On April 28,2022, Heather Cox Richardson discussed “two right-wing, antidemocratic ideologies.” About the first she wrote:
One is pushed by Texas governor Greg Abbott, who is embracing a traditional American states’ rights approach to attack the active federal government that has expanded equality since World War II. The Trump years put the states’ rights ideology of the Confederacy on steroids, first to justify destroying business regulation, social welfare legislation, and international diplomacy, and then to absolve the federal government from responsibility for combating the coronavirus pandemic. Then, of course, the January 6 insurrection saw state legislatures refusing to accept the results of a federal election and rioters carrying the Confederate flag into the United States Capitol.
About the second she wrote:
The other new ideology at work is in the hands of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who, as Beauchamp pointed out, is trying to recreate Orbánism in the U.S. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has eroded Hungary’s democracy since he took power for the second time, about a decade ago. Orbán has been open about his determination to overthrow the concept of western democracy, replacing it with what he has, on different occasions, called “illiberal democracy” or “Christian democracy.” He wants to replace the equality at the heart of democracy with religious nationalism.
The first ideology, asserting “states rights” to head off federal legislation he opposes, describes Tom Reed fairly well. Of course Tom only asserts states rights when it suits him. However Tom was at least wishy-washy on public health measures, did accept the results of the 2020 election, and decried the Jan. 6th insurrection.
Rep. Tenney, who possibly still seeks to succeed Tom Reed in office, surely adheres to the first ideology: she generally opposes most public health measures and many regulations.
Neither Tom Reed nor Claudia Tenney, both Trump supporters, would likely agree with the second ideology. However, Richardson concludes:
Trump’s type of family autocracy is hard to replicate right now, and our history has given us the knowledge and tools to defend democracy in the face of the ideology of states’ rights. But the rise of “illiberal democracy” or “soft fascism” is new to us, and the first step toward rolling it back is recognizing that it is different from Trump’s autocracy or states’ rights, and that its poison is spreading in the United States.
Today, the FCC voted along party lines to end Net Neutrality, scrapping regulations meant to keep the Internet fair and open to all. This decision re-categorizes the Internet as an information service instead of a utility. The FCC’s decision was not a surprise, despite widespread opposition from consumers.--Tracy Mitrano
We have the greatest military in the world…We have given them total authorization…If you look at what’s happened over the last eight weeks and compare that really with what’s happened over the last eight years, you’ll see there’s a tremendous difference. Tremendous difference.–President Donald Trump
“We care about our senior citizens and those living on fixed incomes. That is why we have repeatedly called for a review of the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment formula. It needs to be modified to reflect the realities of rising healthcare costs among other challenges that our seniors face. They paid into the system their entire working lives. It’s not fair that retirees are forced to try to stretch their benefits even further.”–Tom Reed
