Democrat Governor Tries on Mussolini's Shoes: A Real Live Example of Fascism

Quite often these days those on the left apply the label of fascist or fascism to the current administration without really knowing what it means or has stood for in the past. I blame the failing of public schools in part for that but mainly it has to do with the overall intellectual laziness of the left. For those who wish to know what fascism is please read below and then I will show you an example right here in the United States at the state government level. I think you may be a little surprised by the source.

fas·cism (fa-sh-z-m)

n.

1. often Fascism
1. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
2. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

See Also

Fascism

n : a political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism)

Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

Recently in the wonderfully Liberal state of Illinois the Governor decided that he was simply above all laws and due processes and since that was the case he would issue an order to impose his will/morals/beliefs on others thus violating their Constitutionally protected rights. Gosh that sounds a lot like the actions of a fascist. For those not up on the current events of Illinois politics the gentlemen in question is Rod Blagojevich. For those who say why should anyone care about what happening in Illinois, stay tuned and you will soon know why this is a big deal and why the MSM is all but ignoring the story.

On April 1^st the Governor issued an emergency 150 day executive order requiring pharmacies that sell contraceptives to fill prescriptions for birth control without delay. The order was issued in response to some pharmacies refusing to fill birth control prescriptions on the grounds that they were morally opposed to such drugs based on their religious beliefs. In most cases the prescription was then either filled by another pharmacist without any moral objection or a different pharmacy. The governor took the issue a step further and then filed a permanent rule with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) to ensure its emergency action protecting women’s access to contraceptives continues once the 150-day emergency rule expires. The permanent rule, like the emergency rule filed on April 1, requires drug stores that stock and dispense contraceptives to fill birth control prescriptions without delay.

By trampling over the religious beliefs of those pharmacists who object on moral grounds and then seeking to bypass the Illinois Legislature with this “rule change” the governor has finally shown his true colors as a student of fascism. Now if this was a random occurrence for him I might give him the benefit of the doubt but since he is currently pushing a prospective law censoring video games sales, I would say that he fits the bill and slides in to those Mussolini shoes quite nicely. Frankly I would like to think that freedom of religion extends to not be forced to do things by a government institution at your job. Especially if those actions might violate your own moral code and I think in most states that is the case but in the People’s Republic of Illinois that is not the case.

The governor is under fire and currently being sued by ACLJ on behalf of two Illinois pharmacists. The ACLJ take on the governor’s directive is that it’s out of step with state law, an abuse of his power as the state’s chief executive, and it discriminates against pharmacists who may have religious or moral objections to dispensing birth control medication including the “Morning After Pill”. If the directive stands it has further implications for those in the workplace then just religious discrimination. It has the potential to add another play to the standard playbook of groups such as the ACLU who has remained suspiciously silent on this attack on personal freedoms. In fact when I contacted them for a comment last week I was directly to their website for their position on the governor’s actions. Small problem, the information that I was assured was on the website was nowhere to be found. I encourage anyone who has some spare time to drop them a call, but be prepared to jump through hoops to get to a real person.

Now the actions by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich don’t exactly fit the description of fascism but they are damn close and if upheld it would set a terrible precedent for future governors, or even higher government officials. I am sure most people will look at this issue as one of reproductive rights but for my money it is a larger issue of personal freedom being encroached by the effort of one man to make things convenient for a small segment of people, small in the regard that very, very few women are being inconvenienced. If the women who have a delay in getting their prescriptions filled take their business to another pharmacy then the marketplace will shake it out and those pharmacies that provide quicker service will prevail. I don’t think the women should be lectured and if done right they would never know that their prescription was passed to another pharmacist. By the same standard, those who have a religious or moral objection to filling those types of prescriptions do not deserve to be punished for their personal beliefs. This issue appears to be in for a long bitter legal fight so stay tuned and for those on the short bus, try to actually look up the definition of a word now and then. Maybe then you would recognize when one of your own is a fascist rather then the President of the United States.

Have a wonderful day everyone.