Shock Troops For Plutocracy

Friday we took a little look at how the oligarchs and plutocrats and their right-wing political parties have been able to subvert a free press by literally buying out the media. But that isn't the only way today's brand of fascist-oriented Republicans is so similar to the fascists who called the shots in the GOP in the 1920s and '30s. Back then they needed shock troops on the streets too, kind of like the brainless Teabaggers the corporate interests were able to cobble together over the past couple of years. Again, I'm turning to Glen Yeadon's compelling and exhaustive book The Nazi Hydra In America:

[S]uperpatriot groups gathered their strength from the right wing, not the general public, their financial support coming directly from corporations and the rich elite. The National Civic Federation received most of its support from V. Everit Macy, August Belmont and Elbert Gary. Likewise, the National Protective League was supported by T. Coleman du Pont, Henry Frick, J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. While the National Civic Federation was under the direction of Matthew Woll as acting president, it collaborated closely with Nazi agents in this country. Another group from the 1920s that underwent the transformation from a nativist group to fascism was Harry Jung's American Vigilant Intelligence Federation.

In effect, these superpatriot groups, along with the American Legion, were bridging the chasm between the rich elite and the general population. These groups were fashioned in such a way as to appeal to a large segment of the population by invoking a false sense of patriotism, while the directors and operating officers remained fully under the control of the elite. Secondary to the patriotism of these groups was a very conservative economic agenda. With the exception of the National Civic Federation, all of these groups were virulently antiunion. The National Civic Federation included a few trade unionists on its board of directors, but still maintained an aggressive open shop policy. ... Newspapers ran scare headlines to shock the public and harden public opinion against unions [and reactionary] clergymen such as David Burrell of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City claimed the Bible not only proved the closed chop was unpatriotic, but also unchristian...

In the post-war period, the membership of these patriot groups was relatively small. However, they exerted an influence that far outstripped their numbers. Their propaganda efforts were well-funded and well-organized.

...In 1924, the Hearst papers, the American Legion, and the Ku Klux Klan led the charge for the "American-ization" of school books, loyalty oaths for teachers, and harsher immigration legislation. These three organizations would become deeply tied to fascism in the following decade. Several members of the American Legion were involved in the fascist plot of 1934 against FDR. The Hearst papers would become an open propaganda outlet for the Nazis and fascism. The Klan would go on to form an alliance with the American Bund. ... Two factors with roots in the late 1800s set the stage for the rebirth of the Klan. The first was massive immigration from Europe. The American Protective Association, formed in 1887, was virulently anti-alien. The group was particularly strong in the Midwest, where the Klan became strong in the 1920s. The other factor was the populist movement of the 1890s which sought to unite blacks and poorer whites against mill owners and the conservative elite of the South.

It's like nothing seems to have changed 8 or 9 decades later! The wealthy and privileged elites will always fight with all they've got to maintain the status quo... or-- like today and like the '20's-- eradicate social progress and move society backwards. And finding ground troops is never difficult or even very expensive.