SLO County Democrats are not ‘in the sewer.’ They are proudly anti-fascist | Opinion
Not so long ago, fighting fascism was considered a noble cause.
No more.
These days, self-identifying as “antifa” — as the SLO County Democratic Party chair has been doing — could get you branded a terrorist and possibly even arrested.
This is not hyperbole.
President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order that declared Antifa (note the capital “A”) a “domestic terrorist organization” and instructed his people to “investigate, disrupt and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions.”
The president is correct to call out illegal, terrorist activities, but an executive order singling out just one group — which many scholars define as a movement, rather than an organization — is a purely political move aimed at further demonizing those Tiump refers to as “Radical Left Democrats.”
His condemnation of “Antifa” has opened the door to denouncing anyone who opposes the president’s authoritarian regime. And not only is “antifa” a dirty word, it’s also no longer safe to call our president a fascist, a Hitler or a Mussolini.
Tom Fulks: ‘I wear my anti-fascist badge proudly’
That doesn’t faze Tom Fulks, who heads up the local Democratic Party.
“I wear my anti-fascist badge proudly,” he said.
(This would be a good place to point out that, contrary to rumor, Fulks is no longer affiliated with The Tribune and does not ghost write our content.)
Fulks has long been a lightning rod for SLO County conservatives, and that hasn’t changed.
“Fulks and the other radical Democratic Socialists of America crowd have taken over the once-proud Democrat Party, and they have embraced Antifa radicalism,” was one reader comment posted on a recent opinion piece.
Fulks has been posting “antifa this” and “antifa that” on social media for weeks now, especially when promoting the upcoming No Kings Day protest on Oct. 18.
One example of his brand of rhetoric: “We’re all antifa now. Bring it fascists.”
For good measure, he also threw in an “FAFO” (’F--- around and find out’), a slang expression that AI has dubbed “a cultural phenomenon used across political divides” — but one that some regard as a red flag.
“In this climate, slogans like ‘Bring it, fascists’ or ‘FAFO’ are not harmless memes,” Tribune columnist Clive Pinder wrote in a recent column. “They are accelerants poured on a country already smoldering.”
That’s a message that should be shared with President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who have both used the term “FAFO” — Hegseth in his recent lecture to top military leaders.
“Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision and ferocity of the War Department. In other words, to our enemies, FAFO,” he warned. “If necessary, our troops can translate that for you.”
So Hegseth and Trump get a pass for “spewing four-letter profanities” but Fulks doesn’t?
Suppressing dissent is a hallmark of fascism
That’s not how things are supposed to work in a nation that prides itself on constitutional freedoms, with freedom of speech at the top of that list.
Suppressing dissent against the government in power is one hallmark of — dare I say it? — fascism.
There are plenty of others: Rigging elections to remain in power. Insisting on filing charges against political enemies. Sending military troops into cities. Ignoring court orders.
That isn’t to say that Trump is a full-fledged fascist (some scholars use the term “fascism-lite” in referring to the president’s style of governance.)
Still, such examples point to why Trump’s detractors — including thousands of nonviolent protesters in our own county — feel compelled to take to the streets to call out the authoritarianism of this administration.
Want it to stop?
Attempting to shame them into silence won’t work. Neither will yanking them off the air, pulling their books off library shelves, removing their art from musuem walls or shutting down their protests.
There is only one sure way the Trump administration and its enablers can make anti-fascists go away.
It’s simple: Reverse course and stop acting like fascists.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
