I hear more and more people, of all backgrounds, making this argument about fascism in light of the antics of conservatives, and the way they are gaining power. And what they want to do with it.
New York Democratic Rep. John Hall, who lost his seat in the midterm elections, is warning that the influx of corporate money into politics is putting America at risk of a decent into Fascism.
“I learned when I was in social studies class in school that corporate ownership or corporate control of government is called Fascism,” he told the New York Observer. “So that’s really the question– is that the destination if this court decision goes unchecked?”
The court decision he is referring to is Citizens United, the controversial Supreme Court ruling that led to greater corporate spending in the midterm elections, much of it anonymous. In the wake of the decision, Democrats tried to pass the DISCLOSE Act, which would have mandated that corporate donors identify themselves in their advertising, but the measure failed amid GOP opposition. Ads from groups with anonymous donors were particularly prone to misleading or false claims.
Hall said the influx of corporate money in the wake of Citizens United handed the House of Representatives to Republicans.
“The country was bought,” he told The Observer. “The extremist, most recent two appointees to the Supreme Court, who claimed in their confirmation hearings before the Senate that they would not be activist judges, made a very activist decision in that it overturned more than a century of precedent. And as a result there were millions of extra dollars thrown into this race.”
Hall, who said he was particularly disappointed by the failure of DISCLOSE, said he had been approached by Democrats about running again in 2012. And while he isn’t closing the door on a run, he said he would already need to be raising money if he was serious about running — something he isn’t doing.
The former leader of the rock bank Orleans, Hall lost in the midterms to ophthalmologist Nan Hayworth after two terms in Congress.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
On the road to Fascism eh? Looks like sour grapes from someone who lost his seat this past November. For the unwashed and uninformed masses out there, Fascism is NOT corporations controlling government, it’s socialists and statists (liberal-progressives), with little or no experience in the private sector, who seek control of corporations and other private business entities.
Maybe former Rep. John Hall should forget about another run for office in 2012 and get a real job and paying some “patriotic” – Joe Biden taxes. Maybe he can create some jobs and learn how to meet a payroll instead of bringing up the Fascism canard. Obama and the big government democrats practiced Fascism when they bailed out the banks and GM in order to get a piece of the action.
Fascism is a Socialist form of government and the farthest thing imaginable from corporate culture. Liberal-Progressives should stop using Fascism to bash the opposition since it most closely describes their philosophy of government.
The facts seem to be a problem for you. You write, “Obama and the big government democrats practiced Fascism when they bailed out the banks and GM”
First, TARP was a Bush policy….and one that I strongly supported. Then and now. And we know it worked.
Second, the help to auto makers also started under Bush, and again I strongly supported it. Then and now.
Grownups know that the pressing problems need real world solutions. I am proud of how the treasury secretaries under both Bush and Obama have operated on these matters.
Bush isn’t a Conservative and neither treasury secretary did us any favours. True, Bush’s TARP is almost payed back but Obama bailed out GM’s worker’s union. GM, unlike Ford, will not be around much longer. Banks and corporations should be allowed to fail…or succeed, without government intervention. In order to bail out the losers, the treasury has to print more money and that devalues the money I earn. If the government wants to help, they can start by cutting the capital gains tax. Canada is doing well these days since their capital gains tax is half of ours. No wonder we send jobs over seas.
I think the idea of letting the large banks fail, and the implications that would have created internationally, should strike terror in anyone. It is not a question if Bush is conservative, and I am liberal, but when crisis hist can the leaders enact a solution. They did.
I offer the Time magazine “Man of the Year” article on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke from a year ago, and also Treasury Sec. Paulson’s book as good reads about these matters.
The money you earn would have meant a lot less in a depression type economy. The actions taken in tough times are always debated. The alternative of not acting is one that we are thankfully not needing to face.