Yesterday, the Washington Post revealed that the Defense Department just hired three rightwing online personalities (boldface mine):

The Pentagon has secretly installed several conservative military veterans with large online followings in government roles, declining to disclose their assignments as they amplify Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s viewpoints and attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter and corroborating material.

At least some of the influencers have been assigned to civilian roles that could lead to changes in policy, the people familiar with the matter said…

Those involved include Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel, and Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel, people familiar with the matter said. Pentagon records reviewed by The Washington Post show that both have active official government email addresses as of this past week and are assigned to the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. The email addresses include a “.civ” suffix, meaning they are labeled as civilian employees, rather than as military personnel or contractors.

For Schlichter, conservative or rightwing doesn’t adequately describe him–the appropriate word is fascist:

Calling him a fascist isn’t hyperbole, as in one thread, he managed to hit many of the fascist notes:

1. Forcing your opponents to “be like us.”
2. Banning political ideas you disagree with.
3. Nationalizing institutions to ensure their political correctness.
4. Banning critical media.
5. Viewing women primarily as breeders.
6. Dismantling unions.
7. “Use the law to ensure blue submission.”

(of course, there’s pissing and moaning about mask wearing too…)

In any operational sense, this is fascism. It is a journalistic failure to call him “conservative”, when his program recapitulates previous fascist programs. And now he’s ensconced within a very powerful military. If Democrats take back the House or the Senate, Democrats need to expose this guy (though they also should try to do so now too).

And when this nightmare is finally done, we are going to need such a thorough detrumpification effort, one I hope professional Democrats are up to doing.