What if the John Birch Society Came to Power?

A fascinating thought experiment from Ernie Lazar, the archivist and historian of the American right and a frequent commenter at this blog. This originated as a comment in a string at another blog; anyone with an interest in the far right (sympathetic or not) should read it through.

1.  Since you state that you know "next to nothing about the JBS" -- it certainly seems strange that you would be willing to let the destiny of our nation be subject to their whims. 2. Consider the following information -- but keep in mind some historical facts. PRIOR TO the time when Lenin and Hitler attained political power and control of their nations, they both made promises which sounded good and which appealed to significant numbers of people. 3. Robert Welch EXPLICITLY stated in the JBS Blue Book (page 159), that: "A republican form of government or of organization has many attractions and advantages under certain favorable conditions. But under less happy circumstances it lends itself too readily to infiltration, distortion, and disruption." Let's consider the meaning of that Welch statement by bringing together as much factual data as we can. 4. Because, (according to Welch), the "certain favorable conditions" were NOT in existence in December 1958, he proposed to create the JBS as a "monolithic" organization which "will operate under completely authoritative control at all levels" -- because, again quoting Welch, "democracy, of course, in government or organization, as the Greeks and Romans both found out, as I believe every man in this room clearly recognizes -- democracy is merely a deceptive phrase, a weapon of demagoguery and a perennial fraud." OK---so how did Welch quantify the supposed "unfavorable" conditions which existed in the U.S. in 1958 and thereafter? This is very important because only then can we get an idea about when the JBS might think that the "FAVORABLE conditions" would exist to permit a republican form a government to operate. Consult the first edition of the “Scoreboard” issue of the JBS magazine, American Opinion (AO). According to Welch, the Scoreboard issue was designed to estimate “the present degree of Communist influence or control over the economic and political affairs of almost all the nations of the world.” According to the first AO Scoreboard the U.S. score was 20-40% under "Communist influence and control". Lest you think that a 20-40% score represents insignificant “Communist influence and control” --- please remember the following: 5. In 1958, according to Welch, “a dedicated conscious agent of the Communist conspiracy” was in the U.S. Presidency, and Communist “tools” or “dupes” or "sympathizers" headed major U.S. government Departments such as Allen Dulles (CIA), Neil McElroy (Defense Department) and John Foster Dulles (State Department) and Earl Warren (U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice). Thus, according to the JBS paradigm, as explained by Robert Welch in his manuscript "The Politician" as well as in the annual Scoreboard issues of American Opinion magazine --- the U.S., Great Britain, France, and Germany and most NATO countries were already being led by Communist agents and sympathizers and the major institutions of western countries were dominated and controlled by equally disloyal individuals. The reason why the JBS was created based upon a totalitarian model is precisely because Welch believed that the "certain favorable conditions" did NOT exist for a different model. And about a year after the JBS was founded Welch declared that our government was already "literally in the hands of the Communists" -- which, of course, means the "certain favorable conditions" did not exist at that time for government either. 6. In 1960 (according to the JBS) the U.S. "communist influence and control” score had reached 40-60% and then in 1961 thru 1963 it was 50-70% and in 1964 it reached a staggering 60-80%. Obviously, per the JBS, the "certain favorable conditions" which would permit a republican form of government simply DID NOT EXIST! The objective situation (compared to 1958) was exponentially WORSE! Now, combine all that data, with a list of all the U.S. politicians and public figures whom the JBS has described since the 1960's as Communist or Communist sympathizer or Communist agent -- plus re-visit the Welch position on Americans For Democratic Action---which I discuss below (and similar liberal groups), plus remember the JBS belief that most, if not all, of our Presidents since FDR have been traitors (which means the U.S. electorate cannot be trusted to elect the right people) AND THEN combine that data with the current edition of the JBS "Freedom Index" which tells us that our Congress IS NOT composed of people who understand our Constitution and they routinely violate their oath of office---then WHY should we expect that the JBS would be willing to maintain a republican form of government TODAY when the "certain favorable conditions" STILL DO NOT EXIST --- and, according to many posters in this thread, we have another "Communist" in office as President!! ??? Now, let me digress for one moment to discuss Welch's comments about Americans For Democratic Action. This is critically important because it reveals something about the way Birchers think (and it can be used to predict their behavior if they ever achieve political power). 7. Here is an example of how the Birch Society uses language in a very sloppy and imprecise manner in order to mask its true intentions---just like Hitler and Lenin did PRIOR TO them assuming power: In his book length "private letter" entitled "The Politician" Robert Welch explicitly states (page 109): "Now it is perfectly all right for a man to be a Democrat, even an A.D.A. [Americans For Democratic Action] Democrat, if that school of political philosophy expresses his own honest beliefs." BUT just 10 pages later, Welch states that the objective of the ADA and a similar Republican group called Republican Advance was "the gradual communization of the United States to make easier its absorption into a world-wide Communist empire ruled from the Kremlin." And, then, just a few months later, during his 12/58 lecture in Indianapolis to the 11 men whom Welch asked to support him with creating the John Birch Society --- as reported in the JBS Blue Book, page 117, Welch declared: "But the ADA, whether a lot of its members know it or not, is the same as an arm of the Communist Party. Its weight can be thrown, and is thrown, time after time, with never an exception, in support of Communist objectives." SO WHICH ROBERT WELCH SHOULD WE BELIEVE?  (1) Is it "perfectly all right" to be an “ADA Democrat”? OR (2) Is the ADA a subversive group whose objectives amount to treason and whose agenda "is the same as an arm of the Communist Party" because it seeks to facilitate “the gradual communization of the United States to make easier its absorption into a world-wide Communist empire ruled from the Kremlin." ?? If the JBS mentality was operative within our Justice Department, what would happen to ADA leaders and ADA members?  What would happen to ANY American whom the JBS has previously described as a "Communist", or as a "Comsymp" or as "an agent" of the Communist Party?  [Keep in mind one more FACT. In 1979, Robert Welch wrote a series of articles in the JBS Bulletin where he outlined his reasons for why President Carter should have been impeached for TREASON. In the 1990's, the Birch Society declared that it was mistaken to impeach Clinton for sexual improprieties or other reasons offered at that time. INSTEAD, Clinton should have been impeached for TREASON. REMEMBER: The JBS thinks that most of our national leaders, government officials, and politicians over the past 80 years have been traitors and/or "agents" of a vast conspiracy. AND: As JBS founder Robert Welch stated in 1960 to his National Council, it makes "no practical difference" to distinguish between an actual traitor, a Communist sympathizer, or a Communist "agent"! Then remember the previous data I provided in this forum re: Robert Welch's grievously mistaken idea regarding the number of Communist Party members in our country. Then remember that every major predicate of JBS ideology concerning the status of our internal security was FALSE (according to FBI investigative files) Then remember the extreme hostility which Birchers and their sympathizers direct toward their critics Then remember that the JBS has never acknowledged substantive error in its 54+ year history--i.e. it has never retracted any derogatory statement or judgment about persons or organizations it characterized as disloyal, subversive, traitors, and similar terms. Then remember that the JBS does not believe that the American people have the remotest clue about what really is happening in our country----which is why they keep electing and re-electing traitors and "Communist agents" and similar types to office. Then go to the back cover of the new 2002 edition of The Politician published by the JBS. The back cover tells readers that "The Politician" represents "the bitter, but little known truth" about our postwar history (specifically the Eisenhower years). Furthermore, the closing comment on the back cover is as follows: "But most importantly, The Politician exposes that 'conspiracy of gangsters' which even now is setting America's foreign and domestic policy." The "conspiracy of gangsters"  is put in quotation marks because it refers to a specific comment made by Welch in The Politician (page 260 of the new 2002 edition) where Welch describes President Eisenhower as an enemy of our country who "is either a willing agent, or an integral and important part, of a conspiracy of gangsters determined to rule the world at any cost."And, remember, according to the JBS this grave situation continues to exist “even now” because a “conspiracy of gangsters” is “setting America’s foreign and domestic policy”. So you can see the continuity of thought starting in 1954 (first editions of The Politician) running to early 1959 (first editions of JBS Blue Book where Welch refers to "certain favorable conditions" which must exist BEFORE a republican form of government can be permitted to operate) to 1960 (Welch's comments to his National Council where he accused many prominent U.S. Senators and Governors of being Communist traitors or other terms which resulted in "no practical difference"… to the late 1960's when the JBS claimed that Communists were running "both sides" of the Vietnam war, to the late 1970's when Welch wanted President Carter impeached for TREASON, to the 1990's when the JBS wanted President Clinton impeached for TREASON, to the 2002 comment about a conspiracy of gangsters “even now” setting our national policies, to the 2004 Presidential campaign when the JBS stated that John Kerry was a traitor, to the current time when JBS admirers here in this forum insist President Obama is a Communist. That reveals everything you need to know about what the JBS would do if it ever achieved political power in our country.