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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis kicks off his "Freedom Blueprint" tour in Pinellas Park, Florida on March 8, 2023.
(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Ron DeSantis: The Top Fascist Running for President
He’s more dangerous demagogue than Trump because DeSantis knows exactly what he’s doing and where he wants to take the country — into tyranny, bigotry, and ultra-nationalist culture warfare — while Trump is motivated by nothing more than... well, Donald Trump.
May 31, 2023
As you know, Congress has just a few days to raise the borrowing limit before the government goes into default on its debt, which would most likely set off a global financial crisis, and potentially throw millions of Americans out of work.
I wouldn’t have negotiated with Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans if I were president. I would have relied on Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and continued to pay the nation’s bills with IOUs.
But I’m not president, and the deal worked out Saturday between Biden and McCarthy is the only deal in town. To oppose it now is to opt for chaos.
So I was alarmed by the decision by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to oppose the agreement.
“Our country was careening toward bankruptcy” before the deal was struck, DeSantis said on “Fox and Friends” on Monday, “and after this deal, our country will still be careening toward bankruptcy.”
DeSantis’s broadside comes just as McCarthy is trying to round up Republican votes to approve the deal this week. And it puts pressure on Donald Trump to come out against the bill as well. Will he?
There’s much debate about the capacity of the Republican Party to govern. As you know, I’m of the view that it’s rapidly turning into a White Christian Nationalist party, divorced from democracy. DeSantis’s opposition to the debt-ceiling deal is an example.
DeSantis comes as close to a fascist as any politician in modern American history. To my mind, he’s more dangerous than Trump because DeSantis knows exactly what he’s doing and where he wants to take the country — into tyranny, bigotry, and ultra-nationalist culture warfare — while Trump is motivated by nothing more than Donald Trump.
A test will be whether Trump follows DeSantis into opposing the debt-ceiling deal.And so it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
© 2021 robertreich.substack.com
Robert Reich
Robert Reich, is the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. His book include: "Aftershock" (2011), "The Work of Nations" (1992), "Beyond Outrage" (2012) and, "Saving Capitalism" (2016). He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine, former chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." Reich's newest book is "The Common Good" (2019). He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.
As you know, Congress has just a few days to raise the borrowing limit before the government goes into default on its debt, which would most likely set off a global financial crisis, and potentially throw millions of Americans out of work.
I wouldn’t have negotiated with Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans if I were president. I would have relied on Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and continued to pay the nation’s bills with IOUs.
But I’m not president, and the deal worked out Saturday between Biden and McCarthy is the only deal in town. To oppose it now is to opt for chaos.
So I was alarmed by the decision by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to oppose the agreement.
“Our country was careening toward bankruptcy” before the deal was struck, DeSantis said on “Fox and Friends” on Monday, “and after this deal, our country will still be careening toward bankruptcy.”
DeSantis’s broadside comes just as McCarthy is trying to round up Republican votes to approve the deal this week. And it puts pressure on Donald Trump to come out against the bill as well. Will he?
There’s much debate about the capacity of the Republican Party to govern. As you know, I’m of the view that it’s rapidly turning into a White Christian Nationalist party, divorced from democracy. DeSantis’s opposition to the debt-ceiling deal is an example.
DeSantis comes as close to a fascist as any politician in modern American history. To my mind, he’s more dangerous than Trump because DeSantis knows exactly what he’s doing and where he wants to take the country — into tyranny, bigotry, and ultra-nationalist culture warfare — while Trump is motivated by nothing more than Donald Trump.
A test will be whether Trump follows DeSantis into opposing the debt-ceiling deal.Robert Reich
Robert Reich, is the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. His book include: "Aftershock" (2011), "The Work of Nations" (1992), "Beyond Outrage" (2012) and, "Saving Capitalism" (2016). He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine, former chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." Reich's newest book is "The Common Good" (2019). He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.
As you know, Congress has just a few days to raise the borrowing limit before the government goes into default on its debt, which would most likely set off a global financial crisis, and potentially throw millions of Americans out of work.
I wouldn’t have negotiated with Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans if I were president. I would have relied on Section 4 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and continued to pay the nation’s bills with IOUs.
But I’m not president, and the deal worked out Saturday between Biden and McCarthy is the only deal in town. To oppose it now is to opt for chaos.
So I was alarmed by the decision by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to oppose the agreement.
“Our country was careening toward bankruptcy” before the deal was struck, DeSantis said on “Fox and Friends” on Monday, “and after this deal, our country will still be careening toward bankruptcy.”
DeSantis’s broadside comes just as McCarthy is trying to round up Republican votes to approve the deal this week. And it puts pressure on Donald Trump to come out against the bill as well. Will he?
There’s much debate about the capacity of the Republican Party to govern. As you know, I’m of the view that it’s rapidly turning into a White Christian Nationalist party, divorced from democracy. DeSantis’s opposition to the debt-ceiling deal is an example.
DeSantis comes as close to a fascist as any politician in modern American history. To my mind, he’s more dangerous than Trump because DeSantis knows exactly what he’s doing and where he wants to take the country — into tyranny, bigotry, and ultra-nationalist culture warfare — while Trump is motivated by nothing more than Donald Trump.
A test will be whether Trump follows DeSantis into opposing the debt-ceiling deal.We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.