Yes, Democrats and Most Independents are Democratic Socialists: but All “Conservatives” are Fascists

Since 2017, the label “conservative” has become synonymous with “right-wing extremism,” and more recently “fascism.” Trump and his anti-American supporters love to call real Americans “radical, liberal leftists.” Let me offer the facts, one more time.

I am proud to be a liberal, or, if you prefer, “progressive.” I have many reasons, but two of them clearly define my beliefs. I cherish the principles contained in the Constitution, and I care about other Americans as much as I care about myself.

Conservatives are first and foremost liars and hypocrites. They tell the American people what they want to hear: pandering to the worst. Their only goals in the 21^st century are increasing their own power and wealth by serving their masters: our nation’s 756 oligarchs/billionaires.

America was not always this fucked up. In 1968, at the age of 22, I was planning to vote in my first national election. Like all men and women my age, who were in high school when John F. Kennedy was elected, voting for our nation’s president was very exciting and very important. Thousands of young men my age were being forced to fight a war halfway around the world for no reason other than to enhance the wealth of those who were heavily invested in the military industrial complex. We had been warned about this danger by President Dwight Eisenhower during his farewell address to the nation in 1961. The military draft did not end until 1973.

It won’t surprise anyone that I planned to vote for Robert Kennedy, and I was eager to go to the polls.

However, on June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy was murdered in Los Angeles. The man charged with killing my hero was named Sirhan, Sirhan. Questions remain to this day, asking if he acted alone. That’s another story for another time.

I was lost: who would receive my precious vote? I was not a fan of the man who replaced Kennedy on the ballot, Hubert Humphrey. I had watched the debates in 1960 between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. When they were over, I felt that Mr. Nixon could not be trusted.

I committed to being an Independent long before I reached voting age. Even then I rejected the idea of political parties, believing that the most qualified candidates should serve in Washington. Voting for anyone based on party affiliation remains moronic, in my opinion.

I won’t reveal which candidate received my vote. Regardless, Mr. Nixon was victorious.

I’m not going to add my personal criticism of Mr. Nixon. The truth is that he accomplished many great things, including ending the draft, giving 18-year-olds the right to vote, establishing the Environmental Protection Agency, establishing a relationship with Communist China, and signing an agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States deterring the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

What I did learn was that any politician, regardless of his or her party affiliation, must be closely and constantly observed by the fourth estate and reported to the people. Humans share many weaknesses, including “ambition for personal gain.” The truth is, like it or not, Mr. Nixon was the last true Republican president.

In 1980, an actor turned politician became our nation’s 40^th president. His ability to become any character on the screen in a movie theater, not his qualifications, resulted in a huge victory in November of 1980. He fooled millions of Americans.

However, in the early months of his first term he exposed his real self. He began wars on the working class, minorities, people of color, women, and all non-Christians which continue today among those who are actually Republican in name only. Reagan is responsible for beginning the great division between our two major political parties, refusing to include Democrats in the creation of his domestic and foreign policies. Deliberation and compromise in Washington would soon be nothing but memories.

Over the next 45 years the once Grand Old Party morphed into what it is today, exacerbated by the illegitimate presidencies of Donald John Trump.

Decade by decade the men and women who called themselves “Republicans” moved farther to the right. The platform of today’s “Republican Party” is founded in fascism. If you are a Republican supporter in 2025, you support the same policies adopted by the German people in the 1930’s.

Trump is implementing the ideas contained in the current fascist manifesto called Project 2025.

There are no “conservatives” in Washington today. Personally, I miss the Grand Old Party. Without the existence of a single true Republican in Washington in the 21^st century, my choices on election day are very limited.

The truth is, I do not trust Republicans or Democrats. Republicans want to destroy my America, and Democrats lack the courage to take aggressive action and do the right thing, regardless of the political ramifications.

Finally, I stand by my claim that Trump is the worst thing to happen to America in its nearly 249-year history. He and his party are the greatest domestic enemies our nation has ever encountered.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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