This week, in lieu of my regular weekly column about the American Redoubt region, I’m posting my reaction to recent libelous statements that unfairly smeared the American Redoubt political migration movement.
The popular liberal pundit Seth Abramson (with 950,000+ followers) recently tweeted this on Twitter:
“If a civil war starts in the U.S. in the next 5 years, it’ll start in Idaho and be started by the American Redoubters—armed fascists whose leaders have close ties to Trump and who are already openly threatening government officials. I advise Googling “American Redoubt” ASAP.”
Abramson continued in a long string of Twitter “PS” tweets, the first part of which I’m posting here, as Fair Use quotes, since, like me, most SurvivalBlog readers do not have Twitter accounts:
“Don’t let the first time you read up on the phrase “American Redoubt” be the day you learn Idaho has declared itself no longer part of the U.S. and is policing its borders with hundreds or even thousands of armed Trumpist radicals who refuse to recognize the U.S. government.
For what it’s worth, I’ll note that Donald Trump Jr. has long spent a lot of time in Montana—inside the boundaries of the would-be “American Redoubt.” If Trump is indicted or runs against Biden in 2024 and loses, the odds the Redoubters seek war appear to me to be 1 in 3.
A lot of people talk about leaving the United States because it’s starting to feel like Germany in the 1930s, and while I very much empathize with that talk, I believe it’s too early by far to give up on America. But if I were in Idaho, I would get the hell out—like *now*.
There are many reliable sources in which you can read about what’s happening in Idaho—and you can read PROOF on the Idaho-J6 connection—so the below article is just one. The CNN article up now about armed Idahoans threatening librarians is another.
I don’t say that I believe all sane people should leave Idaho immediately lightly. I believe it. It is hard to see how Idaho remains safe over the next ten years. I am tweeting these things because I think America is safer when we are prepared for plausible eventualities.
If the Trumpists attempt to form it by force of arms, the “American Redoubt” will collapse quickly—for many reasons, e.g. economic, legal, and military. But the destabilization of a large region in America would give domestic terrorism an unparalleled opportunity to thrive.
The nightmare scenario—not one I’m predicting; in fact one I find quite remote—is that Trump and Don Jr. set up a second home base in Montana if Trump is indicted or loses in 2024 and become a magnet for armed insurrectionists to quickly muster in the American Redoubt area.”
So, now Redoubters have been subjected to baseless libel with the tar brush cliché smear of “fascists”. To be precise, his libelous smear called us “armed fascists.” Well, at least he got the “armed” part right.
I’ve observed that contemporary leftists tend to habitually apply the “fascist” label almost by default to anyone who is to the right of Liz Cheney.
Properly Defining a Term
Let me backtrack for a bit, to properly define a term that some people in contemporary society sling around without any regard for its true meaning. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines fascism as:
1: “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
World Atlas describes fascism and a fascist economy as follows:
“What is Fascism?
Fascism is a governmental system based on authoritarian nationalism. Although there is no specific definition of fascism, its practice typically shares the same principle beliefs of anti-communism, anti-liberalism, and anti-conservatism. Its politics are often able to gain widespread support by proposing the idea of national rebirth. This idea suggests that the current society has reached moral decay and must be cleansed. Supporters of fascism believe that the government should function under a single party in order to become more efficient and effective in order to respond quickly to military threats or economic problems. The leader under fascism is often a dictator and public officials are often of military background. This type of government first became popular in Europe during the early 1900’s.
What is a Fascist Economy?
In addition to the previously mentioned basics of fascism, the ideology also carries a unique economic structure. Although not all fascist governments practice the exact same type of economy, some general characteristics do apply. In a fascist economy, the role of the government is more than simply regulatory. It has strong influence over controlling investments and industries.”
To describe fascism in Germany, Remember.org notes:
“The government of Nazi Germany was a fascist, totalitarian state. Totalitarian regimes, in contrast to a dictatorship, establish complete political, social, and cultural control over their subjects, and are usually headed by a charismatic leader. Fascism is a form of right-wing totalitarianism which emphasizes the subordination of the individual to advance the interests of the state.”
So I must ask: Where does Seth Abramson get his information about the American Redoubt movement, and did he somewhere, somehow redefine the word “fascist”?
Clearly, fascism is a form of totalitarianism that among other things calls for government control of industry. All of the Redoubters that I know are absolutely opposed to any form of totalitarianism or autocracy, including fascism. We are opposed to racism. And we are anti-statists who embrace the Judeo-Christian ethic and want minimalist government at all levels. We espouse laissez-faire capitalism with no government interference. Ideologically, we are about as far apart from “fascism” as Abramson’s haunts in New Hampshire are in hiking distance from the western end of The American Redoubt, in Ellensburg, Washington. A very long hike, indeed!
An Apology is Due
Please pay no attention to the writings of Seth Abramson. He is a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat and a typical Liberal Eastern Elitist Academic. His concocted theory about Donald Trump, Jr. somehow conspiring with “armed insurrectionists” in the Redoubt shows us that Abramson is not operating fairly or truthfully, based on substantive fact. And blithely labeling us “fascist” is unconscionable. Although I have not been personally libeled by Abramson, it pains me to see our worthy political relocation movement besmirched by him so unfairly.
Seth Abramson should retract his Twitter post and apologize. – JWR