It can't, because it already is one. It has been for a while, and no matter who got elected, it was going to be a fascist in the white house, because both of the candidates were fascists, one subtle, one blatant. The more blatant one got the victory, which is great, because now people might actually start fighting the fascism they've been happily ignoring as it seeped into our nation's everyday operations.

But maybe you don't believe that the US is a fascist state already. After all, only countries with dictators are fascist. Right? Well, how about we compare the US with the characteristics of fascism, and see how many characteristics we can check off.

14 characteristics of fascism:

"1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays."

When don't we constantly hear about how great this country is? How frequently do you see patriotic symbols and phrases? Every school does the pledge every morning, our flag flies in every classroom, we praise the nation in song constantly. Need I remind anyone of "Freedom Fries?"

"2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc."

We have sacrificed so many rights, of our own citizens, and of the citizens of other nations. We even allow for public molestation of people who want to travel by jet, for "security" reasons, even though it has never once stopped any would-be terrorist from getting on a plane. And how long have we had torture now? Hell, has anybody paid attention recently to see if the government has stopped torturing people? I"m betting not. How about Guantanamo? That still open?

"3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc."

And now, I will recite for you the Clinton campaign's main argument:
"RUSSIARUSSIARUSSIARUSSIARUSSIAFEARRUSSIABEAFRAIDRUSSIAWILLDESTROYUSRUSSIAPUTINRUSSIA!"
Aside from that, how often are the things that ail the nation blamed on anything other than the nation or the government? I'm going to guess 80% of the time, but I could be off.

"4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized."

How much of the budget goes to military again? ...Oh yeah, more than half of it. And how much of the nation is poor or impoverished? ...Wow, around half of the nation! That's an interesting coincidence (and I do mean that). Approximately half of the population earned less than $30,000 last year. That's pretty bad. But surely the military isn't glamorized, right? Oh, wait. We have a yearly installment of several video games that glorify warfare. Hell, BF1 (WW1 based video game) glorifies the US military's role in WW1, even though it played a fairly small part of that war. And how many movies do we have now showing how awesome and badass our military and its members are? I stopped counting years ago.

"5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution."

Hey, the first thing on this list that I can't really check off. I mean, sure, there's still sexism and bigotry, but it's not a national crisis. Racism is a much bigger concern, and even that is mainly establishment vs civilians, not really people vs people. But we can't really say the US is "almost exclusively male-dominated" anymore. I mean, sure, it's still there to an extent, but that's mainly a lingering remnant of our previous generations that still believed a woman was meant to stay in the house.

"6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common."

6 corporations own nearly all the media. And it shows. How much coverage did the anti-establishment Sanders get? Virtually none at all. How much coverage does the war crimes our government commits? Literally none at all.
6 corporations own nearly all the media, and soon it may be only 5.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZVv2AOCnaA width:640 height:360]

"7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses."

I refer you to my previous comment about legal public molestation of air-travelers. On top of that, may I remind everybody that virtually all electronic activity we engage in is spied on.

"8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions."

Ahem: Republican party. Aside from that, politicians are sworn in on a bible, god is mentioned in pretty much every speech and campaign, religious conviction is used as a measurement of qualification, etc.

"9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite."

Honestly, is there anybody in this nation that believes otherwise? Right now, our cops are roughing up minorities for opposing a pipeline being built. Occupy Wallstreet protesters were cuffed and made to kneel in a parking garage until they passed out. The bastards that crashed the economy and defrauded thousands of people walk freely to this day.

"10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed."

How many anti-union laws are there? Pretty much every red state has them, right? We don't really have unions anymore. Haven't since Reagan, I believe. Not effective ones, at least.

"11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked."

This one I'm not sure on. I mean, sure, there's disdain for those with higher education, but at the same time it's greatly desired. Half a point?

"12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations."

Honestly, can you think of anywhere else other than the US with this one? What do we have, 2nd or 3rd largest prison population? Or was it the largest?

"13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders."

I think this just described our Electoral College and the "revolving door" effect simultaneously.

"14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections."

Democratic Primary. Need I say more? Don't care, I will: can anybody remember a campaign that didn't engage in smear tactics? Doesn't "Political district boundaries" sound an awful lot like gerrymandering? And "judiciaries to manipulate or control elections?" Supreme Court vote for the 2000 campaign awarded Bush the presidency.

So, how many did we hit here? I think the count is 12-13, depending on if you count #11. Now try telling me that the US isn't a fascist nation.