The Fascist Hegseth Selection

Dear Readers: I know I said that my next Paul Street Report would follow up on my last one by continuing with my reflections on bad word usages in relation to the contemporary US political situation. Change of plans! I feel compelled now to reflect as follows on the horrific nomination and likely confirmation of Pete Hegseth to head the United States Department of Defense. My next post will fulfill the promise made at the end of may last one.

Notice anything missing in the mainstream “liberal” media reporting on Pete Hegseth’s highly successful appearance before the United States Senate Armed Services Committee (ASC) that is now very likely to recommend his Senate confirmation as Trump47’s Secretary of Defense?

I did: his militant Christian white nationalist fascism.

I just went through The New York Times and NBC coverage and learned that Democrats on the committee “grilled” Hegseth on:

· His past vociferous opposition to the deployment of women in combat roles.

· Allegations of sexual assault and his record of infidelity.

· His drinking and related record of inappropriate workplace conduct.

· His lack of serious administrative experience and his failed leadership of two nonprofit veterans organizations.

· His opposition to diversity initiatives in the military.

· His lack of knowledge about basic geography demonstrated in his inability to name countries in Southeast Asia.

· His advocacy of clemency for three US soldiers convicted by US military courts of brutal war crimes but pardoned by Trump during Trump’s first presidency (Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance, convicted on two counts of second-degree murder for ordering a soldier to fire on unarmed Afghan motorcyclists in 2012; Army Green Beret Maj. Matt Golsteyn, on trial for the murder of an alleged Afghan bomb-maker in 2010; Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, accused of murdering a wounded Islamic State captive in 2019 and sentenced to four months and a reduction in rank for posing with a corpse during a 2017 deployment to Iraq).

Those were all legitimate lines of questioning, of course, but there’s something Hegseth appears not to have been “grilled” on by Senate ASC Dems: his virulent Christian neofascism.

“If You want to Radicalize the Military and Call in the Military to Crush Uprising in American Cities”

It’s quite a deletion! A longtime FOX/Fatherland News host and full-on white nationalist MAGA fascist, Hegseth proudly wears large tattoos representing his identity as a Christian Crusader. He wears a t-shirt that bears a picture of the US flag along with this clever expression: “A Pledge a Day Keeps the Commies Away.” He sees himself and his fellow “true Christians” as enlisted in a holy war against “domestic enemies” he accuses of trying to take down God and country: LGBT folks, non-Christians, leftists, liberals, feminists, and anti-racists. The Christian Fascist theologian atop Hegseth’s religious order (Doug Wilson) preaches that women should have no authority in home or society and says that the years of Black chattel slavery were a time of welcome “harmony between the races.” The religious expert and pastor Brad Onishi told the “Public” Broadcasting System (“P”BS) five weeks ago that “If you want to be the kind of president who uses the Insurrection Act, to call in the military against uprisings in American cities, to use military force against protesters, Hegseth is the man for the job.”

Here is a section worth reading from a December 12, 2024 “P”BS NewsHour report on Trump’s nomination of Hegseth to head the DOD:

Laura Barron-Lopez, “P”BS: Pete Hegseth has said faith became real for him around 2018, years after his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. He went on to write a number of books and has made frequent appearances on conservative podcasts and shows, in which he discusses his Christian ideology…For more on what's known about Hegseth's beliefs and how they may influence his leadership at the Pentagon, we're joined by Brad Onishi, who studies religious extremism and co-hosts the podcast "Straight White American Jesus."…

Brad Onishi: Hegseth puts himself in the category of an American crusader, drawing inspiration from the Crusades in the medieval period. But many Christians don't see the crusades as a high point in the Christian tradition. What we do know is that those who don the crusader identity, those who use its symbology and its stories as inspiration, are often part of white nationalist and Christian nationalist movements and, in tragic cases, have waged holy war themselves. Anders Breivik referenced the Knights Templar in his act of terrorism. The Christchurch shooter emblazoned Crusader symbology on his weapons. So the use of these symbols from any Christians is alarming, and yet these are the ones that Hegseth has chosen as his understanding of where Christians stand today.

Barron-Lopez: Let's talk about some of those symbols. A lot of attention has been paid to Hegseth's tattoos, a Deus Vult one that has been adopted by white supremacists, a Jerusalem cross tattoo. Those were flagged by a fellow National Guardsman, which then led to Hegseth being pulled from protecting President Biden's inauguration in 2021. Tell us about those tattoos and what they symbolize.

Onishi: Well, those tattoos are, again, symbols that are used by white Christian nationalists. Those who have adopted these Crusader images really see themselves as at war with those trying to take down American Christianity and Western civilization at large…Well, what I would say is that the evidence shows us that those who don those tattoos are prone to take part in extremist communities. It can be hard to pin intentionality on people, but when somebody says that they think we should fight like we're in a modern-day Crusade and then they Don the symbols of that Crusade, I think we should take them seriously.

Barron-Lopez: I also want to ask you about the specific church that Hegseth has attended in Tennessee. It's part of a denomination founded by Doug Wilson, a pastor in Moscow, Idaho. What beliefs does that denomination promote and why are they significant?

Onishi: Doug Wilson is a firebrand pastor and theologian. He is somebody who reaches millions of people through his podcast, through his writings, through the schools that he's founded and the denomination of which Pete Hegseth's church is a part. Wilson is known for radical beliefs about gender. He doesn't believe that women should have any authority in the home or in society, much less the church. He has said that the time of enslavement in this country was the time of harmony between the races.

Barron-Lopez:…what do you think it means if he ultimately is atop the Department of Defense?

Onishi: I think it means a lot…Hegseth represents a U.S. military envisioned as a vehicle for holy war. He's claimed to be a Christian Crusader, and that seems to be the kind of mentality he wants to implement as a leader…Hegseth is your pick if you want to radicalize our military. Hegseth has said in his writings that he believes there are enemies within our own country, those who are trying to destroy the country from within our borders. If you want to be the kind of president who uses the Insurrection Act, to call in the military against uprisings in American cities, to use military force against protesters, Hegseth is the man for the job. And he will do so believing that he's not waging some kind of brutal criminal act, but instead a holy war against the infidels within America's city gates.”

Trump is precisely the “kind of president who” wants to “use the Insurrection Act to call in the military against uprisings in the cities,” of course.

Preferring the ideologically indistinct term “extremism,” Onishi never uses the word fascism those of us who have been paying serious attention to Amerikaner Christian white nationalism know very well that the scary “F-word” is exactly what we are talking about with Herr Trump’s “Defense” Secretary nominee.

Questions Not Asked by Amna Nawaz

One month and two days after broadcasting the chilling Onishi interview from which I just quoted, the “P”BS NewsHour’s reported on Hegseth’s appearance before the Senate ASC. This reporting contained no reference to his neofascist Christian white nationalism. NewsHour host Amna Nawaz interviewed the Republi-fascist US Senator and ASC member Jim Banks (Rf-IN), a Hegseth fan and asked Banks the following questions:

· “Mr. Hegseth faced some pretty tough questions today on the past allegations of excessive drinking, his infidelity, and judgment, management inexperience. How do you think he handled those questions today?”

· “As you have seen, several senators have very plainly they don't believe Mr. Hegseth has the experience to do this job. His management experience is limited to a couple of small nonprofits. Why do you believe that that lack of experience isn't an issue here?”

· “Mr. Hegseth has said in the past very clearly that he does not support women in combat. He has changed his stance since he was nominated. I want to ask why you think he changed his mind, and do you believe him now?”

· “You know, the rape allegation from 2017 also came up, that one that Mr. Hegseth paid to settle. You may have seen there's now new reporting in The New Yorker from Jane Mayer, citing three sources, that says senators, including Joni Ernst and Susan Collins, turned down offers to hear privately from Hegseth's accuser. Would you want the chance to meet with that accuser privately to be able to see through your due diligence in this advice-and-consent role? …I'm asking if you would meet privately with this woman who was behind the accusation in 2017.”

Notice any questions not posed to Sen. Banks by the “P”BS broadcaster Nawaz? How about these three:

· “Senator Banks, there strong evidence that Pete Hegseth is a dedicated Christian “crusader” Fascist who will gladly follow the fascist Donald Trump’s criminal command to order the US military to bloodily crush protests and movements linked to those he and other Republi-fascists consider to be ‘enemies within’ the United States: racial justice advocates, environmentalists, gay rights activists, women’s liberation fighters, anti-police brutality marchers, antiwar protesters, anti-genocide protesters, liberals, leftists, and more. Do you really think it is appropriate to put an open Christian white nationalist neo-fascist, an advocate of ‘holy war’ against domestic political opponents and demonized Others inside atop the most lethal military on the planet?”

· “Senator Banks, US military personnel must truly heinous war crimes to get charged, much less convicted, sentenced, and imprisoned for such crimes under the US military’s judicial system. Hegseth vociferously called for US soldiers charged and convicted for such crimes under the US military’s own system because he advocates a ruthless, ‘no-holds-barred,’ extra-legal, and total ‘gloves off’ approach to Arab, Muslim, and other populations subjected to US military intervention abroad. This is consistent with the domestic political fascism and poses a grave menace to masses of people beyond the US. Do you really think it is appropriate for an advocate of sadistic and murderous US military terrorism abroad to head the Pentagon?”

· “Senator Banks, the US under President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been funding, equipping, and militarily and politically protecting an arch-criminal war of genocidal ethnic cleansing directly inflicted by its client the Judeo Fascist state of the Israel on the people of Gaza for fifteen shameful months. The evangelical Christian Fascist Pete Hegseth is a strong backer of the US-Israel Crucifixion of Gaza, which has so far killed at least 64,000 Palestinians, with women and children making up half the terrible body count. Are you at all concerned that a Pentagon headed by Hegseth and under the staunchly pro-Israel Trump will sign off on continuing and perhaps escalated massive war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and the broad Middle East? Are you also prepared to back up Trump’s insane threats to invade Greenland, Mexico, and Panama?”

“Preposterous”? Try “Horrific and Fascist,” Michelle Goldberg

The liberal leftish New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg is likely not unaware that Trump ad Trumpism are fascist. Still, her column two days ago on “Pete Hegseth’s Preposterous Selection” followed the same narrow tack of the Dem Senate ASC members by criticizing the Hegseth nomination only on the grounds of Hegseth’s abuse and denigration of women, drunkenness, geographical quiz failure, and administrative inexperience and incompetence. Like the Dem committee members, she said nothing about Hegseth’s Christian Crusader Fascism and the grave menace it poses.

And then there’s the title of her column. “Preposterous”? Try horrifying and fascist! There’s nothing “preposterous” about the Hegseth selection from an Amerikan Republi-fascist perspective.

“Personalist”

Jonathan Hassid, an Iowa State University professor brought on to discuss Iowa and US politics on Iowa Public Radio yesterday described the Hegseth nomination as an example of “personalism” trumping “institutionalism.” The professor refers here to a politics wherein personal loyalty to the autocrat (Trump in this case) trumps concern for the viability and effectiveness of core government institutions. This analysis is accurate enough, I suppose, but it leaves out the core fascist ideological essence of the Hegseth selection. The appointment’s goal is not simply or merely to serve Herr Trump but to turn the US military into an instrument of domestic fascist consolidation.

Weimar to Vichy

The brief (three week) period (leading up to the 2024 presidential election) of Dems openly and accurately calling Trump and Trumpism fascist is a distant memory! This is pathetic, consistent with the dismal “inauthentic opposition” party’s predictable graduation from “Weimar Dem” to “Vichy Dem” status even before Mein Trumpf strides back into the White House with full legal immunity in his back pocket, courtesy of the Trump-crafted Christian Fascist Supreme Court last July 1st. Also suggesting lame Dem capitulation to the Republi-fascist takeover of the country is the likely passage of the Laken Riley Act, a bill that would lower the hammer on “illegal” immigrants charged with nonviolent crimes, giving state attorneys general the power to contest individual federal immigration rulings. The bill cleared the US House with nearly a fourth of Democrats voting for it. It has strong “bipartisan momentum” in the Senate.

The Hegseth nomination appears certain to succeed thanks in part to the considerable resources fascist billionaires like Bill Koch have invested in pressuring US Senator Joni Ernst (Rf-Iowa) to sign on to Hegseth’s sinister ascendancy. Ernst is said to have needed some fascist-oligarchic nudging thanks to her history as a military veteran and a rape victim.

Postscript

I asked my local Village Trumpenlefty “so what do you think about the Hegseth pick?” He didn't know who Hegseth was. "Hegs who? Who's that?" This is a "leftist" who will tell you that the Mueller Report was every bit as fascist as January 6. Doesn't think January 6 was really all that big a deal. Looks at you sideways when you bring up any number of ways in which Trump and Trumpism are quintessentially fascist. Kind of likes the anti-vax lunatic and Trump Cabinet pick Bobby Kennedy, Jr. I could go on. It's madness. There's a bunch of these Trumpenleftish guys. All the ones I hear from are 50+ white dudes who were into Bernie Sanders and now essentially deny the fascism of the nation's dominant party and will suggest that you are with and for the imperialist Dems if you have an issue with Trump and his movement. A whole bunch of people, and this includes most of the liberals and progressives I know, have their heads up their asses.

My next Paul Street Report will follow up on my last one by defining the meaning of four terms used in today’s essay: “Amerikaner,” “Weimar Dem,” “Vichy Dem,” and “Trumpenleft.”

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