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One of my favorite quotes from the late, great, Christopher Hitchens comes from his proactive, and edifying book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything: “Nothing optional—from homosexuality to adultery—is ever made punishable unless those who do the prohibiting (and exact the fierce punishment) have a repressed desire to participate.” Of course, Hitchens was directing this comment at hypercritical evangelicals who rant against homosexuality or adultery, but, as it so often later turns out were privately engaging in homosexual acts, or were adulterer’s themselves the whole time. However, Hitchens’s notion is also applicable to MAGA world’s claimed aversion to socialism.
Take, for example, former President George W. Bush’s $700 billion financial bailout of the big banks. To be sure, the United States government has long been, from the very beginning in fact, in the partial ownership of banks game. However, such policies of government ownership of private business (even if private executives within the corporation are still calling the shots) are supposed to be everything modern Republicans hated, until they weren’t. When Barack Obama became president, a claimed hatred of socialist policies within the National Republican Party “suddenly” came back. Indeed, during the Obama years, denouncing socialism quickly turned into something more akin to fanaticism.
The current president latched onto that fanaticism with glee during his campaign. In fact, this president has made his claimed opposition to socialism a key distinguishing feature between him and the liberals (otherwise known as American citizens) he and his supporters hate so much. Yet, when you examine this president’s record, what you find is that he is arguably the most socialist president of the modern era. And by “socialist,” I simply mean a politician who values raising taxes, increasing government spending (including billions upon billions of socialist “handouts” to favored industries), all while possessing an aversion to private property rights based on some vague appeal to the greater good.
Let us begin by examining this president’s record on taxes. I have engaged with many MAGA folks in the last few years (some of whom are in my immediate family), and they constantly tout the president’s tax bill as his greatest achievement. First, I would submit the president played no part in the tax bill other than signing it; the bill itself reflects Paul Ryan’s efforts more than anyone else’s. Furthermore, even if I conceded the contested notion that most Americans received a tax break from the bill (I personally had to pay more), it is simply undeniable that when taken together, the president’s tariffs are negating the tax breaks. In fact, the tariffs are amounting to the largest tax increase of the post-World War II era. In other words, like other Democratic Socialists, this president views massive tax increases as good policy.
In response to the economic destruction reaped by said tax increases, the president’s solution comes right out of the socialist handbook: Government handouts to favored industry to the tune of $28 billion. Such handouts by this president more than double the 2009 auto bailout tea partiers hated so much, but suddenly do not care about now. Say whatever you want about Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, or AOC and their proposed plans for free college, free healthcare, etc. — they remain principally no different from this president’s $28 billion socialist handout.
Finally, let us examine the most notable principle of a socialist, in my opinion at least: A disregard for private property rights. Because when it comes this issue, this president stands alone. In fact, if this president had his way, the government would immediately seize an absurd amount of private land. The justification for such a land seize is again, directly out of the socialist playbook, in the form of vague appeals to public safety and the general public good. Appeals that — it is worth emphasizing — can be conclusively proven to be false. Moreover, this administration has reinstituted the grotesque asset forfeiture policy of adoption, in order to circumvent state laws and seize private property without ever having to prove a crime has been committed. I suspect it will surprise few to learn that asset forfeiture disproportionality targets minorities for abuse. Which brings me to the reason of why MAGA supports all of this stuff.
The reason MAGA supports the socialist policies of this president was identified by Radley Balko almost a year ago in his piece discussing why Jefferson Beauregard Sessions put up with so much insult and abuse, yet never wavered in his support for this president. For all his many faults, this president remains committed to the agenda of his supporters like Sessions who want nothing more than to increase “discrimination, constitutional neglect, and nationalism.” In other words, no matter how far down the path of socialism this president goes, as long as he demonstrates a continual hatred and fear of immigrants, supports policies that disproportionately negatively impact minorities and the LGBTQ community, and supports theocracy, you won’t ever see MAGA world complaining.
Tyler Broker’s work has been published in the Gonzaga Law Review, the Albany Law Review, and is forthcoming in the University of Memphis Law Review. Feel free to email him or follow him on Twitter to discuss his column.