Fascism is a word that is overused when one political interest group is describing the bad conduct of another opposition political interest group. The politics of fascism is not difficult to understand. But I have heard plenty of college professors complicate the definition of fascism to the point that it would be tough to recognize if it knocked on your front door. At the core of fascism, you will always find unchecked power of big money industrialists controlling the messages of mass media.
You could search the history books forever and you would never find an instance where those two essential elements of fascism were not present. Typically, it occurs when a powerful political leader gains the backing of monied industrialists and together with force they silence the watchdog voice of mass media.
But last week, it was the U.S. Supreme Court that laid the groundwork for a powerful political leader to join well-financed industrialists and gain control over America's airways. The Court determined that a company like Exxon could use as much of their $40 billion annual profits as they chose to wage limitless corporate media campaigns against any political opponent who opposes Exxon's gluttonous view of the world.
The Supreme Court completely nullified John McCain's 2002 Campaign Finance Reform Bill known as the McCain-Feingold Bill. McCain has spent the better part of his political career warning the American public that unless we limit extortion level campaign money in politics, Democracy will die. His fear is legitimate. A limitless flow of money from corporations like Exxon or Halliburton, or Goldman-Sachs can easily buy an election. There are a couple of factors that close the deal.
The corporate media will sell Exxon as much airtime as necessary to buy a politician and an election. The media will also sell their neutrality and objectivity. Why would NBC corporate executives have their news departments attack Exxon or Exxon's candidate on any scandal short of Genocide when Exxon is pumping billions into NBC's bank account? It is corporate America's version of the golden rule. People with the gold make the rules.
In 2008, $5.3 billion was spent in the media on political advertising. Expect that number to grow geometrically in the next presidential race. And imagine how the dying T.V. and newspaper industry is looking forward to that new cash bonanza.
Exxon and Exxon's political stooge of the day will not silence the media with AK47's and a coup d'ètat. Exxon instead will put their trained politico monkey in place with the power of gold. Alan Dershowitz wrote a book years ago where he pointed out that Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia's father was an active member of the American-Italian fascist party. In fact, Dershowitz points out that as a child, Scalia was placed in a military school where many children of the American-Italian fascist party were educated. Antonin obviously paid attention in class. Scalia didn't write the opinion that put a real face to John-McCain fear. But you can bet he led the fight as five predictable Republican picked jurists exhibited the stature of five circus midgets who stumbled all over themselves to please their corporate benefactors.
In their minds, it was democracy be damned.