This is the Tom Harbin program.

Tom Harbin here with you, we've got a lot coming up on the program today.

But I want to start the hour or the program by talking about, you know, how democracies

die. Essentially, why Fox News claims they, that would be you and me, I guess, or actually

you if you are a person of color. But I think they're lumping me in here as a liberal

supporter of diversity as well. Why we are, quote, taking down white culture, excuse

me. You know, the simple reality is that democracies don't turn into fascist oligarchies

typically by being invaded or by losing wars. You know, I get it that there will be people

who will say, well, you know, France fell to Hitler and all that kind of stuff. But, you know,

it never really became a fascist oligarchy. None of those occupied territories that Hitler seized

were those things beyond their occupation by Germany. So I don't think that you can say

that they really became fascist oligarchies. They were occupied territories. But what does

cause fascist oligarchies is that they get taken down from within. This is how it always happens.

And it is always two things that bring about this transition from democracy to fascism.

And the first is typically a charismatic leader. Actually, it's not even the first. The two

are equally important. One is a charismatic leader. And the other, as we had with New

Gingrich in the 90s, as we have with Donald Trump in this, in this century. And the other is

the morbidly rich funding the effort. I mean, it has literally played out this way in every

democracy that became an authoritarian oligarchy that has fallen to tyranny. For example, it happened

in the 30s in Germany and Italy and in Spain and in Japan. And more recently over the last 15-20

years, it's happened in Hungary. It's happened in Poland. It's happened in Egypt. It's happened in

Russia. It's happened in the Philippines. It's happened in Turkey. And, you know, the list goes on.

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