manipulative charm
Pulse Nightclub shooting
race riots
white supremacy
race war
white supremacy
The goal of the accelerationist neo-Nazi idealogues is to start a race war and bring down the American government
RAGE
abuse & control
Retire All Government Employees
rape culture
misogyny
Reagonomics
conspiracy theory
the "real economy"
conspiracy theory
What folks on the New Right consider legitimate parts of the American economy: farm and factory jobs that used to sustain a middle-class income
Reddit
Big Tech
the regime
conspiracy theory
regression
repression
retweet
Big Tech
When a Twitter user amplifies the tweet of another, by "retweeting" it out to her or his network
RICO
Right anterior insular cortex
Part of the brain associated with empathy; psychopaths have a deficit here
right-wing authoritarian
government
Roe v. Wade
Ruby Ridge
white supremacy
running out the clock
RWDS
paramilitary
Right-wing Death Squads -- an acronym used by Proud Boys and worn as patches by some members and branches
sadism
abuse & control
sadopopulism
government
Sandy Hook school shooting
abuse & control
savior complex
Like the arsonist who sets the fire and then calls it in to play the hero, right-wingers with the savior complex are constantly holding up the sky as the Evil Democrats try to destroy everything good and holy -- and they want CREDIT for it, dammit!
Second Wave Feminism
misogyny
Section 230
Big Tech
senicide
sexual assault
misogyny
sexual harassment
misogyny
shadow profiles
surveillance capitalism
Data that Facebook collects on people who are not members of Facebook, via association with their friends who are
sharecropping
abuse & control
shared reality
show trials
Russian
Signal
Big Tech
encrypted messaging app
Silicon Reich
sit-ins
Nonviolent demonstration method used heavily in the 1960s
SJW
white supremacy
Social Justice Warriors -- used as a pejorative by the alt-Right
socialism
government
sociopathy
abuse & control
sockpuppet accounts
disinformation
Fake social media accounts used by trolls for deceptive and covert actions, avoiding culpability for abuse, aggression, death threats, doxxing, and other criminal acts against targets.
SMS
Big Tech
texting
special interest groups
government
spearphishing
cybersecurity
An email designed to appear as if from a trusted source, to solicit information that allows the sender to gain access to an account or network, or installs malware that later enables the sender to gain access to an account or network
spite voter
government
stand your ground
stochastic terrorism
paramilitary
suffrage
government
The right to vote, sometimes referred to as "the franchise."
SuperPAC
government
supremacy
surveillance capitalism
surveillance state
abuse & control
swatting
alt-Right
hoaxed reports to emergency services intended to provoke a SWAT team response at the target's home; a form of Internet-based attack used by Gamergate, the alt-Right, and other groups and individuals
symbiosis
symbolic violence
tax avoidance
plutocracy
tax fraud
organized crime
tax havens
plutocracy
Third Wave Feminism
misogyny
totalism
psychological warfare
total war
Russian
trial balloon
psychological warfare
Information put out or leaked to the media to gauge public reaction.
trickle-down economics
conspiracy theory
truth decay
conspiracy theory
The Turner Diaries
white supremacy
Tulsa Race Massacre
white supremacy
A mob of murderous whites descended on the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, dubbed Black Wall Street, and razed it to the ground. They dropped homemade bombs in the first ever domestic aerial attack on American soil. Over three hundred Blacks were murdered and hastily buried or burned. Police and other state officials were complicit; no one was ever charged for the crimes and insurance companies refused to honor Black business owner's claims from the destruction of their livelihood and senseless slaughter of their friends, families, and community.
Twitter
Big Tech
Uberman
unmasking
cybersecurity
Intelligence protocol redacting American identities from transcripts of foreign intercepts
vast right-wing conspiracy
volcel
Voting Rights Act
white supremacy
Waco, TX
paramilitary
wag the dog
abuse & control
wage gap
misogyny
war crimes
Watergate
watering hole
cybersecurity
hacker attacks that infect entire websites
whataboutism
Russian
Classic debate tactic of old Soviet apologists to deflect criticism of Soviet policy; whenever an American would levy a critique, the response would be, "What about the bad things America does?"
white collar crime
organized crime
white nationalism
white supremacy
women's liberation
misogyny
word salad
World War I
WWI gave job opportunities to blacks in the North, causing a great migration -- as well as a backlash and resistance from Southern law enforcement.
World War II
Yes California
Movement to secede from the US entirely, run by Marcus Ruiz Evans, Louis J. Marinelli
A Big Lie refers to a propaganda technique that involves repeating a falsehood or exaggeration so frequently and convincingly that people begin to accept it as truth. The term was popularized by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf, where he wrote that propaganda must be based on a “big lie” because people are counterintuitively more likely to believe a colossal falsehood than a small one because of its sheer audacity.
The technique of the Big Lie is often used by authoritarian leaders, political parties, and movements to manipulate public opinion and gain power. It relies on the psychological phenomenon known as the “illusory truth effect,” which suggests that people are more likely to believe something if they hear it repeatedly. Ironically, even a debunking of the Big Lie can contribute to the illusory truth effect by keeping the content of the falsehood top of mind in the eye of the believer.
The danger of the Big Lie is that it can lead to widespread disinformation, polarization and hyper partisanship, and even violence. It is essential to fact-check claims and resist the impulse to accept information at face value. Instead, critical thinking, fact-checking, and seeking out multiple sources of information can help individuals and society avoid falling prey to the Big Lie.
The following table is a compendium of GOP Big Lies known so far.
Myth
Definition
"Antifa did it"
This is a pre-planned "reusable" false narrative for right-wing extremist actions. It's a ready-made "false false flag" conspiracy for repeated deployment as white supremacists and homegrown extremists ratchet up the level of political violence.
"government overreach"
When Democrats pass a law that Republicans don't like
"Makers and takers"
A cynical narrative that splits society into "productive" and "dependent" classes, casting essential public support as a parasitic burden — while conveniently ignoring the subsidies that keep powerful corporations in business.
"National security party"
Self-proclaimed guardians of national defense, the GOP often prioritize partisan agendas over genuine security concerns, blurring the lines between safeguarding Americans and scoring political points.
"Quality" of votes
By emphasizing “quality” over “quantity” in voting, the GOP taps into thinly veiled elitism, subtly endorsing the restriction of voting access to groups who may not support their power hold.
2nd Amendment
The GOP’s devotion to the Second Amendment borders on the sacred, promoting unrestricted access to firearms in the name of "freedom" while dismissing the deadly toll of gun violence as a necessary cost.
2000 Mules
2000 Mules is a discredited conspiracy theory film by right-wing activist Dinesh D’Souza that falsely claims a vast network of "ballot mules" engaged in widespread voter fraud to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The film's claims rely on misleading interpretations of geolocation data and have been thoroughly debunked by election officials, fact-checkers, and independent experts.
Abu Ghraib
The torture and abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison showed how the GOP’s post-9/11 policies spiraled out of control, ultimately staining America's global reputation in the name of a warped version of patriotism.
American Dream
They inverted it away from a sense of social justice and equal opportunity (self-governance) to simply embody the venal pursuit of money.
America First
Invoked by right-wing propaganda campaigns over the past century, starting with Charles Lindbergh in 1939 through to Reagan (1980s), and again with lazy plagiarizing Donnie
American Exceptionalism
A relentless insistence on America's supposed moral superiority, this myth ignores deep-rooted systemic issues and serves as a deflection tactic to dismiss legitimate critiques — because nothing says "exceptional" like refusing to self-reflect.
Anti-gay
Masked as “family values,” GOP rhetoric often undermines LGBTQ+ rights, framing queer Americans as cultural threats while stoking a narrative of moral panic that distracts from genuine issues of equality.
Anti-immigrant
By painting immigrants as scapegoats for economic and social ills, the GOP has turned a nation of immigrants against itself, relying on fearmongering rather than addressing the root causes of immigration.
Anti-Tax
A knee-jerk opposition to taxes serves as the GOP's rallying cry, despite relying on the very social systems taxes support — a contradiction often buried under rhetoric of “liberty” and “small government.”
Be Best
Melania Trump's so-called anti-bullying initiative provided a hollow public image for an administration that thrived on divisive rhetoric, exposing the emptiness of performative kindness undercut by the reality of inflammatory policies.
Black and white thinking
GOP messaging favors oversimplified “us versus them” narratives, reducing complex social issues to crude binaries that stoke outrage, sidestepping nuanced policy discussion to breed tribalism and division.
Blacks are commies
An outdated, racially-charged trope, this smear invokes anti-communist hysteria to demonize Black political activism, relying on fear and racism to dismiss any push for equality as a “threat” to the American status quo.
Cancel culture
A rallying cry against accountability, "cancel culture" has become a GOP catch-all for criticism, conflating consequences with censorship to defend offensive rhetoric and shield high-profile figures from scrutiny.
Christian nationalism
Cloaked in patriotism, Christian nationalism seeks to merge religious and political identity, positioning one faith as the cornerstone of American identity while undermining the separation of church and state.
Cities are bad
GOP rhetoric frequently demonizes urban areas as crime-ridden wastelands, reinforcing class and racial divides while ignoring cities' economic contributions and the diverse lives and communities they house.
Climate change is a hoax
Labeling climate change as “fake news” dismisses overwhelming scientific evidence, allowing the GOP to sidestep environmental responsibility while protecting fossil fuel interests over global health.
Coastal elites
A classic strawman, "coastal elites" are cast as out-of-touch adversaries of "real America," fanning division while distracting from policy issues affecting everyday lives across the country.
Communists
Any left-leaning policy or social progressivism is denounced as “communist” to trigger Cold War fears, as the GOP weaponizes this loaded term to shut down discussions on equity and social reform.
Confederate statues
Defending Confederate statues under the guise of “heritage” ignores the painful legacy of slavery and oppression these symbols represent, perpetuating a sanitized version of history that glosses over systemic racism.
Conscience voters
Dismissed as disloyal by the GOP, "conscience voters" are cast as obstacles rather than principled citizens, downplaying the importance of voting based on integrity, ethics, and democratic values.
Corporate liberals
The GOP paints "corporate liberals" as hypocritical elites more interested in profits than principles, wielding this label to deflect from their own corporate ties while portraying the left as disconnected from "real" Americans.
Covid is a hoax; covid is overblown
By dismissing COVID-19 as either nonexistent or exaggerated, the GOP stoked dangerous misinformation, downplaying a global health crisis that required collective action for the sake of short-term political gain.
Covid is no big deal
Framing COVID-19 as minor trivialized the virus’s severe health impacts, a tactic that encouraged disregard for safety measures and contributed to preventable illness and loss, all in the name of “freedom.”
Crime
GOP messaging inflates crime rates in an effort to spark fear and justify “law and order” crackdowns, often targeting urban areas and minority communities to stoke racial and class anxieties.
crisis actor
Dismissing tragedy survivors as “crisis actors” has become a tactic to discredit those advocating for change, a cruel narrative that undermines empathy and dismisses firsthand accounts as part of a conspiratorial plot.
Critical Race Theory
A recent GOP boogeyman, Critical Race Theory is misrepresented as an attempt to “divide” America, redirecting attention from real racial inequities by framing academic discussions as ideological threats.
Cry more, lib
A favorite GOP taunt, "cry more, lib" embodies an anti-empathetic, combative stance that prioritizes “owning the libs” over constructive dialogue, turning polarization into an entertainment sport.
Democrats are Satanic
Conspiratorial fearmongering at its peak, branding Democrats as "satanic" plays on religious anxieties and paints political opponents as morally depraved rather than simply ideologically opposed.
Drain the Swamp
Rather than rid Washington of its layers of corrupt supplicants as he had promised on the campaign trail, he invited all of his cronies in to benefit from the greatest expansion of corrupt graft under any President we know of thus far.
Economic superiority
The GOP often touts its economic policies as inherently superior, claiming to champion “free markets” while endorsing tax cuts and deregulation that benefit the wealthiest at the expense of average Americans.
Election integrity
Cloaked in concern for “election integrity,” this rhetoric is frequently code for voter suppression, sowing doubt in democratic systems under the guise of preventing fraud that is statistically negligible.
elites should rule others
Though they publicly denounce “elites,” the GOP has long relied on an entrenched hierarchy where wealthy insiders set policy, tacitly endorsing a class structure that keeps power in privileged hands.
Elite resentment
By stoking resentment toward "elites," the GOP strategically channels legitimate frustrations into distrust of institutions, framing experts as adversaries to push an anti-intellectual, populist agenda.
Enemy of the people
Borrowed from authoritarian playbooks, calling the media the “enemy of the people” undermines journalism’s role in holding power accountable, fostering public distrust in factual reporting while insulating the party from critique.
Flawed savior
GOP leaders often frame their candidates as “flawed saviors,” humanizing their shortcomings as “authentic” while expecting voters to overlook misdeeds under the pretense of fighting a “greater evil.”
Free speech
The GOP champions “free speech” as a shield for offensive rhetoric, selectively defending it to legitimize hate and conspiracy while casting opponents’ criticism as censorship.
Freedom of religion
Under the banner of “religious freedom,” the GOP has promoted policies that privilege Christian beliefs, framing inclusivity as a threat and sidelining the rights of non-Christians and secular Americans.
George Soros
Hungarian billionaire whose liberal politics irritate Vladimir Putin. Cast as a shadowy puppet master, George Soros has become the GOP’s favorite boogeyman, allowing them to funnel fears of globalism and liberal influence into a single, often antisemitic, scapegoat for everything they oppose.
Government is the enemy
By branding government as the enemy, the GOP promotes a “small government” narrative that frames public institutions as inherently oppressive, ignoring the role of government in providing essential services that benefit all citizens.
Government spending
The GOP’s criticism of “government spending” rarely applies to military or corporate subsidies; instead, they use it to vilify social programs, pushing a selective austerity that prioritizes profit over public welfare.
Great Man theory
Embraced by the GOP to justify outsized authority, the Great Man theory glorifies “strong leaders” as irreplaceable forces of change, ignoring the systemic contributions of everyday people and fostering a culture of authoritarian admiration.
Guantanamo Bay
Once heralded as a necessary response to terrorism, Guantanamo Bay remains a symbol of human rights abuses and unchecked government power, its continued existence a stain on America’s reputation and a testament to a decade of bipartisan moral compromise.
Heroic redeemer
The GOP often casts its figureheads as “heroic redeemers,” saviors of American values who will “restore” the nation, a narrative that overlooks their own policy failings and breeds an unquestioning devotion to the leader over democratic principles.
Hollywood
Part of an "excuse framework" to ignore or dismiss something, by smearing it with vague "Hollywoodness." A cue to tune out and discredit the source. Prominent in the Qanon ideology.
Identity politics
The GOP decries identity politics as divisive, dismissing the legitimate pursuit of marginalized groups’ rights as “playing victim,” all while promoting their own forms of identity-based rhetoric tied to nationalism and traditional values.
Insults
Rather than engaging in substantive debate, GOP discourse increasingly leans on insults and ad hominem attacks, a tactic that lowers the bar for political discourse while energizing a base attracted to combative rhetoric.
Jim Crow
Modern GOP policies echo Jim Crow tactics in their approach to voting rights and policing, subtly reinforcing racial hierarchies through “law and order” rhetoric and voter ID laws that disproportionately impact minority communities.
Job creators
Framed as economic heroes, “job creators” are often just wealthy corporations and CEOs receiving tax breaks, with the GOP perpetuating this myth to justify policies that favor the richest while sidelining workers' rights and fair wages.
Kyle Rittenhouse deification
Rittenhouse has been elevated as a GOP folk hero, a troubling symbol that valorizes vigilantism and extreme interpretations of self-defense laws while casting violent actions as “patriotic.”
Law and order
The GOP’s “law and order” mantra prioritizes punishment over justice, often targeting marginalized communities and framing police authority as infallible, even as it dismisses accountability for law enforcement abuses.
Leftist apocalypse
GOP rhetoric about a “leftist apocalypse” is designed to incite fear, painting progressive policies as dystopian threats to freedom while diverting attention from their own regressive agendas.
Liberals
“Liberal” has become a GOP catch-all slur, evoking disdain for progressive values and framing anyone left of center as a radical, promoting tribalism over thoughtful discourse on policy differences.
Lost Cause
An American mythology manufactured after the Civil War by the Confederates, to soothe their wounds from the loss and whitewash the role of slavery in fomenting their sedition. In the Reconstruction era and beyond, the retcon held that "states' rights" had animated the southern states to secede from the union when in fact, the bitter contest had been inarguably about whether or not the peculiar institution was to continue in the new nation.
MAGA
More than a slogan, “Make America Great Again” has become a rallying cry for a brand of nationalism that idealizes a past rife with exclusion and inequality, often as a coded appeal to reverse social progress under the guise of patriotism.
Marxism
GOP discourse uses “Marxism” as a catch-all for any progressive policy, conflating social welfare and economic regulation with authoritarianism, and fanning fears that equity is a slippery slope to state control.
minority rule
By leveraging mechanisms like gerrymandering and the electoral college, the GOP has solidified a power structure that enables them to hold influence even without majority support, subverting democratic norms to preserve a shrinking voter base.
Mueller Report
Originally heralded as a potential political reckoning, the Mueller Report was quickly undermined by the GOP as “partisan overreach,” minimizing credible findings to cast the investigation as a witch hunt rather than a check on foreign influence.
Muzzled
The GOP often claims they are “muzzled” by media and tech, positioning themselves as victims of censorship while using the supposed suppression to bolster a narrative that mainstream platforms are hostile to conservative voices.
National debt
Suddenly out of nowhere (aka, when a Democrat comes to town), the national debt is a pressing problem. The GOP selectively decries the national debt to criticize social spending, yet they rarely extend this scrutiny to defense budgets or tax cuts for the wealthy, using debt concerns to mask their true fiscal priorities.
Nostalgia
GOP rhetoric often hinges on nostalgia for a “simpler time,” romanticizing a selective history that erases social struggles, casting the past as a lost ideal in order to resist modern demands for inclusion and justice.
Personal responsibility
The GOP promotes “personal responsibility” as a rationale to dismantle social safety nets, shifting the burden of systemic issues onto individuals and minimizing the need for collective solutions to inequality.
Poll taxes
Modern GOP voter restrictions echo the discriminatory legacy of poll taxes, targeting marginalized groups under the guise of “election security” to limit access to the ballot for those unlikely to support conservative candidates.
Pro-life
“Pro-life” rhetoric is selectively applied to abortion by the GOP, often ignoring broader life-affirming policies like healthcare and social support that ensure quality of life, reducing complex issues to a single, polarizing stance.
QAnon
Once fringe, QAnon’s conspiratorial beliefs have been embraced by some in the mainstream GOP, spreading dangerous misinformation and fostering a distrust in democratic institutions by framing political opponents as part of a hidden, sinister elite.
Racism
GOP rhetoric often denies systemic racism, framing the issue as either exaggerated or solved, dismissing discussions on race as divisive “identity politics” and obstructing efforts toward equity and reform.
Reaganomics
The GOP continues to champion Reaganomics, despite decades of evidence that trickle-down policies have widened inequality, promoting tax cuts for the wealthy as an unquestioned formula for prosperity that largely benefits the elite.
Refuse to recognize the legitimacy of one's opponent
The GOP’s growing refusal to accept opponents’ legitimacy fuels a dangerous precedent of distrust in democratic processes, painting opposition victories as fraudulent rather than respecting the will of the electorate.
Religious freedom
Under the guise of “religious freedom,” the GOP champions policies that often privilege Christian beliefs over others, using faith as a shield to justify discrimination and exclude non-Christian communities from equal rights.
Run the country like a business
The GOP’s push to “run the country like a business” favors profit over people, promoting efficiency at the expense of social welfare and ignoring the unique role of government in safeguarding public well-being over private gain.
Sadism
GOP rhetoric and policies sometimes border on sadistic, reveling in punitive measures that target vulnerable groups, from restricting social services to celebrating harsh sentencing, with cruelty often spun as “tough love.”
silent majority
Invoking the “silent majority” allows the GOP to claim moral high ground for their agenda, positioning themselves as the voice of “real” Americans while dismissing progressive movements as fringe or unrepresentative.
small government
The GOP mantra of “small government” selectively shrinks programs that benefit the public, while expanding government’s reach in areas like policing, reproductive rights, and military spending, revealing a selective interpretation of freedom.
Social Justice Warriors
Dismissed as “Social Justice Warriors,” those who advocate for equality and reform are mocked by the GOP as overly sensitive or “woke,” reframing calls for justice as extremist demands in an effort to downplay systemic issues.
Socialism
Used as a GOP scare word, “socialism” encompasses everything from universal healthcare to progressive taxation, stoking Cold War-era fears to oppose any policy that might threaten corporate interests or reduce inequality.
States' rights
The GOP’s rallying cry of “states' rights” often justifies undermining federal protections, especially on issues like voting and civil rights, rehashing a states-versus-federal government narrative long used to resist progress.
The Big Lie
Propelled by the GOP, “The Big Lie” insists that the 2020 election was stolen, a baseless claim that undermines faith in democratic institutions and sets the stage for voter suppression efforts under the guise of so-called “election integrity.”
The Civil War wasn't about slavery
Reframing the Civil War as a conflict over “states' rights” sanitizes history, obscuring the central role of slavery and excusing the Confederacy’s legacy, which the GOP uses to appeal to certain voter bases.
The New Deal was bad for America
The GOP derides the New Deal as government overreach, ignoring its role in lifting the U.S. out of the Great Depression to push a narrative that prioritizes “free markets” over social welfare programs.
The Swamp
The GOP paints Washington as “the swamp” to capitalize on anti-establishment sentiment, yet often fills positions with insiders and lobbyists, exposing “drain the swamp” as a hollow slogan.
Trickle down economics
Despite decades of evidence showing it widens wealth gaps, the GOP clings to trickle-down economics, framing tax cuts for the wealthy as a benefit to all when, in reality, the wealth rarely “trickles down” to everyday Americans.
Trump "says it like it is"
This GOP defense casts Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric as “honesty,” portraying offensive comments as unfiltered truth rather than harmful language, allowing supporters to celebrate incivility as “authenticity.”
Uberman
Embracing a Nietzschean “uberman” ideal, some in the GOP glorify “strongmen” who embody unyielding authority, justifying authoritarian tendencies as a sign of strength while downplaying the need for democratic accountability.
Venezuela
The GOP uses Venezuela as a cautionary tale for any left-leaning policy, equating social welfare with economic collapse to stir fears of “socialist” policies that threaten American prosperity.
Voting is a privilege, not a right
Framing voting as a privilege, rather than a right, enables the GOP to justify restrictive policies that limit access, aiming to make the ballot box less accessible to certain demographics.
War on Christmas
The perennial “War on Christmas” narrative stokes cultural division by framing inclusive holiday practices as an attack on Christian traditions, positioning the GOP as defenders of religious heritage in a battle that barely exists.
Warmongers
While the GOP often presents itself as “pro-military,” critics see some members as warmongers, eager to engage in conflicts that benefit defense contractors and geopolitical power, sometimes at the cost of lives and diplomacy.
Welfare queens
Reviving Reagan-era rhetoric, “welfare queens” is a thinly veiled racist trope that paints those who need social assistance as cheats, justifying cuts to social programs under the guise of “fiscal responsibility.”
WMDs
The infamous “weapons of mass destruction” justification for the Iraq War became a hallmark of GOP-led misinformation, fueling a conflict on misleading grounds and setting a precedent for policy based on manufactured threats.
Blood libel is a very old anti-Semitic myth that has stubbornly persisted for centuries, one of several conspiracy theories that have scapegoating the Jewish people for all of society’s ills at their core. The heart of the false claim is that Jews murder non-Jewish (or Gentile) children to use their blood for apocryphal religious rituals, during Passover and other prominent Jewish holidays.
Originating from a series of stereotypes about Jews amassed through the ages, blood libel is also intimately related to the global cabal conspiracy theory and was heavily used in Nazi ideology to justify the horrors of the Holocaust. Somewhat ironically, the Nazis claimed that the Jewish people were inherently violent and murderous — and used this baseless claim as justification of their own systematic program of violence and murder of over 6 million Jewish people in Germany during the 1930s and 40s.
The outlandish claims of blood libel have been thoroughly and repeatedly debunked by scholars, historians, anthropologists, psychologists, and an armada of dedicated truth-tellers — yet the stickiness of the myth persists, even after the consequences of this toxic belief system of antisemitism became apparent during World War II. Today, the blood libel myth has been given new life in the modern revision known as the QAnon conspiracy theory — a movement which contains elements of blood libel, global cabal theory, and a hodge podge of other fantastical and fanatical belief systems that have hooked gullible populations throughout history.
It’s also no accident this whole Twitter takeover drama is happening just before the mid-terms. The right-wing needs to inject some juice into the splintering base, some of whom are wavering as the actual (intentionally) obscured vision of the GOP leaks out (i.e. destroy government altogether).
The Founders meant for the republic to be agile in philosophy — always changing to meet the new demands of the next generations. They meant for us to be self-governing, and empowered to create policy for problem-solving in new eras they themselves could not even conceive of. Thomas Jefferson wrote forewarningly of the Dead Hand of the Past and how critical it would be to not remain trapped by it. The Founders were agile not in the sense of software development (obviously!), but in the same spirit: they embraced responding to change over following a plan, and in continuously uncovering ways to develop a more perfect union.
Conservative ideology on the other hand — and in particular, Originalism — flouts the actual intentions of the Framers while cloaking itself in nationalist symbology. It tries to claim that our modern hands are tied by the dead ones of the past. The Originalist doctrine currently holding sway at The Supreme Court, The Federalist Society, and the majority of right-wing judiciary maintains that the best we can do is peer feebly into the distant past and try our best to squeeze ourselves into the minds of the men who inked our Constitution some 235 years ago.
The Founders wrote things. A lot of things.
Leaving aside for a moment the impracticality of that theory as an actual practice of interpreting the law, some consideration of materials on hand shows us that we needn’t go to all that trouble in the first place — why? Because the Founders left a lot of writings behind about exactly what they meant, and the principles they were thinking about, at the time of the nation’s founding and the drafting of our Constitution.
Great Replacement Theory is a conspiracy theory animating the radical right wing that claims non-white immigrants are being brought to the U.S. and the west to “replace” white voters with their woke political and cultural agenda. Those who believe this white supremacist ideology see routine immigration policy as a white genocide and extinction of the white race. They also point to low birth rates among white europeans and the promotion of multiculturalism, or “wokeness,” as responsible for the alleged effects.
The term “Great Replacement” was popularized by French writer Renaud Camus in his 2011 book “Le Grand Remplacement.” According to Camus, the alleged replacement is a result of the European elites intentionally allowing mass immigration and promoting multiculturalism to undermine national identity and traditional Western culture.
The Great Replacement Theory has been widely discredited and criticized by experts, as it is based on misinformation, selective data, and biased interpretations. It is important to note that this theory often fuels xenophobia, bigotry, racism, and anti-immigrant sentiments, and has been linked to a number of far-right extremist attacks worldwide.
Demographic changes in Western countries are driven by a complex interplay of factors such as economic migration, political instability, globalization, and changing birth rates. These factors are not part of any orchestrated plot, but rather reflect broader social, economic, and political trends. Unfortunately, it’s in the interest of the right-wing to keep its rabid base riled up — and the Great Replacement Theory conspiracy is an effective tool for generating anger and injecting vitriol into the broader political discourse.
Conservative ideology has gotten more and more extreme over the past few decades — as well as being mainstreamed within the Republican Party. Formerly moderate Republicans are referred to as “RINOs” (Republican In Name Only) and are being pushed out of the party, whether by primary defeat or ostracism by the right-wing base.
Only those who pass the utmost purity tests are allowed to remain amid, and especially atop of, the right-wing political establishment in recent years. They persist in holding some truly debunked, thoroughly delusional “explanations” for phenomena in the real world.
Originalism — the idea that we cannot fundamentally make new laws; that all we can do is peer into the past and try to imagine the original intent of the Founders when writing the Constitution
Independent State Legislature Theory — so-called “states’ rights” by another name, taken to a more extreme twist in which only the state legislature — unchecked by executive power or judicial review — can have any say in the state’s election procedures
Meanwhile Bob has made The Authoritarians available free of charge here, and I absolutely encourage you to read it — it’s fascinating stuff and he’s an entertaining as well as informative writer. In this post I’ll do my best to summarize the main points of the book, because I know people are busy and not everyone has time to read a whole book much less scrape together hours to volunteer and do activist work.
Bob Altemeyer The Authoritarians
Dr. Altemeyer defines authoritarianism as “something authoritarian followers and authoritarian leaders cook up between themselves.” Followers submit blindly to the leaders and give them too much free rein to do anti-democratic, brutal, and tyrannical things. Power corrupts absolutely, and power seems to corrupt authoritarians most of all.
He classifies the authoritarians into three primary groups:
Authoritarian followers — typically this group follows the established authorities in their society, including government officials, clergy and traditional religious leaders, business leaders, and self-appointed gurus of all stripes. They tend to have a “Daddy and Mommy know best” approach to the government, believing that authorities are above the law. Psychologically, authoritarian followers exhibit a high degree of submission to authorities they accept as legitimate, high levels of aggression in the name of those authorities (if so called upon), and a high degree of conventionalism and conformity. They tend to be bigots, with prejudices against many types of groups.
Authoritarian leaders — tend to be Social Dominators, who long to control people and affect others’ lives. They are overall highly prejudiced and bigoted, do not believe in the American value of equality, and feel justified in wielding great power over society with little qualification and even less self-reflection. They believe the world is divided into wolves and sheep, and they have no qualms fooling the sheep into opening the pasture gate so they can eat. “Might makes right” is their personal motto.
Double Highs — about 10% of any given sample score highly on both the social dominance test and the right-wing authoritarian scale, which is odd given the social dominator’s otherwise reluctance to be submissive. They exhibit extra prejudice and extra hostility — beyond either the social dominators or the RWAs. They tend to be the “religious” social dominators, who had a fundamentalist upbringing, or had a conversion experience as an adult (George W. Bush, e.g.) and now tend to believe in some form of Strict Father Morality.
More traits of authoritarian followers
They tend to feel more endangered in potentially threatening situations that most people do (think: Dick Cheney‘s descent into bunker mentality after 9/11)
More afraid than most people; they tend to have overactive amygdalas
Were raised by their parents to be afraid of others — both parents and children have told researchers so
More likely to issue threats than low authoritarians
Most orthodox — were raised fundamentalist and are highly repressed
Most hardline
Believe “whatever I want is right”
Paradoxically, want to “be normal” very badly — they tend to get tugged by the people around them
Authoritarian aggression
Authoritarians prefer not to have fair fights out in the open — they tend to aggress when they believe their hostility is welcomed by established authority, or supports established authority. They also often aggress when they have an obvious physical advantage over the target — making women, children, and others unable to defend themselves as ideal targets. These cowards have the gall to feel morally superior to the innocent victims they assault in an ongoing asymmetrical warfare between supremacists and marginalized groups.
To make matters worse, authoritarians do their dirty deeds in the shadows and scream bloody murder at anyone who dares try and expose their dark secrets to the light. Their theatrical and performative self-righteousness is just an act to avoid accountability and responsibility for what they do — even unto themselves.
Moreover, authoritarians are extra punitive against lawbreakers they don’t like (though exceedingly permissive for lawbreakers they *do* like, which is infuriatingly hypocritical), because they believe fervently in the value of punishment. Many advocate child corporal punishment — spanking and worse — for children as young as 1 year old. Authoritarian followers tended to report feelings of “secret pleasure” when hearing of the misfortunes of high school classmates who had misbehaved, believing they got what they deserved in life.
It would be accurate to think of authoritarians as “little volcanoes of hostility,” almost heat-seeking their way into authority-approved ways to erupt and release their pent-up anger. Many of them do not, and will not ever realize that their fundamentalist upbringing has sadly left their brains underdeveloped, and ill-equipped to navigate the modern world with its rapid changes, accelerating inequality, advancing climate change, and political instability.
Lethal Union
When a social dominator becomes an authoritarian leader, and leads his authoritarian followers down malevolent roads from informing to threatening to vigilanteism, researchers refer to this state of affairs as a “lethal union.” It’s a highly dangerous and volatile time for a democracy, one warranting caution and vigilance from concerned citizens.
Throughout history, these are the situations that tend to devolve further into aggression, political violence, civil war, genocide, and worse. We need to be very damn careful about who we elect as our leaders — we cannot allow our government to be captured by special interests and the narrow, quixotic delusions of old billionaires outshining daddy and staving off death.
More books about authoritarians
If you’ve already read Bob Altemeyer The Authoritarians, or you’re just looking for more resources on authoritarianism — here’s a list to get started:
Somewhere deep in the bowels of conservative think tanks a casual priesthood of suits is milling about and intoning the scripted liturgy about how "under a close TEXTUAL reading of the Constitution one can clearly see this emerge as the core vision of the Founders…" https://t.co/XrEOZOb3Q3
.@GovRonDeSantis has no problem killing children from a pandemic despite science showing masks save lives but suddenly uses science as a defense for the Texas draconian law. They are such dangerous corrupt hypocrites https://t.co/gmP0B9o0Lg
Why don’t we get tougher on this + other issues? Where warranted and legal:
How about a 6-week mandatory waiting period per gun purchase?
How about a $10k bounty fee if you turn in someone with a ghost gun, or the guy who sold it to him, or the friend who drove him across state lines, or put him up so he could go rampaging randomly at a peaceful rally? https://t.co/0JnvR28Lph
It feels like the 1930s all over again — and with good reason. The rise of American fascists and right-wing extremism around the world has been a known trend for decades, and America’s past flirtations with fascism had been largely swept under the rug by the then anti-semites who tried to put a stop to FDR‘s New Deal and prevent the U.S. from getting into World War II.
Those fascists, butthurt over America’s overwhelmingly popular decision to enter the war and stop Hitler from exterminating the Jews, seethed with jealousy at the post-war “liberal consensus” that flourished alongside the booming US economy, propelled first by the war effort and later by the peacetime success of the New Deal‘s long shadow and the burgeoning of the American middle class.
The American fascists turned into the John Birch Society, and the McCarthyites, and the Libertarians, and the Moral Majority, and the Gingrich Revolution, and the Tea Party, and the MAGA / QAnon stew sloshing around mass media. The kooks on the far right — the kind of ilk so cray cray that even William F. Buckley excommunicates you from the Republican Party — have taken over the hen house now. Outrage sells, as Facebook well knows — and as two-bit dictators around the world have bribed Mark Zuckerberg to brainwash the masses using the most inanely illogical propaganda prolefeed, the world tilts dangerously towards authoritarianism and the end of our democracy as we know it. And with it, all hope for truth and light into the future for some time to come — the equivalent of a political meteor hitting the Earth.
The American fascists are still around, and now they have tools of propaganda that Goebbels could never have even wet dreamed of. They’re more powerful and more well-connected — to other sociopaths, malignant narcissists, and other pathological cult-leader types who might be of transactional service to each other from time to time. Many of them cling to ideas of Christian nationalism and Strict Father Morality. We’d be wise to keep an eye on these folks.
Name
Type
Location
Known for
Greg Abbott
Politician
Texas
The 48th governor of Texas since 2015 who has presided over multiple energy grid disasters, a self-induced economic fiasco at the border, and ghoulish vigilante legislation designed to terrorize women seeking abortion services, and a perversion of the child sex trafficking apparatus to instead target and tyrannize trans youth
Roman Abramovich
Foreign agent
Russian oligarch close to both Putin and Trump
ACU Strategic Partners
Foreign agent
A company seeking to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East in partnership with a sanctioned Russia company; Mike Flynn was working for them without having disclosed it to the US government as required.
Sheldon Adelson
Businessperson
Las Vegas, NV
CEO billionaire of the Sands Corp casino empire (died, 2021)
AggregateIQ
Corporation
Canadian data firm connected to Cambridge Analytica parent company SCL Group that played a role in spreading Brexit propaganda
Roger Ailes
Media personality
Deceased
Primogenitor of Fox News whose downfall came over dozens of women testified to his decades of sexual assault and blackmail behaviors
Todd Akin
Politician
Missouri
Politician who lost his Senate race to Clairse McCaskill in 2012 when he made the comment on TV about women having a way to "shut the whole thing down" to avoid becoming pregnant if raped.
Nelson W. Aldrich
Ali Alexander
Extremist
One of the primary organizers of the Stop the Steal rally on January 6 that turned into and/or attempted to mask a coup attempt
Samuel Alito
Judge
Washington, DC
Supreme Court Justice who penned a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, riddled with Christian nationalist tropes and arbitrary Originalist interpretations
American Energy Alliance
Non-profit
A tax-exempt nonprofit that advocated for corporate-friendly energy policies. Koch's Freedom Partners donated $1.5 million in 2012.
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
Non-profit
Corporate-funded nonprofit that writes legislation for Republican legislatures, including spearheading the efforts to wrest partisan control over election results in 49 states.
Americans for Prosperity
PAC
The Koch Brothers' Libertarian political advocacy arm
Philip Anschutz
Businessperson
Colorado
CO oil and entertainment billionaire and founder of Qwest Communications
Michael Anton
Lee Atwater
Political Operative
Infamously brutal Republican strategist for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush who promoted the "abstraction" of racism via Southern Strategy and ran the infamous Willie Horton ad against Michael Dukakis in 1988.
Michele Bachman
Politician
MN
Minnosota Republican politician who was the first woman in her state to be elected to the House of Representatives, she is known for her extremist Dominionist views
Steve Bannon
Media personality
Houseboats
Former Breitbart provocateur who joined the Trump administration as a key advisor and dark propagandist for Trump intent on sowing chaos
Ross Barnett
William Barr
Public Sector
Donald Trump's Attorney General who shielded him from public awareness of his crimes, corruptions, and compromises during the 45th presidency.
Maurice Barres
Author
France
French nationalist author in the early 20th century who introduced Great Replacement theory
Louis Beam
White Supremacist
Roy Beck
White Supremacist
Executive Director of NumbersUSA, member of the white supremacist Tanton Network
Andy Biggs
Politician
AZ
House Republican subpoena'd by the January 6 Commission for his role in the attempted coup
Black Legion
Extremist
Michigan
Secret society of black-hooded terrorists working in MI against labor unions and labor organizers in the 1930s. Legionnaires talked of staging a coup to oust FDR and imposing a fascist regime in the United States
David Bogatin
Oligarch
NYC
A top figure in the Russian mafia who bought 5 luxury condos in Trump Tower to launder money, he admitted in 1987.
Jacob Bogatin
Oligarch
David Bogatin's brother, and a partner of notorious Russian mob moss Semion Mogilevich
John Wilkes Booth
Criminal
Deceased
Stage actor and Confederate sympathizer who shot Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head in April 1865, a few months after his re-election in 1864.
L. Brent Bozell
Extremist
BFF of William F. Buckley and author of Conscience of a Conservative to support Barry Goldwater's candidacy in 1960.
Harry and Lynde Bradley
Kochtopus
Midwesterners who built their wealth on defense contracts
Andrew Breitbart
Media personality
Founded both Brietbart and the Huffington Post
Anders Breivik
Extremist
Oslo, Norway
Mass murderer who killed 77 people in Oslo, Norway as inspired by the white supremacist ideology of Great Replacement theory
Mo Brooks
Politician
Huntsville, AL
House Republican from Alabama subpoena'd by the January 6 Committee for his role in the attempted coup
Brother's Circle
Criminal
Organized crime gang pursued by then-FBI head Robert Mueller circa 2011
Michael Brown
Ferguson, MO
Unarmed black man killed by the police in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking a series of riots in the city.
Pat Buchanan
Politician
Washington, DC
Politician and paleoconservative who worked for presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan before running against incumbent George H.W. Bush in 1992; widely considered a bigot, racist, and antisemite.
William F. Buckley Jr
Media personality
Doug Burley
Political Operative
Founding and leading both The Family and the National Prayer Breakfast of right-wing power brokers
Cambridge Analytica
Corporation
London, UK
Data firm implicated in the propaganda campaigns of both Brexit in 2015 and Donald Trump in 2016 that stole hundreds of millions of Facebook profiles and mined the treasure trove of information for weaknesses to manipulate in attempts to persuade
Renaud Camus
Author
France
French writer and critic who created the recent 2011 formulation of the Great Replacement Theory
Tucker Carlson
Media personality
NYC
Fox News evening opinion anchor and fish stick heir who promotes the Great Replacement conspiracy theory to his primetime audience of older white men.
Doug Casey
Businessperson
Ayn Rand devotee and "anarcho-capitalist" who specializes in how to profit from turmoil
Michael Catanzaro
Lobbyist
Partner at the CGCN Group lobbying firm who headed "energy independence" for the Trump transition team.
Cato Institute
Think Tank
Madison Cawthorn
Politician
NC
Center to Protect Patient Rights
Kochtopus
Dark money group funded by the Kochs to attack the ACA with fearmongering and vitriol
Mike Cernovich
Media personality
CGCN Group
Lobbyist
Lobbyist for the Koch brothers
James Chaney
Activist
Neshoba County, MS
One of 3 civil rights activists murdered by local white supremacists when engaging in non-violent civil disobedience, along with Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman
Jeremy Joseph Christian
Extremist
Portland, OR
stabbed 3 people who tried to intervene while he was hurling anti-Muslim slurs at 2 young women in Portland, OR
Chris Christie
Politician
Former governor of NJ and former Trump supporter and transition team lead who became a Trump critic
Michael Cohen
Businessperson
NYC
Donald Trump's personal lawyer, sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for felony crimes, including campaign finance crimes
Steven A. Cohen
Businessperson
Finance (SAC Capital Advisors)
Roy Cohn
Political Operative
Deceased
Lawyer who represented Senator Joseph McCarthy in the infamous televised 1954 hearings, and later went on to become a mafia-connected fixer in NYC and mentor to budding real estate developer Donald Trump
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Think Tank
Washington, DC
A Washington think tank that had been bankrolled by fossil fuel industries, particularly the Kochs.
Continental Resources
Corporation
Oklahoma
OK-based shale oil company with a large and profitable fracking operation
Coors brewing family
Koch Investor
Colorado
The Coors gave money to Oliver North to fund the Iran-Contra operation
Council of Conservative Citizens (CoC)
Ted Cruz
Politician
Texas
Jefferson Davis
Kim Davis
Public Sector
Kentucky
Former county clerk of Rowan County, KY who defied a US federal court order to issue marriage licenses to gay couples in 2015
Devos family
Koch Investor
Founders of the Amway marketing empire; Betsy DuVos was the Secretary of Education under Trump
Amadou Diallo
New York
a West African immigrant mowed down by 41 shots from police when leaving his apartment on February 4, 1999.
James Dobson
Media personality
conservative talk-show host and fundamentalist Christian who strongly advocated spanking and corporal punishment be applied liberally to children
Chester Doles
Former KKK leader who runs the white supremacist American Patriots USA. Nearly beat a Black man to death in 1993. Marched in 2017 in Charlottesville.
Rod Dreher
Extremist
Benedict Option author and traditionalist
Dinesh D'Souza
Media personality
Conservative gadly who alleged that Obama was "African" in outlook rather than American, absorbing his "radical" views from his Kenyan father
Doug Ducey
Politician
AZ
Governor of Arizona
Aleksandr Dugin
Extremist
Russia
Russia's primary fascist political philosopher and originator of Eurasianism conspiracy theory
David Duke
White Supremacist
John Eastman
Political Operative
Ran against Kamala Harris in 2010 for California AG, then showed back up in 2020 to write an outrageous op-ed that Newsweek for some reason actually published, that claimed that she was "secretly" not a US resident and therefore not eligible to be the VP! Now the Kamala Harris birther
Myron Ebell
Political Operative
Outspoken climate change skeptic, who headed the Trump transition team for the EPA
Election Integrity Project California
Extremist
Election fraud group working with Leonard Leo
Larry Ellison
Businessperson
Gave $5 million to Marco Rubio
Cassandra Fairbanks
Jerry Falwell, Jr
Televangelist
The Family
Lobbyist
Shadowy DC group with tremendous sway in Congress and around the world, following a distorted "strongman Jesus" version of Christianity.
The Federalist Society
Extremist
Scott Fitzgerald
Politician
WI
House Republican
Michael Flynn
Cult Leader
For America
PAC
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Fox News
Corporation
Free Congress Foundation
Freedom Caucus
Politician
Freedom Partners
Kochtopus
The Koch Brothers' secretive donor club.
FreedomWorks
Extremist
Matt Gaetz
Politician
Kevin Gentry
Kochtopus
VP of Special Projects and VP of the Koch Foundation
Greg Gianforte
Politician
body-slamming Guardian reported Ben Jacobs while running for a GOP House seat in Montana
Newt Gingrich
Media personality
Tim "Baked Alaska" Gionet
White Supremacist
Rudy Giuliani
Politician
NYC
GiveSendGo
"Christian" donation platform
Barry Goldwater
Politician
AZ
Seb Gorka
Political Operative
Billy Graham
Madison Grant
Political Operative
Close personal friend of Herbert Hoover who helped draft the exclusionary Immigration Act of 1924 -- the Stephen Miller of his day. His "Passing of the Great Race" was beloved by Hitler as "his bible."
Chuck Grassley
Politician
Senator
The Great Awakening
Marjorie Taylor Greene
QAnon
GA
Eric Greitens
Politician
MO
Harold Hamm
Kochtopus
Billionaire founder of Continental Resources, an OK-based shale company with large fracking business & one of the charter members of the Kochs' donor circle.
James Henry Hammond
Extremist
Warren G. Harding
Politician
Enthusiastically supported the white-supremacist work of Lothrop Stoddard et al
Billy James Hargis
Extremist
Orrin Hatch
Politician
Sen. Orrin Hatch raised concerns about funding certain entitlement programs. “I have a rough time wanting to spend billions and billions and trillions of dollars to help people who won’t help themselves, won’t lift a finger and expect the federal government to do everything,” he said.
Josh Hawley
Politician
MO
Missouri Senator funded by Peter Thiel who gave the January 6 mob a fist bump on his way in to object to certifying the electoral count
Matthew Heimbach
Extremist
White nationalist and one of the founders of the Traditionalist Workers Party
Jesse Helms
Politician
Leona Helmsley
Diane Hendricks
WI
The wealthiest woman in Wisconsin at $3.6 billion
Heritage Foundation
Think Tank
Washington, DC
Honest Elections Project
Extremist
A conservative legal organization connected to Leonard Leo that files legal briefs to SCOTUS opposing mail-in ballots and other voting reforms that help more people to vote,
Herbert Hoover
Politician
Washington, DC
White supremacist and wealth supremacist, he was adamant about doing nothing to help people during the Great Depression.
Mike Huckabee
Politician
Laura Ingraham
Media personality
Fox News host
Andrew Jackson
Politician
Deceased
US President
John Birch Society
Extremist
Andrew Johnson
Politician
Deceased
US President
Chuck Johnson
Media personality
Alt-right super troll
Ron Johnson
Politician
Wisconsin Republican Senator who supported Donald Trump, promoted ivermectin for covid, and said he wasn't afraid of the January 6 mob because they were white people
Alex Jones
Media personality
Host of InfoWars, the 9/11 conspiracy show that put the genre on the map
Jim Jordan
Politician
OH
A long-time Tea Party hyena, the Congressman known as Gym once helped his buddy cover up decades of sexual abuse of young wrestlers in their care.
Judicial Education Project
Extremist
A legal group tied to Leonard Leo, working to advance conservative takeover of the judiciary.
Islam Karimov
Oligarch
Uzbekistan
Former Communist official who became the first president of Uzbekistan in 1991, and remained the country's dictator until his death in 2016.
Alex Kaschuta
Media personality
Right-wing podcaster
Brett Kavanaugh
Judge
DC
Dr. D. James Kennedy
creating a Dominionist "conversion" playbook
John F. Kennedy
Politician
Deceased
Robert F. Kennedy
Politician
Deceased
Anna Khachiyan
Martin Luther King
Activist
Deceased
Civil Rights leader in the 1960s, and enemy of Southern politicians
Charlie Kirk
Media personality
Walter Kirn
Author
MT
Up in the Air author and disaffected former member of the American intellectual class
KKK
White Supremacist
Bill Koch
Businessperson
Charles Koch
Kochtopus
Kansas
industries: pipelines, oil refineries, lumber and paper, coal, chemicals, commodity futures, etc.
David Koch
Kochtopus
Deceased
industries: pipelines, oil refineries, lumber and paper, coal, chemicals, commodity futures, etc. (now deceased)
Fred Koch
Kochtopus
Kansas
Father of Charles and David, Fred Koch was an early and fervent acolyte in the ultra-conservative John Birch Society
Frederick Koch
Businessperson
New York
David Koresh
Cult Leader
Waco, TX
Ku Klux Klan (see KKK)
White Supremacist
Kylie Jane Kremer
David Lane
White Supremacist
Member of the white supremacist group The Order who coined the 14-word slogan popular with Great Replacement adherents: "We must secure the exisatence of our people and a future for white children"
Ken Langone
Businessperson
Founder of Home Depot
Lyndon LaRouche
Cult Leader
Robert LeFevre
Kochtopus
Charles Koch's mentor, a quasi-anarchist, who said, "government is a disease masquerading as its own cure"
Leonard Leo
Extremist
Chairman of the Federalist Society, a legal organization working to pack the courts with conservative judges.
Marine Le Pen
Politician
France
Honor Levy
Liberty Counsel
Christian special rights group
The Liminal Order
William S. Lind
Political Operative
Kelly Loeffler
Politician
Georgia
Insider trading immediately upon arriving at her unelected Senate seat when her husband, President of the NYSE, found a way to have some money arrive at Brian Kemp, the Governor, who appointed her.
Dana Loesch
Media personality
NRA spokeswoman
Sen. Huey Long
Politician
Deceased
Thomas Mair
Extremist
Assassin of British MP Jo Cox, who was outspoken against the UK's Brexit campaign
Paul Manafort
Lobbyist
Clarence Manion
Blake Masters
Politician
AZ
John McAfee
Businessperson
Deceased
Sen. Joseph McCarthy
Politician
Deceased
Senator best known for his demagoguery against alleged Communist agents in the US government during the Cold War in the early 1950s
Kevin McCarthy
Politician
CA
Michael McKenna
Kochtopus
Lobbyist and President of MWR Strategies lobbying firm, who have the Koch brothers as clients
Timothy McVeigh
Extremist
Oklahoma City, OK
White supremacist McVeigh was a disgruntled former military guy who took up with the white power movement and executed the Oklahoma City bombing -- as inspired, he said, by enacting "revenge" for Waco.
Andrew Mellon
Businessperson
Rebekah Mercer
Oligarch
Daughter of NY hedge fund manager Robert Mercer; she helped guide the Trump transition team following the 2016 election, and funded right-wing social network Parler
Robert Mercer
Oligarch
Father of Rebekah Mercer and longtime right-wing donor
MicroChip
Pro-Trump bot-king
Stephen Miller
Extremist
Michael Milken
Cleta Mitchell
Extremist
OK
Lawyer who represented various right-wing entities including the NRA, and was considered the "fringe of the fringe" -- at age 70 she "represented" Trump during his telephone call to Brad Raffensperger asking him to find ~11,000 votes
Semion Mogilevich
Criminal
Notorious Russian mob boss
Stefan Molyneux
Media personality
Alt-right troll
Sun Myung Moon
Cult Leader
Leader of the Moonie cult and self-proclaimed deity, Mr Moon served time in federal prison for tax fraud, among other charges.
Roy Moore
Politician
AL
Trump-backed politician and pedophile who narrowly lost the Alabama Senate race to Doug Jones in 2018.
JP Morgan
Businessperson
Rupert Murdoch
Oligarch
Fox News owner famous for his amoral media
Jack Murphy
Benito Mussolini
MWR Strategies
Kochtopus
Lobbying firm for the Koch brothers
Dasha Nekrasova
neo-Nazis
Extremist
Terry Nichols
Extremist
Blew up the Oklahoma Federal Building with Timothy McVeigh
Richard Nixon
Politician
Ralph Norman
Politician
House Republican who skirted the metal detectors to enter the House floor after the January 6 insurrection
NRA
Extremist
National Rifle Association
NYPD
Public Sector
New York Police Department
Barack Obama
Politician
Chicago, DC, Los Angeles
The 44th President of the United States, and the first black person to hold the job. He was widely loathed by the Right despite his positive record.
John M. Olin
Kochtopus
Chemical and munitions company titan
Viktor Orban
Politician
Radical right president of Hungary and Putin supporter
The Order
White supremacist group
Candace Owens
Extremist
Matt Parrott
Extremist
Co-founder with Matthew Heimbach of the Traditionalist Workers Party
Laszlo Pasztor
Norman Vincent Peale
Businessperson
Christianity as a business man's religion
Mike Pence
Media personality
Donald Trump's VP
Rick Perry
Politician
Scott Perry
Politician
House Republican who skirted the metal detectors to enter the House floor after the January 6 insurrection
Jordan B Peterson
Academic
A sort of hero figure to the incel crowd
William Pierce
Pioneer Fund
A white supremacist group set up for "race betterment" in 1997 at a private club.
Jeanine Pirro
Media personality
Fox News host known for having a bit of a drinking problem and a brash on-air personality
Mike Pompeo
Public Sector
Sec of State after the firing of Rex Tillerson; former CIA Director; former Republican congressman from KS and largest recipient of Koch campaign funds in all of Congress
Jack Posobiec
Media personality
Lewis Powell
Businessperson
Wrote a 1971 memo that rallied the largely white and male business community around a plan to dismantle the New Deal and the liberal consensus
Sydney Powell
Political Operative
Also Associates with UFO believers and anti-vaxxers
Proud Boys
Extremist
Militia group involved in the January 6 coup attempt
Thomas Pyle
Businessperson
president of the American Energy Alliance, funded by Exxon and the Kochs
QAnon
QAnon
Conspiracy theory about Democratic pedophiles that recycles Nazi ideology
Jean Raspail
Author
France
French author of the 1973 Camp of the Saints novel about migrants organizing to take over France; the racist fiction inspired the white power movement of the 1980s, Steve Bannon, and a host of other fascist movements in Europe, America, and around the world
Nancy Reagan
Media personality
Deceased
Ronald Reagan
Politician
Deceased
Actor and Republican who became the 40th President from 1981 through 1989
Kyle Rittenhouse
Pat Robertson
Televangelist
Dylann Roof
George Romney
Mitt Romney
Politician
UT
Murray Rothbard
Extremist
Dave Rubin
Richard Mellon Scaife
Koch Investor
Heir to the Mellon banking and Gulf Oil fortunes, and Koch donor
David Schnare
Political Operative
"Free-market environmentalist" who accused the EPA of having blood on its hands, who joined climate change denier Myron Ebell on the Trump transition team for the EPA
Stephen Schwarzman
Finance
Rick Scott
Politician
Jeff Sessions
Politician
AL
Marc Short
Political Operative
Ran the Koch Brothers' secretive donor club, Freedom Partners, before becoming Mike Pence's senior advisor during the 2016 presidential transition
A racist publishing company, part of the Tanton Network, that published the white nationalist novel Camp of the Saints
Richard Spencer
White Supremacist
Balaji Srinivasan
Businessperson
State Policy Network
Kochtopus
Funded in part by the Kochs
Dan Stein
White Supremacist
President of Tanton Network organization FAIR
Lothrop Stoddard
White Supremacist
Author of the 1920 book The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy
Roger Stone
Lobbyist
Richard Strong
Businessperson
Strong Capital Management Mutual Fund
Sen. Robert Taft
Politician
John H. Tanton
White Supremacist
Michigan
White nationalist who organized The Tanton Network of 13 anti-immigrant organizations
Tea Party
PAC
Intensely antitax group
Peter Thiel
Businessperson
Los Angeles, CA
Eccentric Silicon Valley billionaire and pocketbook for the New Right project
Clarence Thomas
Judge
Washington, DC
Ginni Thomas
Political Operative
Washington, DC
Three Percenters
Extremist
Militia group who had a heavy presence at the January 6 attempted coup
Traditionalist Workers Party
Extremist
Turning Point USA
Extremist
Charlie Kirk's right-wing PR organization
Unabomber
Criminal
Unification Church
Cult Leader
Unite the Right
Activist
Charlottesville, NC
Charlottesville, NC event in 2018 where white supremecist groups marched with tiki torches, and activist Heather Hyer was killed by a right-wing extremist who drove his car through the crowd.
University of Texas at Austin
Academic
Austin, TX
JD Vance
Politician
OH
Venture capitalist and Peter Thiel acolyte running for Senate in Ohio
Ricky Vaughn
Ruben Verastigui
Criminal
DC
Former RNC and other GOP offices staffer who made social media ads for the Trump campaign and was later arrested with child porn on his phone after a DHS sting.
John Vinson
Extremist
Head of the Tanton Network-backed anti-immigrant hate group American Immigration Control Foundation (AICF)
George Wallace
Politician
Alabama
Joe Walsh
Media personality
Kelli Ward
Politician
AZ
GOP Chair
Ron Watkins
Extremist
Identified as the most likely suspect to be Q of QAnon
Randy Weaver
White Supremacist
Naples, ID
Vicki Weaver
White Supremacist
Naples, ID
Weev
White Supremacist
Andrew "Weev" Auernheimer
Paul Weyrich
White Supremacist
Arch-deacon of the New Right ultraconservative movement and hugely influential figure who founded the Heritage Foundation, Council for National Policy, and ALEC.
White Citizens Councils
White Supremacist
Geert Wilders
Darren Wilson
Public Sector
Police officer who brutally killed a Black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, MO in 2014.
It’s not just here at home in the US that fascism seems to have taken root in the population. There are many burgeoning nationalist movements resurrecting right-wing populism around the world, and as per many experts’ warnings, right-wing authoritarianism is on the rise around the globe.
Many of the right-wing populist thatches that have sprung up are at least in part, seeds planted by Vladimir Putin in his quest for Russian revanchism against the West following the end (or so we thought…) of the Cold War. Rumoured to be the richest man in the world by far, the former KGB agent was working in East Germany when the Berlin Wall fell, and has been pursuing his Lost Cause grievance ever since.
As such, it would be foolish not to see what’s happening here in America as part of a broader wave of right-wing populism and authoritarian fever that is very dangerous. We need to find out a lot more information about how all these puzzle pieces fit together, and get to the bottom of the real conspiracy clearly going on — if we can find it through all these smokescreen conspiracy theories clogging the propaganda waves.
Here’s a list of some of the extreme right-wing parties on the rise around the globe:
Country
Flag
Party
Abbreviation
Austria
🇦🇹
Freedom Party
FPO
Belgium
🇧🇪
Flemish Block
VB
Britain
🇬🇧
UK Independence Party
UKIP
Britain First
National Front
Czech Republic
Freedom and Direct Democracy
SPD
Denmark
🇩🇰
Danish People's Party
DPP
Finland
🇫🇮
True Finns
France
🇫🇷
National Front
FN
Germany
🇩🇪
Alternative for Germany
AfD
Patriotic Europeans Against Islamization of the West
Ghost skin is short for ghost skinhead. It refers to a white supremacist who hides his racist beliefs in order to blend into wider society, with the goal of remaining undetected and covertly continuing his Nazi agenda.
Over at least the past 2 decades, white supremacists have been specifically infiltrating law enforcement. Going into the police is an attractive career option to begin with, for someone with controlling tendencies, an interest in power, and often an incentive to use the badge as a shield for one’s own crime schemes.
Ghost skins are rebranded Nazis
White supremacy has a long and brutal history in America. This original stain not only hasn’t been washed clean, but is seeping outwards once again. It’s expanding outward through QAnon and conspiracist fear-mongering on Facebook, Twitter, Parler, the -chans, etc. It’s what resulted in the January 6 deadly siege on the Capitol building where Congress was counting the electoral college votes and certifying Joe Biden’s presidency.
Part of the larger swell of fascism in this country, ghost skins have allowed neo-Nazis and a motley assortment of thugs, violent criminals, and authoritarian personalities to hide out in the fabric of society, waiting to strike when the time is right. When The Storm comes. When it is time, the President tells them, to take their country back.
