By Douglas V. Gibbs
I was looking up Valentina Gomez, a Republican running for Texas’s 31st congressional district after seeing videos of her launching some fiery language about Democrats and Islam. She is Hispanic and her outspoken conservative views, particularly her willingness to stand firm against Islam, caught my attention. I learned that she has been banned from all major media platforms except X (formerly Twitter), and that the mainstream media labels her rhetoric as hate speech and filled with Islamophobia, while also labeling her as being a far-right candidate “who uses provocative tactics to energize her base.”
The characterization of Gomez as a far-right candidate caught my attention. I disagree with the far-right label considering the context in which it is being used. The Democrats and their hard-left allies have gone out of their way to remind everyone that fascism is labeled by them as far-right, so anyone who disagrees with them are also far-right, guilty of residing in the same space with fascism by political spectrum association.
Such a view of the political spectrum is hardly historically grounded. The right-left dynamic when viewed through a distinctly American lens rooted in constitutional principles looks nothing like European class dynamics.
The French Revolution model of left versus right chases Europe’s history of monarchies and established churches. In the French Assembly those who were revolutionaries, secularists, collectivists, anti-monarchy and seeking change sat on the left side of the auditorium. Those who supported the monarchy, were traditionalists, defenders of the state church, defenders of the aristocracy, and seeking to not allow any change in the system sat on the right. Moderates sat in the center.
America never had a monarchy, or a national state church. The American Constitutional model of a political spectrum is instead based on a concept that places the U.S. Constitution at the center. To the far left is 100% total government control which is where communism, fascism, Islamism and monarchy reside. To the far right is 0% government, which is anarchy. On the right of the Constitution would be pure democracy, libertarianism, and voluntaryism, At the center, the U.S. Constitution created a central government, but limits its authorities, provides checks and balances, and champions our natural rights. Those who are in line with the Constitution would then be constitutional moderates, or classical centrists.
Unlike the French model, in the American model because fascism and communism are both authoritarian, differing only in method, they are both on the far left. The Constitution serves as the balancing point, not a midpoint between European-style ideologies. MAGA and similar conservative movements, while labeled “far right” by legacy media, are arguably close to the center where the Constitution resides, though slightly to the left when measured against the Constitution’s strict limits on federal power.
The reason this matters is because language shapes perception. If fascism is falsely labeled “right-wing,” then anyone advocating for limited government can be smeared by association. Historical accuracy matters. Fascism arose from socialist roots. Mussolini was a Marxist before founding fascism. Both fascism and communism centralize power, and they do so while seeking to control the means of production – communism through governmental ownership of the means of production, and fascism through heavy regulation of the means of production coupled with mercantilistic relationships (crony-capitalism). Islamism also fits as a far left ideology despite being religiously framed. Islam is a politically authoritarian system, thus a far-left ideology in the terms of power structure.
But, the Democrats and their Cultural Marxism allies know that language and perception are key on the political battlefield – which is why they use “far right” in their rhetorical language. That way, advocating for a strong patriotic identity, limited government and cultural preservation can be coupled with fascism on the far right despite the fact that aside from fascism, none of the other stances are even close to being authoritarian. By using the “far right” label, they are able to shut down debate without having to clarify any of their positions.
Don’t fall for the false rhetoric, and don’t fall for the left-right paradigm. In the end it is about authoritarianism versus liberty and evil versus godly.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
