Beyond The Sweet Words: The Real Danger of Minimizing MAGA Extremism

The Comfort of Complacency And False Equivalency

During his national prime time address from the Oval Office yesterday, President Biden reminded Americans that “while we may disagree, we are not enemies; we’re neighbors, we’re friends, co-workers, citizens, and, most importantly, we’re fellow Americans. We must stand together… There’s no place in America for this time of violence, for any violence, ever. Period, no exceptions. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that. Yes, we have deeply felt, strong disagreements. The stakes in this election are enormously high… This places an added burden on each of us that no matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence… In America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box. That’s how we do it, at the ballot box, not with bullets. The power of change in America should always rest in the hands of people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin. Tonight, I’m asking every American to recommit to make America… what it is. Think about it, what’s made America so special?… Here in America, everyone must be treated with dignity and respect and hate must have no safe harbor… Let’s remember here in America, while unity is the most elusive of goals right now, nothing is more important for us now than standing together. We can do this… Let’s never lose sight of who we are.”

Even before Biden spoke, messages bemoaning the fraying on national unity were proliferating across the internet— side by side with messages of hatred fanning the flames of divisiveness on the extreme right. A MAGA Democrat is rare, but Maine’s Jared Golden is exactly that. He’s contemplating a gubernatorial run— as an independent— and after letting loose earlier this month with a message that Trump would win in November and that “I’m OK with that” and that Democrats are wrong about Trump being “a unique threat to our democracy,” he took to twitter yesterday. The Blue Dog co-chair penned a 10 post thread emphasizing that “our political culture projects a dark and almost hopeless future of diminishing freedom, increasing violence, and growing instability led by unserious people who care more about their own personal well-being than the nation’s. In the pursuit of short-term political gain, they are eager to exaggerate our differences and cast their political opponents as diabolical caricatures bent on destroying the country. As a result, it becomes easier to see those we disagree with not as fellow Americans who bring different offerings to the marketplace of ideas, but as enemies who would ruin us, to be defeated at all costs. The result is an overwhelming sense of fear & anxiety about the future of our country, where the normal and tested tools of democracy no longer seem adequate to protect the common good. In this light, a rise of politically motivated violence in America is sadly unsurprising.”

He added that “Continuing down this path would be disastrous. This is the moment for elected officials and candidates for political office to lead us down a better road toward the hopeful future that Americans want and deserve. We can start by dropping hyperbolic threats about the stakes of this election. It should not be misleadingly portrayed as a struggle between democracy or authoritarianism, or a battle against fascists or socialists bent on destroying America. These are dangerous lies… Divided, we are likely to fail.”

These saccharine messages fail to recognize that there are profound differences and that fascism really and truly is an imminent threat that was stalked the world before— and with disastrous effect. Like Golden today, there were German politicians in the 1930s who didn’t take the threat of fascism seriously.

It’s dangerous and irresponsible to downplay the very real threat that fascism poses. History has shown us that fascism thrives when its early warning signs are ignored, dismissed, or minimized. The complacency of those who should be its staunchest opponents only serves to embolden fascist movements, giving them the space and opportunity to grow.

Glossing over the dangers of fascism under the guise of promoting unity or avoiding alarmism is a grave mistake. Fascism is not just another political ideology; it is a violent, oppressive force that seeks to destroy the very foundations of democracy and human rights. By treating fascist rhetoric and actions as mere political disagreements, we fail to confront the true nature of the threat.

Earlier in the cycle, Blue America nearly endorsed a candidate for Congress. But we didn’t; there was something not quote right here and there. Yesterday that candidate wrote an email to his followers about how the attempted assassination made for “a very sad day for the United States… I recently ran for office, and learned so much I hope to share soon. Here’s one thing I learned: Republicans are not the bad guys. They’re not evil. They’re just not. Stop calling them extreme MAGA Republicans. They’re not extreme; they’re just populists. Stop calling Bernie Sanders a communist or an extremist. He’s just a Scandinavian-style democratic socialist— and populist, too. Democracy will survive Trump. Capitalism would survive Bernie. America endures.”

There will always be a tendency to make this kind of false , comparing equivalency peaceful left of center movements to the kind of violent fascism Trump and the MAGA movement represent. The rise of Trump and the MAGA movement isn’t an anomaly, but part of a broader global trend of right-wing extremism, a movement that leverages economic anxieties, racial prejudices and nationalist sentiments to gain power. It thrives on division and hatred, targeting marginalized communities and dismantling democratic norms. Ignoring these dynamics or equating them with progressive movements like democratic socialism is a false equivalency that undermines the fight against authoritarianism.

For the left, the response to fascism must be unequivocal and robust. We must call out and combat fascist ideologies wherever they arise, advocating for policies that promote social justice, economic equity, and the protection of civil liberties. This means standing in solidarity with those most vulnerable to fascist violence and pushing back against attempts to normalize hate and division.

Unity cannot come at the expense of truth. To safeguard our democracy, we must recognize and confront the unique and present danger of fascism head-on. The stakes are too high to pretend otherwise. Our commitment to a just and equitable society demands nothing less than vigilance and action against the insidious rise of fascist movements.

We’ve got to continue to warn voters about the dangers inherent in the MAGA movement and Trump’s quest for another term. It’s crucial to denounce the approaches of Golden and others who minimize these threats, as their complacency only serves to enable the rise of authoritarianism. Let’s stay supportive of leaders who are resolved to protect democracy and who stand for a future rooted in equality, justice and true freedom for all. The enemies of democracy don’t fall for any of this crap and even if we abhor and reject political violence, we shouldn’t either.