Rep. John Hall: U.S. on the March to Fascism

With the new GOP-led House of Representatives set to swear in this week, one Representative had some ominous words for Americans on his last week in the House. Representative John Hall (D-N.Y.) told the New York Observer that America could be on a fast track to fascism thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decision a year ago.

Hall told the Observer that “the country was bought” and stated “I learned when I was in social studies class in school that corporate ownership or corporate control of government is called Fascism.”

Hall was a big supporter of the DISCLOSE Act, which would have curbed some of the more extreme measures of Citizens United by requiring groups to identify themselves when campaigning and would have limited the ability of foreign corporations to spend money in U.S. elections. The DISCLOSE Act was stalled by filibuster in July.

While we don’t expect to see brown shirts goose-stepping down Main Street anytime soon, Hall’s comments raise some valid questions about the role Citizen’s United played in the last election cycle. As we pointed out in October, this election saw record spending and plenty of the funds came from corporate sources. While some might see Hall’s comments as sour grapes from an outgoing Democrat, the larger financial influence big business could have in electing America’s government as a result of the Citizens United decision cannot be denied.