GOP goes after private businesses that don’t follow right wing ideology.

http://digitaledition.pilotonline.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=7a6e6d88-c09c-4b28-aad4-f953db05944e

The Orban playbook of crony capitalism to wrest control of the country. Trump did his part when he called for boycotts of companies he didn’t think were loyal to his policies. Harley-Davidson comes to mind. Fascism 101, folks.

28 thoughts on “GOP goes after private businesses that don’t follow right wing ideology.

  1. (My) God, (no) Gays, (lotsa) Guns…nothing has changed. Climate, healthcare, inflation, economy can all take a seat in the lobby while the clown show performs.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. RE: “Fascism 101, folks.”

    How is it fascism? Surely state-run retirement and investment funds have the same fiduciary responsibilities as other retirement and investment funds.

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  3. It’s not fiduciary anything. It is Republican revenge. DeSantis did not cotton to Disney expressing their views so he whipped up a bill to remove its tax status.

    Orban did the same thing over his terms in office. Garnering cronies and loyalists with favorable laws and punishing others deemed not loyal to him and his agenda.

    This is all about power and control. If a private company wants to empower LGBT employees, or invest in green tech or cut back on fossil fuels, they should be able to do so and only have to contend with their competition and investors, not a government telling them what to do based on ideology.

    Fascism.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. …”not a government telling them what to do based on ideology.”

      Funny how the Libertarians here aren’t so libertarian all of a sudden because TFG’s cult is doing anti-business business.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. RE: : “If a private company wants to empower LGBT employees, or invest in green tech or cut back on fossil fuels, they should be able to do so and only have to contend with their competition and investors, not a government telling them what to do based on ideology.”

      In the story you posted the structure is the government telling its own fund managers what to invest in. There is no direct link whereby the government tells private companies how to operate. Hence, a key feature of fascism does not apply.

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  4. When you use the term fascism for everything you don’t like, it loses its meaning. If you thought it through, you would see that investing their clients’ funds to follow the woke agenda, contrary to their duty to their investors, is every bit as “fascist” as investing against that agenda.

    Would you expect California to invest its pension funds in companies working to outlaw TV and movies? Alaska to invest in a ban on tourism?

    Of course, I would rather leave it to the marketplace. Just fully inform the investors about ESG scores and picking losing investments based on wokeness. The problem will solve itself.

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    1. Orban is by any definition a fascist. There are private companies, but only the favorites thrive or even survive.

      Add in Orban’s packing all the courts, rigging elections through crony officials, shutting down media, arresting opponents, etc., you have a dictator. And that is where Carlson spent a week broadcasting his show and CPAC held its big international meeting.

      As a Libertarian, I would think that crony capitalism would be a deadly sin even if state media control is not.

      Here is the irony. A party that used to pride itself on government staying out of private business is not up their right cheeks in meddling.

      “ Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and the economy that rose to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.” Wikipedia. Boilerplate, but pretty accurate.

      What do you call fascism?

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Fascism is a nationalist form of socialism in which the means of production remain in private hands but under the control of vertically integrated State management.

        Cronyism(it has nothing to do with capitalism) is certainly un-Libertarain. But no one is dictating what these companies do, they are just declining to invest their pension funds in a manner harmful to the people of their states.

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          1. Argue with Mussolini?

            If you were a little bit better educated, you might not need me to tell you that the Fascists of the 1930’s coopted the rhetoric of the socialists but NOT the substance of socialism. Wealth (the means of production) stayed in private hands and the fruits of that wealth went to those same private hands – not to the workers who produced the wealth (the essence of socialism).

            Thus, for example, we have the National Socialists (Nazis) rounding up and murdering actual socialists. You are welcome.

            Liked by 1 person

          2. Mr. Murphy, if YOU were a little better educated you wouldn’t have to pretend you know things you obviously don’t. To wit, you would know that wealth is not the means of production, but the output.

            Further, you wouldn’t waste our time trying to make profound distinctions between fascism and socialism.

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          3. Gee, I wonder where anyone could get the idea that you people are racists and fascists?
            Birtherism? Replacement theory? Rapists and Drug dealers? Jews will not replace us? Support for Trump? Support for Putin? Violent insurrection? Hatred of “urban” people and democracy? Big LIES? It’s a fucking mystery.

            Liked by 1 person

          4. “you would know that wealth is not the means of production, but the output.”
            Tell that to the billionaires who own all the farms and factories. Your statement is laughable.

            “profound distinctions between fascism and socialism.”
            They are very, very different. Your attempts to equate them are signs of just how poorly educated your are.

            Liked by 1 person

        1. RE: “nationalist form of socialism”

          That’s a nice turn of phrase that captures the history of the concept fairly well.

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    1. Well, they called everyone they disagreed with racists for so long no one paid attention any more, so now they call everyone they disagree with fascists.

      No doubt when the football season starts they will call the opposing team fascists.

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      1. Oh my. Fascism is autocratic and a dictatorship. Shall we parse nuances about Italian, German, Russian fascism or just realize what they all are.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. “Tidewater News and Opinion Forum

          Oh my. Fascism is autocratic and a dictatorship”

          Sounds like the goal of both the Obama and Biden administrations.

          But still not fascism. Words have meanings.

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  5. I’m guessing this was supposed to be a comedy routine? The incessant “facist” (oh my) bloviating was amusing but keep the day job.

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    1. I look at fascism to be primarily a dictatorship that is often ultra nationalist and White supremacist. Anti-Semitic is a bonus.

      It is the core of why “replacement” has been in manifestos of the worst mass shootings here and the one a few years ago in New Zealand.

      Some take me to task because they believe fascism is also socialist, which it certainly is not. Or the debate over details.

      If a dictator put wires around your privates and plugs them in, do you really care about how taxes are collected or what uniform is in vogue.

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Another example of DeSantis playing G-d, when his GOP-led legislature passed a budget and he decided to veto a particular item. You can ready the why in the report.

    https://thehill.com/news/3510701-desantis-vetoes-funds-for-tampa-bay-rays-practice-facility-after-team-tweets-on-gun-control/

    A private entity getting public money is not always a plus, but it was in the budget for him to sign and he made the decision to cut the funding from the state.

    Liked by 1 person

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