Republican Politicians Went Full Fascist This Week

I’m just going to say it: This was a particularly disgusting and disheartening week full of Republican politicians displaying their absolute worst impulses in a desperate attempt to hang onto power.

Here is a sampling of headlines published this week by Jezebel and others:

• Texas Republicans Introduce Bill to Censor Abortion Pill Websites
• Iowa Republicans Want to Ban Gay Marriage
• Mississippi Bans Healthcare for Trans Children
• Tennessee makes drag and trans health care bans law
• New state bills restrict transgender health care — for adults
• Florida bill would require bloggers who write about governor to register with the state
• Ron DeSantis-appointed New College board abolishes diversity office
• Culture war in the stacks: Librarians marshal against rising book bans
• Florida Republican pitches bill to eliminate the Florida Democratic Party

Here are some comments and proposals that haven’t made headlines yet:

It’s only March—some state legislatures are wrapping up, while others are just getting started—and it’s not even an election year. Things will definitely get worse in the coming months as people like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis throw their constituents to the “culture war” wolves in order to prop up their presidential ambitions.

Republican lawmakers were never going to stop at overturning Roe v. Wade or attacking only trans children. They want to ban abortion in every state, ban gender-affirming care for everyone, even adults, and overturn the rulings guaranteeing access to birth control and marriage equality. (It’s not that subtle: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas literally called for those last two things in June, and the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants to ban even same-sex relationships.) Conservatives are also proving now that they’re coming for the education system and freedom of the press.

I don’t know what to say other than these are sad, pathetic people weaponizing white Christian grievance to accumulate their own power with no concern for who is harmed in the process. Fascists and authoritarians get off on being described as such, but these moves are coming from an inherent place of weakness. Republicans know their actual policy ideas for things like social programs, healthcare, and taxes are so unpopular that they have to whip up a frenzy about Americans’ private lives and twist themselves into a pretzel to justify censorship in the name of freedom.

They’re giant, cowardly, disingenuous losers who don’t actually care about the issues they’re legislating and bloviating about—but that doesn’t mean the harm won’t be very real for the people affected.