By Herb Roselle
There is a wave of nationalism sweeping the U.S. Its manifestations are omnipresent. The flag is revered, and the Constitution is of no account. The military and police are paramount, and the individual citizen is secondary. The church is central and seeks to have a place as part of government.
These interests are part of what used to be the Republican Party, but the values and principles are profoundly changed. The interest in a small and frugal government has been replaced by big spending and ever-increasing deficits. The economic principles of free trade and international reach have been replaced by tariffs, trade wars, and withdrawal from agreements.
Democracy itself has been abandoned within the party as the Republican Leader has instructed that primary presidential elections be scrapped so that he might simply take his place as the party’s chosen Leader and candidate. This has happened in the Republican party throughout the U.S. There is no party platform other than what Trump decrees. In short, the party is controlled by Trump’s personal interests.
In many ways, Trump and the Republican Party have a parallel in the 1930s Falangists of Spain and their dictator, Francisco Franco, who proclaimed himself “Regent for Life”, promising to restore the monarchy of Spain. He just didn’t say when. It turned out to be on his deathbed in 1975.
Who were the Falangists? They held that Spain’s heritage rested upon its religion, which in Spain’s case was the Catholic church. They asked for strong authoritarian rule, and they called for law and order. To enforce those tenets, Franco had at least 20,000 of his opposition killed. Some place the estimates as high as 200,000. Compare the Falangists with the Republicans.
If the Republican historical principles have been overthrown, what are the new ones?
- The evangelical church is to be a central part of the government, with strong influence on policy, diplomacy, and law.
- The army and police are superior to the general population, and have the right to enforce policy of the church and national leadership. They have a monopoly on the use of force.
- The country requires a strong king. He shall determine law and policy in absolute terms, consistent with the support of the church, military, and police. He shall determine the validity of any election, and for future consideration, the necessity for any election, as is the case with the current Republican Party.
- The Constitution is null and void. The Leader controls spending. The Bill of Rights is suspended, in particular freedom of religion, freedom of the press, right to assemble, due process, habeas corpus, equal protection, and trial by jury.
Sound crazy? It’s already the condition of the Republican Party. They have surrendered complete authority of the party to one man. They have no platform. They have a King. In fact, they WANT a King.
Let’s give that party a new name as it befits its current set of principles. The Monarchist Party. After all, it’s platform is rule by the Leader issuing decrees. And every feature mentioned above in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights has been attacked by the Leader.
Herb Roselle, of Little River, is a Libertarian who is strongly opposed to Trump and Lindsey Graham and is supporting Democrats in this year’s election.
