Back during the Nixon Prez campaign of 1972 (the one managed by CREEP that produced WaterGate), the basic rule was established:
Paint your opponent as so far Left that you can move very far Right.

In the case of McGovern, CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect The President) used various techniques including hiring guys with scraggly beards and long hair ('Hippy Freaks') to jam into camera shots everytime McGovern was televised.

So, for fascism nothing much has changed- tactics-wise .