Why do I keep calling the Bush administration Fascist? Well, there's this, for starters. (I know I show that a lot. Some people missed it!)
And this I like, borrowed with appreciation from the Air America Radio blog:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote a book... called Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and his Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy (HarperCollins, 2004).See? Plutocracy: coming to a theater [of war] near you.
In the book, Kennedy implies that we live in a fascist country and that the Bush White House has learned key lessons from the Nazis.
"While communism is the control of business by government, fascism is the control of government by business," he writes. "My American Heritage Dictionary defines fascism as 'a system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership together with belligerent nationalism.' Sound familiar?"
He quotes Hitler's propaganda chief Herman Goerring: "It is always simply a matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."
Kennedy then adds: "The White House has clearly grasped the lesson."
Kennedy also quotes Benito Mussolini's insight that "fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power."
"The biggest threat to American democracy is corporate power," Kennedy told us. "There is vogue in the White House to talk about the threat of big government. But since the beginning of our national history, our most visionary political leaders have warned the American public against the domination of government by corporate power."
12 comments:
In a fascist country, do you think that you would be able to put stuff like that on the internet? Hitler or Musolini would have had you arrested and maybe executed. The very fact that you are allowed to be heard proves that you are not living in a fascist country. Also, don't confuse nationalism with patriotism. The word nationalism comes from the word nationality. The word denotes a an allegance to a specific race. Americans are not defined by race. There is no specific race that is American, like in France, Germany, Italy, etc. Iraq is free and when they ask us to leave, we are out of there. George Bush will be gone in three years. Then we will have an election. Does that kind of thing happen in Fascism? Remember when your guys ran ads scaring black people into thinking that their churches would burn if Bush was elected. Remember the last election when you all were spreading that nonsense about a draft. You want to talk about propaganda? Look at your buddies on the left. And election fraud. A Kennedy is talking about election fraud after what happened in Illinois in 1960. How about Washington state this year and those heavily democratic counties in Ohio that had more people registered to vote than live in the freaking counties? Your guys were trading crack for voter registrations. Every major media organiztion, including the New York Times, and CBS news went to Florida after 2000 and found no election fraud. Not only that but the Civil Rights Commision didn't find any either. As for that cut and paste job that Michael Moore made; did you know about the Clintons ties to the Saudis, or about how many govt. contracts Halliburton recieved under the Clinton administration? You live in some kind of paranoid bizarro world. You guys think that Karl Rove was behind everything, including Rathergate, and the Bin Laden tape. I hate name calling but can you not see why someone would think you are crazy? In the past, I said that I thought you guys were still patriots, but after lookin at that little video, I am not so sure anymore.
In which dictionary does it indicate nationalism is defined by race? I found this definition:
Devotion to the interests or culture of one's nation. Seems pretty damn close to patriotism to me. I have an uncle who is one of leaders of the Front National in France. Their policies exclude everyone irrespective of race. They are viewed as a nationalist party because of their protectionist platform, not because they uniquely single out people by race. Ultra-conservatism at it's best... or worst...
By your definition nationalism is a bad word, perhaps you should read some speeches by Republican leaders and you will realize they are happy to align themselves with moderate nationalists.
"Americans are not defined by race." But the Republican party is, and since they are in power we are increasingly seperated by race. Of the 150 programs that Bush has proposed to cut in the 2006 budget, how many disproportionately affect minorities? Almost all of them.
Their churches haven't been burned but their foodstamps have.
Liberals are the true patriots, it's people like you who are tearing the country apart. How patriotic is that?
“You live in some kind of paranoid bizarro world.”
No, I’m a realistc who lives in a bizarro world, and so do you. Furthermore, you are wrong, and here’s why:
“The very fact that you are allowed to be heard proves that you are not living in a fascist country.”
I did not say we live in a fascist country. I said the Bush administration is fascist. There is a difference. The Air America writer said that Kennedy “implies.” That is an inference drawn by them.
“The word nationalism comes from the word nationality. The word denotes a an allegance to a specific race.”
I looked up the definition of nationalism, just to make sure – it says nothing about race. Racism and nationalism are two different things. Nationalism refers to culture, not race – quite different. And the word nationality, also, refers to a one’s country, not one’s race.
“Iraq is free and when they ask us to leave, we are out of there.”
Oh, please! Iraq is free? They’re under martial law, occupied by a foreign government, and the vast majority of them want the U.S. out. And even when the U.S. military leaves, the fascist corporate controllers will remain in power.
“George Bush will be gone in three years. Then we will have an election. Does that kind of thing happen in Fascism?”
See above – I never said America is a fascist country.
“Remember when your guys ran ads scaring black people into thinking that their churches would burn if Bush was elected.”
No, but I saved examples of republican hate ads claiming that the democrats would ban the bible. Also, blacks were heavily disenfranchised by the republicans, not the democrats.
“Remember the last election when you all were spreading that nonsense about a draft.”
Nonsense, ay? Guess what – it is still compulsory to register for the draft, has been since the 80’s (you did register for the draft, didn’t you?) Not to mention the “backdoor draft” that has occurred during this war.
“How about Washington state this year and those heavily democratic counties in Ohio that had more people registered to vote than live in the freaking counties?”
The data shows election fraud which favored republicans, also statements wherein Ohio promised to deliver for Bush by any means necessary.
“Your guys were trading crack for voter registrations.”
You make a statement like that and call me paranoid? Hah! You bear the burden of proof on that one.
“Every major media organiztion, including the New York Times, and CBS news went to Florida after 2000 and found no election fraud. Not only that but the Civil Rights Commision didn't find any either.”
First of all, are you talking about the same media organizations which you have previously comdemned, which you implied had no credibility because they are leftist? Okay, here’s the thing: there was election fraud and dirty tricks, and it has been shown that Gore won the election in 2000, when the actual votes were counted. But George “I hate trial lawyers” Bush sued to stop the votes from being counted! Now ask me again whether free elections would happen under fascism?
“As for that cut and paste job that Michael Moore made; did you know about the Clintons ties to the Saudis, or about how many govt. contracts Halliburton recieved under the Clinton administration?”
Michael Moore’s book Stupid White Men contains an entire chapter devoted to the bad things the Clinton administration did. You call it a “cut and paste job” because you are a “cut and paste” consumer of what he said. You might be surprised how heavily critical Michael Moore is of the Clinton administration. Whenever republicans criticize MM and Clinton in the same breath, they demonstrate an unawareness of this fact.
“You guys think that Karl Rove was behind everything”
Not everything, just a some really vile, insidious, contemptible, anti-american manipulations that are so subversive to democracy that they stand with the most disgusting examples of dirty tricks that, sadly, are included in our political history.
“I hate name calling but can you not see why someone would think you are crazy?”
Absolutely. It is wise to be aware of one’s critics. Can you not see why someone would think you are crazy, too?
“In the past, I said that I thought you guys were still patriots, but after lookin at that little video, I am not so sure anymore.”
You mean the 14 points of fascism video? You’re in favor of those things?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Dissent is patriotic.
Thanks for the link to the movie, it was interesting.
Here is a link that discusses Chad Staton and the NAACP member who helped him get crack in exchange for voter registrations, http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/10/19/85331.shtml.
So cutting programs that do not work is a racist idea. I will tell you what is racist, making generations of minorities dependant on the government instead of trying to help them out of their govt. dependancy into self sufficiency. The only blacks who have been disenfranchised are the ones who are not legally supposed to vote anyway. Also, not allowing dead people to vote is not disenfranchisement. History will prove you all wrong on Iraq, as it has on the Reagan arms buildup that brought down the evil empire. Thankfully though, you will not get your way in Iraq like you did in Southeast Asia when millions were murdered after we left. Here is a link by a left-wing website discussing the medias findings concerning Florida in 2000, http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/nov2001/flor-n16.shtml.
The reason I used the leftwing major media organizations as an example was for your sake. You would not care about the Wall Street Journals report. 2000 was a close election. Gore won the popular vote but Bush won the electoral vote. You guys just figured that if you kept recounting and recounting that eventually you would win Florida. You successfully pulled that off in the state of Washington in 2004. Face it, you guys are losing because Americans by and large do not think like you. Look at the house, senate, governorships and state legislature races. You all are losing because you don't offer anything new. It is just the same old gameplan of race baiting, class warfare, and support of unsuccessful govt. programs. I am okay with that though, because as long as people like you all are running the democratic party, you will continue to lose and continue to sue in order to get in office. You all are a little off the deep end but you are certainly not a threat. It is really kind of funny. You people just don't get it. Americans are a conservative people who are proud and God fearing. You all are just plain angry and frustrated. You don't offer optimism, just paranoia. As for definitions of nationalism, your definition still does not define America. We have many cultures in this country.Dissent is patriotic, but spreading propaganda meant to scare the masses is not. Those conspiracy videos about Clinton killing Vince Foster were wrong, but the lefwing stuff floating around today is just as wrong.
Jeeze Dino, get a grip! The “Evil Empire”? You’ve been watching too many Star Wars movies. The deconstruction of the soviet union can barely be classified as any sort of winning strategy. The world is a much more dangerous place now that the nuclear stockpiles of the soviet union are in the hands of their u.s. inspired mafia.
Do you have any idea of the shit that our own govt has been piling on anybody that doesn’t agree with our corporate policies? Look up evil empire in the reality dictionary and our picture is right next to the definition.
And please stop the bullshit about our social programs “making generations of minorities dependant on the government instead of trying to help them out of their govt. dependancy into self sufficiency.” I’ve seen the deep seated racism of this country at work first hand. Even Collin Powell admitted that the reason that there were so many people of color in the military was that it was one of the only places in America that minorities had a chance of advancement.
And excuse me dickface but the statement “you will continue to lose and continue to sue in order to get in office.” is really rich considering that’s exactly how your precious little “dub dub” made it into the white house the first time.
Go ahead and laugh your satisfied belly laughs about how out of touch we are with our 49% of the American population. All it takes is waking up 3% of you IDIOTS!!! And your reality will be revealed as the smoking pile of dog shit that it already is.
BTW your call on the outcome in Iraq is beyond the pale in terms of self delusion.
Hey! Anybody got any NoDoze? I'm out.
Mike, I don't think the millions of Eastern Europeans freed becuase of Ronald Reagan care too much about world instability right now. Do you really think that Johnsons war on poverty was a success? Yeah, maybe successful in keeping people poor.George Bush did not use the courts to win the election in 2000. Al Gore is the idiot who could not accept he lost and filed suit.Sure, George Bush put up a defense at Gores attempted election theft. Do you really think that the 49% you are talking about are as far left as you are? Unbelievable. Mike, you really showed what an idiot you are with all of the name calling. It's a classic liberal gameplan. If you don't have any facts or statistics, just call them a fascist, or a racist, of Dickface. I am not surprised.
“Here is a link that discusses Chad Staton and the NAACP member who helped him get crack in exchange for voter registrations"
Okay, I visited that one. It’s an extremist site that has about as much credibility as Talon News. It’s okay to offer links like that to make a point, but it is so extremely biased that it has no credibility as a reliable source of proof to me – you would probably react the same way had I offered a Bartcop opinion as a news source. When I am using a link as a source of proof in a debate like the ones we engage in, I try to find the most objective ones possible. But anyway, I decided to do the homework on this, and searched for more legitimate information regarding Staton and the case you mentioned. Here is what I found: In October 2004 he was arrested for submitting fraudulent voter registration [http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041020/NEWS03/410200401]. In February 2005, he was convicted [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050219/ap_on_re_us/brf_registration_scam_1]. But dig this: nowhere was there any mention of involvement by the democratic party. It wasn’t even alleged that the registration forms were marked as democratic ones. The only mention of the democratic party was when they were accused by the GOP, who was quick to point the finger, but nowhere in the article did it say the democrats were accused by the authorities, or the reporters, of involvement. There was an accusation against the NAACP, which appears to have resulted in no proof aside from hearsay, but regardless, the NAACP is not the democratic party. The plot thickens: The woman who said she paid Staton crack cocaine wound up dead of an overdose.
1. This was evidently an individual action initiated by the specific individuals involved, not democratic party policy. The republican voter fraud, however, appears to be an orchestrated strategy by the party itself.
2. Ohio was a hotbed of republican voter fraud, what better way to employ that tried-and-true republican campaign strategy of deflecting attention away from the republican liabilities than to accuse the accuser, or blame the messenger, or call the kettle black?
3. Why is it that people who are potential sources of damaging information against the republicans tend to suddenly and unexpectedly die?
Anyway, the newsmax story is not proof. It’s just their dittohead wishful thinking.
“The only blacks who have been disenfranchised are the ones who are not legally supposed to vote anyway.”
No, in Florida they took blacks who were liegitimate, eligible voters, off the voter rolls, because their names happened to be similar to those caught up Karen Hughes’ and Jeb Bush’s sweeping attempts to prevent voters from overwhelmingly democratic areas from voting [http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0412-02.htm].
“History will prove you all wrong on Iraq…”
Darn, you missed the part where history has already proven us right about Iraq. Sorry.
“…as it has on the Reagan arms buildup that brought down the evil empire.”
I have two thoughts on that. 1) would an evil empire be one that engages in military invasion of a country, overthrows their government, kills maybe 100,000 innocent civilians, and lies to everyone before and after the fact, when that country offered no threat? 2) it would behoove more people to remember that the Reagan arms buildup is credited with the fall of the soviet union… over-extending the military when a country is bankrupt is apparently a recipe for disaster, according to Reagan republicans. So, that is what the Bush administration is doing to America.
“Thankfully though, you will not get your way in Iraq…”
We have no illusions of success against PNAC. Besides, my “way in Iraq” is no longer an option now that BushCheneyCo has been waging war there for so long.
“…like you did in Southeast Asia”
Huh? I don’t know who you’re referring to when you say that I or we “got my/our way” regarding southeast asia. My position on the Vietnam war is that it was totally wrong, we should never have been there, I blame both democratic and republican administrations for that war, so I never got my way. My way would have been 1) don’t go; 2) if we did go, leave.
“Here is a link by a left-wing website discussing the medias findings concerning Florida in 2000, http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/nov2001/flor-n16.shtml. The reason I used the leftwing major media organizations as an example was for your sake. You would not care about the Wall Street Journals report.”
Just because you have strong opinions against news organizations, don’t put words in my mouth. The World Socialist Web Site is not a “leftwing major media organization”. I seek information from across the spectrum to arrive at an objective conclusion. If you only look at extremist sites, don’t assume the rest of us do, and don’t assume everyone else considers them “news.” However, since you opened the door, try these on for size, beginning with one from The World Socialist Web Site contradicting the one you cite:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/feb2001/flor-f05.shtml
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2001/111201a.html
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1115-02.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0127-01.htm
http://www.bushwatch.com/gorebush.htm
http://www.americanpolitics.com/2001gore.html
http://www.legitgov.org/index_hot_April5.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/01/11/12_gorewon.html
“Gore won the popular vote but Bush won the electoral vote.”
If that had happened in favor of a republican president, would you just dismiss it and accept “the will of the people”? I’m guessing the right-wing media (including internet) would be all over it, calling for election reform. That’s what progressives have been doing.
“You guys just figured that if you kept recounting and recounting that eventually you would win Florida.”
No, we figured that the voters deserved an accurate count. Recounts are legally allowed to either party and have been done in the past to settle disputed results. We wanted to know for certain who was actually elected, not to have one candidate sue to stop the votes from being counted, then tell the voters that their votes don’t matter.
“You successfully pulled that off in the state of Washington in 2004.”
From what I understand, that vote was recounted twice. 1st because it was so close that it called for an automatic machine recount, 2nd because the machine recount was way different from the original result – necessitating a hand recount. Again, I’ll bet when the tables are turned, we won’t hear a peep about the evils of requesting a recount from the republicans.
“Face it; you guys are losing because Americans by and large do not think like you.”
Maybe, but the fact that the republican party cheats to “win” elections is a bigger reason.
“Look at the house, senate, governorships and state legislature races. You all are losing because you don't offer anything new.”
Repealing social programs, dismantling environmental laws, cutting funding for police and firefighters, cutting funding for veterans benefits, engaging in disastrous fiscal irresponsibility including war profiteering, and forcing taxpayers to support religions they do not agree with, is not “offering something new.” If anything, it is a return to what we hoped to have been rid of decades, maybe centuries, ago.
“It is just the same old gameplan of race baiting, class warfare, and support of unsuccessful govt. programs.”
Thanks for summarizing the republican platform.
“I am okay with that though, because as long as people like you all are running the Democratic Party…”
I am not a member of any political party, I am an independent who believes that democratic party policies are better than republican party policies.
“you will continue to lose and continue to sue in order to get in office.”
You just described George Bush there! Did we change the subject?
“You all are a little off the deep end but you are certainly not a threat.”
That’s true.
“You people just don't get it.”
Yes, we do.
“Americans are a conservative people who are proud and God fearing.”
Except for the other half of the population who are a progressive people who are also proud and may or may not share your religious views. Your not prejudiced against people with other religious views, are you?
“You all are just plain angry and frustrated.”
Sometimes. So, sometimes, are “you all”.
“You don't offer optimism, just paranoia.”
Oh really? Wasn’t it “you” who were paranoid about Iraq being such an awful threat, when it turned out to be untrue? Isn’t it the republicans who claim a hightened alert level every time they need to distract the public about something (like the code read terror alerts in Ohio on voting day)? Isn’t it the republicans who keep threatening that if people don’t vote for them, the terrorists will attack?
“As for definitions of nationalism, your definition still does not define America.”
It wasn’t meant to. I was defining the word “nationalism”, not America. I thought I made myself clear on that, sorry if I confused anyone.
“Dissent is patriotic, but spreading propaganda meant to scare the masses is not.”
That’s why we keep criticizing the republicans for doing it.
“the leftwing stuff floating around today is…wrong.”
Well, we could go back and forth on that one saying, “no it isn’t,” “yes it is,”… facts are facts, and the sooner we all recognize the existence of problems that exist on both sides, the better off we’ll be.
SheaNC, I don't enjoy all of this division. Neither of us are going to change the other ones mind. I like discussing ideas and policy much more. All of the scandals and gotcha moments go both ways. I could say this and cite my source, then you would say that and cite your source. We could go on and on. The real arguments are about capitalism versus socialism, pro-life versus pro-choice, preemptive war against anti-war.Can you tell me one republican whom you wholeheartedly disagree with on economic, social, and military issues, that you don't think is an evil fascist? Let me know and I will support that guy. Is Frist evil too? How about McCain, or Condi? If I can help it, I really do not want to put anybody in there in 2008 who stirs up a bunch of hatred for him (or her). Most people who are anti-abortion do not believe you should blow up clinics, and most environmentalist do not go around desecrating SUV's.
You know that I am not prejudiced against people with other religious beliefs. Christians do not even all agree with each other. There is like a million denominations out there.Some of these people may be wrong and misguided but most are not evil. It just seems like the liberals on the internet have turned into a mirror image of the far right during the Clinton years. Extremism is scary, regardless of which side it comes from. Maybe I the sucker here, but I don't believe that LBJ had JFK killed, I don't believe in UFO's, and I don't believe that Clinton had Vince Foster wacked. Also, I don't believe that Bush and Rove are racists and fascist.
Glen Dean, I too do not enjoy the division. I do make inflammatory statements, however, you do, too. As for the republican leaders with whom I disagree, if I consider carefully I can truthfully answer that I cannot recall finding a politician of any party with whom I completely agree or disagree. I should to a post about republicans I am okay with :) Like so many voters, I'm left to weigh the options and compare a list of evils to determine who would do the least amount of damage. Condi I don't like, and I haven't done my homework on Frist. McCain, I have a history with - I am from his state of Arizona, and I followed his original run for congress. He has done good things, but he is a well-intentioned political prostitute, in my opinion, because he puts the party's insterests ahead of the voters, and that sucks. It's what's wrong with both parties.
I don't think all republicans are bad, nor do I think all democrats are good. I'm even thinking of adding more widespread criticism to both parties, just to get back to my independent roots (I only affiliate with a party, it seems, when it becomes necessary to try to defeat a member of the Bush family).
As for the religious thing, I can't say you are conciously predjudiced, But when you say that "Americans are..." It is a generalization, and those are intrinsically flawed because there are always exceptions to the rule. To say that Americans are conservative and god-fearing can be taken as an insult by many (including me, although I am considering it as a rhetorical statement here). Why? Because we who are not described that way are Americans, too! We are taxpaying citizens who contribute in a myriad of ways to the betterment of the country, including national defense. Most of us were born here and we do not like being marginalized or excluded. Your statement is dangerously close to saying that only real Americans believe as you do, while the rest might as well not exist. And it is THAT sentiment that compels liberals to conclude that the right is intolerant, and wants to turn the U.S. into a gated community of the "chosen ones." It is elitism, even while the right tries to call others "elite", they live in glass houses.
You're right that extremism is scary. In my case, I was a non-partisan moderate, who believed that both political parties are hopelessly corrupt, while the mainstream population was moderate, mostly economically conservative and socially liberal. But I was driven to extremism by evidence that one party actually planned and implemented the subversion of one of our most precious rights: our vote. And I am not alone, there are scores of formerly complacent couch potatoes who became screaming radicals thanks to 21st century American politics.
I should end by explaining about the fascism thing. First, the word itself provokes a negative reaction, but if you consider it objectively, it just describes a political/economic system (yeah, I'm blurring that distinction here, too). It describes a marriage between corporate power and the state, and that certainly fits in with the corporate influence on American politics. many others notice it too, and left-wing bloggers with integrity should be ready to point it out if it occurs in the democratic party, too, because it's bad regardless.
Now, I wonder why blogging is taking up all my free time?
I do believe that everyone is equally American, regardless of religious belief or lack of belief. I will be glad when these four years are up. Maybe the Democrats will nominate someone like Bill Richardson in 08, so I won't have to be so nervous around election time. I guess when I sit and think what it would be like to have a President Kerry in the White House, I can understand the frustration. Anyway, I am signing off. Take it easy.
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