AI Is A Gateway To The Welfare State
October 6, 2026 |
Keith Giles
Fascism never storms the castle—it’s carried in on the shoulders of conservatives who think they can tame it. They never do. They feed it, it eats them, and then they act shocked at the teeth marks. That’s the cycle. It’s not new. It’s not mysterious. And we’re watching it play out again in real time.
It always starts small. A protest movement bubbling up inside a broader conservative coalition—angry, loud, and aggrieved. They rail against elites, stoke fear of outsiders, and promise to take back a country that, supposedly, was stolen from them. Tea Party tantrums, Red Hat rallies, Stop the Steal—they’re not deviations from conservatism. They’re accelerants waiting for a spark.
Religion is never far from the protest. Priests, pastors, and televangelists sanctify the grievances: God’s family is under attack, Christian tradition is being erased, outsiders are the enemy. In Italy, Mussolini borrowed Catholic ritual for legitimacy. In Spain, Franco’s civil war was christened a “crusade.” In Germany, Nazi rallies sounded like revivals with better lighting. It’s always the same: the sacred becomes set dressing for rage.
Here’s where the rot sets in. Conservatives, terrified of the left, decide the fringe isn’t so bad. Better to saddle up with extremists than risk progressives actually governing. They convince themselves they can use the radicals: “They’re passionate, but we’ll keep them in check.”
Spoiler: they never do. History has receipts. Weimar conservatives thought they could box in Hitler. Italian elites thought Mussolini was a clown they could manage. The Spanish right thought Franco was just a blunt instrument. Every time, the same result—the instrument plays them.
And the churches? They cut the same deal. The Vatican signed the Lateran Pacts with Mussolini. Spanish bishops threw holy water on Franco’s troops. German clergy told the faithful that Hitler’s authority came straight from God. Religion sided with the devil and called it divine strategy.
This is the parasite phase. The fascists wear the conservative skin suit, hijack the platform, and push out anyone who resists. Suddenly, the party isn’t arguing about tax cuts—it’s pledging allegiance to a strongman, cheering political violence, and treating democracy as optional. The old guard clings to relevance by parroting the new line. Some swallow hard and sell out. Others are purged, censured, or booed off the stage. By the time anyone notices, “conservatism” is just fascism with a flag pin.
Religion follows suit. The cross gets nailed to the party platform, pulpits become propaganda outlets, and dissenting clergy are silenced or exiled. In Nazi Germany, the “German Christians” movement literally welded the swastika to the cross. In Spain, priests preached Franco as God’s chosen. In America today, pastors recite GOP talking points with more zeal than the Beatitudes. It’s not faith—it’s branding.
Eventually, the conservatives who thought they were in charge realize they’ve been had. They’re not the bosses—they’re ballast. And when ballast isn’t useful, it gets tossed. That’s when you see the sudden conversions: “I’ve always opposed authoritarianism,” says the senator who voted with the strongman 90% of the time. “This isn’t conservatism,” say pundits who cashed checks peddling the poison for years. By the time they decide to resist, the system’s already gutted, and their regret is about as useful as thoughts and prayers after a mass shooting.
Religion has its own late conversions too. The same bishops and pastors who blessed fascists at the altar later insist they were misunderstood. They find their prophetic voice only when it’s safe—when the regime has collapsed and the damage is irreversible. Their repentance is too late, and their credibility is gone. The pews empty because everyone knows the truth: faith sold itself to power, then tried to pretend it never happened.
We’re teetering between Stage 3 and Stage 4 right now. The hollowing is nearly complete. The GOP isn’t a conservative party anymore—it’s a vessel for reactionary rage. And yet conservatives still play the same tired game: wink, nod, and hope the beast doesn’t bite. But the beast always bites. That’s the point.
The danger isn’t just the fascists—they’ve always been there, lurking at the edges. The real danger is the cowardice of conservatives (and the clergy who bless them) who keep opening the door, handing over the keys, and then acting surprised when the house is no longer theirs.
