By Bob Boldt

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The dictionary defines rebranding as “the process of giving a product or an organization a new name and a new image, in order to make it more attractive or successful.” Often we see companies and government programs rebranded after some product or PR disaster has revealed a tarnished organizational culture. There is the notorious “Blackwater” rebranded as “Xe.” or the criminal “School of The Americas” now called “The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.”

A far less apparent form of rebranding is evident in the continuation of nearly all the most scandalous programs and policies of the old Bush administration under the present Presidency of Barack Obama. Only the masks have changed. The ugly fascist face behind the façade remains the same.

I am not indulging in hyperbole in my use of the word “fascist.” Consider the following. “Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.” —Mussolini. More recently, the definition has been rebranded from this highly accurate, functional, relational one to something that would better resemble only a WWII historical artifact. By Mussolini’s definition, we are a fascist country.

Both the left and the right inaccurately attribute antagonistic biases to the press and the media. The corporate controlled media has only one biases—a pro-corporate one. Whatever President or Party may reign, the plutocrats know the government will do their bidding.  All the rampant disinformation about no taxes for the corporations and the expanding Billionaire Class and the necessary cutting of critical programs for the health and safety of the less than superrich is also promoted by the corporate owned media.

The Presidency itself had to be rebranded after the last Presidential election. Bush and the Republican product, candidate McCain were just too obvious—too ham-handed in their trampling on our rights and their obligations to the profits of their friends.  Even the sacrosanct War on Terror was beginning to show its bad stitching. Enter the new package—the charismatic, slick-talking, song-and-dance man who promised to end the corruption, the wars of choice, the secrecy and our disgraceful Neocon reputation as the sadistic, torture-obsessed bully of the world. 

Ask anyone who has studied Obama’s performance on the bailouts, war, foreign policy, Single Payer health care, environment, torture, habeas corpus, domestic spying, government transparency, etc. whether the change from Bush to Obama was “change we can believe in” or just rebranding.