October 24, 2024

Everyone's talking about whether Trump meets "the definition of a fascist," after John Kelly "read aloud a definition of fascism that he had found online."

I saw that Kamala Harris, doing a town hall on CNN last night, "agreed" that Trump meets "the definition of a fascist," but she did not, herself, define "fascist," so I wondered what she was doing, embracing a conclusion, calling names. I live in a city where you can get called a "fascist" for venturing that Justice Scalia wrote a well-reasoned opinion. Among left-wingers, the definition of "fascist" is: right-wing. It's a shibboleth. To call someone a "fascist" is to identify yourself as on the left.

So it's a good thing to interpose the idea that a definition is needed, and it's interesting to see that Anderson Cooper did not ask Harris is Trump a fascist. But he did not task her with providing a definition. He just asked her whether Trump met the definition of a fascist. What's a home viewer to do? 

I didn't watch the town hall live. Frankly, I didn't know it was on. Which is odd considering that I read the news all day yesterday and it was a 90-minute CNN extravaganza. Hard to hide, one would think. And yet it was hidden from me.

The first headline I saw this morning was "Harris says in CNN town hall she agrees Trump is a fascist" (WaPo). Agrees? Who is she agreeing with? It was confusing, because the article only says that the moderator, Anderson Cooper, asked her if she believed Trump is a fascist. Who is she supposedly agreeing with? I don't think Cooper expressed an opinion. (That would be wrong. He was the moderator. Whatever he may think, he can't properly say it.)

I quickly figure out that this traces back to an October 22 article in the NYT, by Michael S. Schmidt: "As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator/John Kelly, the Trump White House’s longest-serving chief of staff, said that he believed that Donald Trump met the definition of a fascist." Boldface added.

In response to a question about whether he thought Mr. Trump was a fascist, Mr. Kelly first read aloud a definition of fascism that he had found online.

Good for Kelly for sensing that a definition is required. Bad for Kelly for just finding something on line and reading it out loud... 

“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” he said.

... and quickly concluding that the definition is met:

Mr. Kelly said that definition accurately described Mr. Trump.

“So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America,” Mr. Kelly said.

He thinks... but didn't do in 4 years in office? When did Trump ever say that the better way to run America is through "centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition [and] belief in a natural social hierarchy"? 

Are you wondering where on line Kelly found his definition? Make the most obvious guess and you will be right:

 

And here's Kamala Harris, at the CNN town hall, agreeing that the implied Wikipedia definition fits Trump:


ADDED: Both Kelly and Harris took a prompt from the questioner and agreed, embracing a word that they didn't really know. Kelly was a little more restrained: He checked Wikipedia and read the first sentence out loud before answering. Ridiculous!

ALSO: Perhaps Wikipedia was quoting something more prestigious and Kelly was reading that more prestigious source? No. Wikipedia has a footnote, which cites Encyclopedia Britannica and quotes: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, and the desire to create a Volksgemeinschaft (German: 'people's community'), in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation." Kelly did not read that text. He read the paraphrase that appears in the first sentence of the Wikipedia entry. That is, he operated at the level that would deserve an F in a high school social studies class.

PLUS: I had to add "and" in brackets when I quoted Kelly's reading of the Wikipedia definition: "centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition [and] belief in a natural social hierarchy." My "[and]" calls attention to the fact that Kelly stopped in the middle of a list of characteristics. He didn't see fit to continue reading: "subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy." Why did Kelly stop? Did he just get tired of reading? (You know, an entire long Wikipedia sentence is onerous for an F student.) Or did he look ahead and think for a half second and realize that he couldn't agree that Trump is opposed to individualism?

The link on "individual interests" goes to the Wikipedia article "Individualism." In the style of John Kelly, I'll read the beginning:
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and advocating that the interests of the individual should gain precedence over the state or a social group, while opposing external interference upon one's own interests by society or institutions such as the government. Individualism makes the individual its focus, and so starts "with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation."

To a leftist, that sounds right-wing and... ironically... fascist. But we only have 12 days left. We can only use short nasty words and sentence fragments. No time left for the extra credit assignment: Using the Wikipedia definition of "fascism," outline the argument that the Democratic Party presents the greater danger.

270 comments:

1 – 200 of 270   Newer›   Newest»
wendybar said...

Who knew our public officials were so dumb??

Kevin said...

Didn’t Mussolini serve fries to his people?

Leland said...

I grew up with the understanding Fascism is only to the right of Communism, which are both far left ideologies. A person that believes in centralized autocracy would support Roe over Dobbs.

dreams said...

Apparently, then everyone is a dumbass.

Heartless Aztec said...

Beyond trite. And that's why I've tuned the Left out for ...decades now.

Quaestor said...

The eternal subtext of the "fascist!" accusation: The leftist is about to lose an election, not narrowly, but epically.

Quaestor said...

Kevin writes, "Didn’t Mussolini serve fries to his people?"

No. That's a vicious myth. But he did make the fries run on time.

MadTownGuy said...

Kelly quotes Wikipedia:
“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” he said.

Wikipedia on far-left politics:
Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some scholars consider it to be the left of communist parties, while others broaden it to include the left of social democracy. In certain instances—especially in the news media—far left has been associated with some forms of authoritarianism, anarchism, communism, and Marxism, or are characterized as groups that advocate for revolutionary socialism and related communist ideologies, or anti-capitalism and anti-globalization.

I disagree with the anti-globalization part, since the Left in all its multivaried flavors seems to be all in for globalization.

Other than that, I see no daylight whatsoever between fascist authoritarianism and radical left (=socialist) authoritarianism. Kelly provides no substantiation for his claim that Trump is a fascist, as Althouse points out.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Can't seem to talk about
The things that bother me
Seems to be
What everybody has
Against me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJR_KGZO4U0

Pat said...

The PTB are simply going to have the dictionaries redfine “facism” like they did with “vaccine” a few years ago.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

Speaking of "making the trains run on time," who was it that broke the rail workers strike because he was worried about inflation leading up to the mid-terms? Benito Robinette Biden.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Yeah, but Kamala is a poopie face bed wetter.

Christopher B said...

David Harsanyi points out another issue with Kelly's story.

It’s also odd that Kelly, whose own son was killed in Afghanistan, heard Trump, then-president, who he believes to be a Hitler-loving fascist, mock his own child as a “sucker and loser” on numerous occasions, and said nothing for six years. Kelly is now saying that the president was regularly demeaning fallen heroes in the White House. So, how has not one other person heard it?

Now Kelly could maybe make a case that he's become aware of this over time, or that something about Trump's behavior has changed since he worked for him but as far as I know nobody is asking Kelly to explain himself.

Howard (not that Howard) said...

From a synopsis of Jonah Goldberg's "Liberal Fascism" (even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then):

Contrary to what most people think, the Nazis were ardent socialists (hence the term “National socialism”). They believed in free health care and guaranteed jobs. They confiscated inherited wealth and spent vast sums on public education. They purged the church from public policy, promoted a new form of pagan spirituality, and inserted the authority of the state into every nook and cranny of daily life. The Nazis declared war on smoking, supported abortion, euthanasia, and gun control. They loathed the free market, provided generous pensions for the elderly, and maintained a strict racial quota system in their universities—where campus speech codes were all the rage. The Nazis led the world in organic farming and alternative medicine. Hitler was a strict vegetarian, and Himmler was an animal rights activist.

Sounds exactly like what Trump wants to do.

Elliott A. said...

This is the president who thought that important things such as abortion should be decided by the people in their individual states and during covid railed against certain governors for their covid restrictions yet still deferred to them their constitutional authority. He started no wars.

rehajm said...

So the guy happily showed up to work everyday for a fascist…longest running, it says…

…as discussed earlier, one of the hazards of a month long election day is it has not been established when to release your dead hooker story. Yes, you know you are behind and the billions you’ve wasted thus far haven’t produced the results your cartoon villain billionaire sponsors demand…but what to do? So far it seems the strategy is spaghetti on the ceiling- throw them all out there and hope something sticks. Unfortunately the paid off to be disgruntled former employee story gets mixed up with the changed party voted out politician says he’s dangerous story gets mixed up with the girl says he got kind of handsy if you use a novel definition of handsy and kind of story…its all so chaotic…

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

Matt Taibbi noted that leaked documents from Labor regarding how they won their election in the UK included the killing off of the true left. As if the DNC, which kneecapped Bernie Sanders by manipulating the primaries, twice! needed to be told about this strategy.

Dave Begley said...

My understanding of fascism also includes the combination of government and big corporations. Examples would be free federal money to companies in the solar and wind energy business. Or forcing people to take vaccines. Or censoring people online for expressing opinions that the government doesn’t like. Or government agencies persecuting guys the government doesn’t like.

Kate said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dave Begley said...

John Kelly is the new Anita Hill/Christine Blasey Ford.

Lucien said...

“Fascist” was a bankrupt term as of 1946, as Orwell explained in “Politics and the English Language”. After decades, it was joined by “Racist”, then — almost overnight — by “White Supremacist”, “Hateful” “Harm” and “Safety”.

Rusty said...

FREDER!!!

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

The Democrats always accuse the other side of whatever they are doing, from "destroying democracy" by making fraud in elections impossible to detect, to fascist policies. Who was it who lined the streets of DC with soldiers to prevent demonstrations?

Iman said...

It’s a good thing Kelly didn’t graduate from West Point, as that would be quite troubling.

rhhardin said...

It's a shibboleth.

The left can't pronounce the 'sc.'

Steve said...

I always thought that fascism and communism were two sides of the same coin. Both believe in authoritarianism and a strong central state. The biggest difference was the designated enemy. In communism it was class, for fascists/Nazis it was race. Though, a quick google search indicates that Fascist Italy did not start creating race laws until they started to cozy up to Hitler.

Rusty said...

Cook will be here to straighten this out as soon as he wakes up.

tcrosse said...

Democrats should just own their visceral hate of Trump and his supporters, rather than continually trying to rationalize it. Otherwise they might run out of names to call him.

Rusty said...

He made the internet run on time.

rhhardin said...

Is Trump a fascist? The correct answer is "No, he's straight."

Actually an etymology joke.

Ken said...

Plus ca change... “It will be seen that, as used, the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else.” -- George Orwell

Iman said...

Now that was a treat! “I’m up to here in lies”… got me thinking about 93 KHJ, DJ Sam Riddle… Boss City and SoCal of teh 60s!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Interesting how John Kelly, the only named source for the debunked "suckers and losers" quote, tends to keep inflammatory comments he (allegedly) "hears" to himself for years, only telling (alleged) "journalists" about the horrible things Trump (allegedly) "says" at convenient times just prior to elections. And then the whole "Trump says without evidence" crowd runs with the juicy new fake quote proclaiming it as if they heard it themselves, never questioning the provenance or the obviously untrumpian wording of the convenient NAZI reference.

Iman said...

Garage Rock Rules!

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Truman: it's no crime for a general to be a dumb son of a bitch.

rhhardin said...

Facist makes the trains run on time. Nazi builds highway systems. (Cf. The Audubon Society)

Iman said...

Rush’s old 11am Wake-up Call!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

If he weren't still dead he would be surprised to hear he is now a Far Right dictator given he "meets the definition" of a leftist.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Big Media. They know how dumb our officials are, but rather than expose that fact they destroy their own reputation, hence the huge decline in public trust the "news" business has garnered in our lifetime.

Drago said...

"Total meltdown tonight at the Harris-Walz campaign:

- the Hitler hoax didn’t gain any traction; they’ve already overplayed that hand.

- the “f-ing Mexican” hoax backfired, with the sister of murdered soldier Vanessa Guillén going on National TV and calling Harris and the Atlantic out for politicizing her sister’s death.

- the “he grabbed my ass 32 years ago” hoax unraveled in less than an hour and is being universally mocked.

- a new WSJ journal poll released tonight shows Kamala losing the popular vote by 3 points.

- Kamala bombed the CNN Town Hall which was supposed to be her opportunity to present her closing argument to undecided voters.

The joy is gone."--Bad Hombre on X

Mr. Majestyk said...

Makes me wonder what sort of blackmail material do they have on Kelly?

BUMBLE BEE said...

Heather MacDonald sees terrible trouble coming.

https://www.city-journal.org/article/prophets-of-doom

Big Mike said...

[Shrug] The Democrats’ efforts to attract Muslims and antisemites into their coalition at the expense of Jews have come undone, and this is merely an effort to try to lure back Jewish voters who are wondering why Jewish students are no longer welcome at elite universities and why roughly half of the Jewish students currenrly attending those schools feel afraid to move about on campus.

It’s just a gambit, and a desperate one, because if the Biden-Harris administration wanted to do something about forcing the various college administrations to do something on rete about the antisemitism, they have plenty of levers to make that happen — starting with a threat to cancel all grants ding the “for the good of the government” clause.

Way easier to trot out Kelly and be him to call his old boss a fascist.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Points to the NYT as prevaricator.

Mr Wibble said...

Kelly is scum, and his son deserved to get blown apart in Afghanistan.

John henry said...

Does Mussolini get any say in what the definition is?

I would not trust anyone's definition wh has not read his manifestó "The doctrine of fascism"
https://sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda/2B-HUM/Readings/The-Doctrine-of-Fascism.pdf

It's only 10 pages. Not that hard to do.

John Henry

John henry said...

Brandon seems closer to the definition cited, as well as mussolini, than president trump was in office.

John Henry

MadisonMan said...

When people push back against you calling a political opponent "Hitler" you have to find something else. Why not Fascist!?

Jamie said...

Seconding Kate, I think it was: typo in the post headline. It should be JOHN Kelly.

Jamie said...

That's beyond the pale, Wibble.

Iman said...

Skitter back under your rock, sad boy!

gilbar said...

Let's ask an EXPERT!
Robert Cook.. What Is THE DEFINITION of a fascist?
Is it someone (anyone?) to the right of you politically?

Dixcus said...

The Democrats have A/B tested both calling Trump "Actually Hitler™" and alternatively calling Trump a "fascist" and have found out that they get more engagement (clicks, comments, etc.) if they use the Fascist label.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with the veracity of the charge.

Think Harry Reid: "It worked, didn't it?"

They're staging the battlefield for the ultimate time when they murder Donald Trump. They need people to feel relieved that he's dead so that we'll all just go on about our day instead of hanging every last one of them sons a bitches from lamposts.

Dixcus said...

She's a prostitute who only got ahead because she was smart enough to get her clients on videotape.

Tank said...

Tucker Carlson rule: they always accuse us of what they have done or are planning to do.

Wince said...

“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-left authoritarian, globalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” he said.

Fixed it for you.

Temujin said...

In the end, this is their final battle. This is the place that the entire Blob, the entire Democratic Party and their sidekicks on the Establishment GOP side will make their stand.
That Donald Trump is a fascist. A Nazi. Just like Mitt Romney and George W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush, and Dick Cheney (before he turned good), and Antonin Scalia, Ted Cruz, and so many others before him. We're all fascists, Ma'm.

Anyone disagreeing with how the Biden/Harris team has abused the US and has overseen the eruption of the world is apparently a fascist.

Good of John Kelly to notice this four years after he served. One wonders just how much it took to get him to destroy his reputation forever?

If you happened to see any of the many video clips of Kamala in this town hall, you'll be happy to know that she is still, even with a pre-agreed to script for this town hall, a moron. An empty headed, ill-equipped, out of her league, nonsense talking moron- that millions in this nation are about to vote for.

In the end, Democrats have nothing to run on. And so once again they are down to calling the other guys, 'Racist, Fascist, Nazis'. This is their message for the nation and the world.

This is what desperation looks and sounds like.

mezzrow said...

"he operated at the level that would deserve an F in a high school social studies class.""

Holding him to a level any higher than that would brand you as a fascist as well, Althouse. Standards and rigor do not bend any arcs toward justice, for this Democratic Party. Just do what you are told like a good academic and there won't be any trouble.

Breezy said...

I’m glad that these definitions are starting to roll around in the public square. Too many people don’t have a clue about them, so they believe MAGA is fascist when it’s truly anti-fascist (not the mob kind though lol).

phantommut said...

We've had eight years of "Trump is Hitler."

The only "news here is that the top of the Democratic ticket has stooped to that level; and it's not even news because everyone knew it was coming.

dbp said...

Fascism in common parlance is what a leftist calls any conservative. Historically, say German, Italian or Spanish fascism was communism, with a couple of notable differences. They are both dictatorships, but communists control the economy by owning and operating the means of production. Under fascism, the government has the power to tell businesses what to make, how to price it, etc--it really dilutes the meaning of "ownership" but it's enough for the titular owners to at least try to make a profit, which makes it more efficient than communism, but a lot less efficient than a free market. Free markets are free and fans of dictatorships are uncomfortable with freedom. The other major difference is outlook: Fascist countries are all about their particular people: Germany for Germans, Italy for Italians, etc. Communism was international in outlook. Not to say that communists weren't often very racist, but it wasn't part of their theoretical framework.

Christopher B said...

The difference was more one of scope than enemies. The Communists had a vision of socialist dictatorship being created by an international revolution. The fascists limited themselves to working to impose socialist dictatorships within existing nation-states. The Nazis, while basically socialist, were a whole 'nother animal in terms of racial emphasis after Hitler took over the show.

Shouting Thomas said...

Another transparent and flagrant attempt to incite Trump’s assassination.

Iman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Christopher B said...

It might be nice to think he's being blackmailed but I doubt it. Like the Cheneyes and the Bushes I think he's basically unable to deal with the reality the Zombie Global International order which lasted for about a generation after the end of the Cold War and provided a lot of iron rice bowls for people in his class is coming to an end. The Democrats provide a haven for people who think it can be extended indefinitely.

Michael said...

Sounds like battlefield prep for what they're about to do. Yelling "Fascist!" gives ugly people with power justification for excretable acts.

Bob Boyd said...

What word is prominently missing from the offered definition of Facism?
Socialism. Odd considering Facism was national socialism. National socialism as opposed to international socialism.
After having fought for international socialism for years, Mussolini decided the workers of Italy were never going to see themselves as workers first and Italians second. He basically concluded that he could successfully institute socialism in his own country and become its leader or he could remain one of Stalin's expendable minions and continue to bang his head against the wall of insisting on world-wide socialism or nothing until the day Stalin had him assassinated which was bound to happen sooner or later because that's how Stalin rolled.
Mussolini chose the option 1. The Nazis, the NSDAP, the National Socialist German Workers Party, followed suit.
So why no mention of socialism in the definition of a socialist ideology? We all know the answer to that.

Iman said...

Democrats only have to be lucky once.

DanTheMan said...

The Memory Hole is real. Sadly.

Ann Althouse said...

I know it's JOHN Kelly. Sorry I had "Mike Kelly" in the post title for so long!

narciso said...

This is what the magic eightball came up with

Dont get me wrong a psycho leftist stabbed bolsonaro and nesrly killed him he lost a lung

narciso said...

General kelly works for caliburn that profits off the invasion

lonejustice said...

Trump does the same thing:

“This is Communist, this is Marxist, this is fascist,” the former president said about Harris at an August 27 rally in Pennsylvania.

“She’s a Marxist. She’s a fascist…“Comrade Kamala Harris,” Trump told a crowd in Michigan on August 29.

Bob Boyd said...

Socialism, whether practiced by Stalin or Mussolini or Hitler, turned into the darkest living nightmares in human history. The American left still want a chance to try it themselves, so they run from its history and ascribe its history to their opponents.
Trump is not any kind of socialist. If they described Trump as a socialist, no one would buy it for a second. People calling him a Fascist don't even know what the word means and they don't care. It's just another ugly name to call Trump.

Disparity of Cult said...

He was Irish on his father's side.

rehajm said...

When one gets right down to it, does it really matter?

chuck said...

There was more variety among fascists than communists. I would argue that Wilson was the first fascist head of state, FDR was an admirer of fascist Italy, Mussolini himself was influenced by the American pragmatist philosophers. Peron was a fascist, Allende was fascist in his youth, Mosley came from the Labour Party. Hitler I would regard as fascist in some respects, but also influenced by traditional German nationalism, the communists, and the German welfare state. I don't think there is any legitimate reason to regard fascists as right wing, nationalism itself has been around on the left since the beginning.

narciso said...

Dubois even dabbled with fascism, with his perfect record of bad judgement stattimg with endorsing wilson ending in stalin

The Middle Coast said...

In both cases, the word “fascist” did not rise organically from either Kelly or Harris, but was prompted by the interviewer.

Freder Frederson said...

To call someone a "fascist" is to identify yourself as on the left.

I know you read the comments on your own blog. What I don't understand is how you can make this statement after reading them. Don't you know, that according to many of your commenters, fascism and nazism are left wing movements? Never mind that everyone who proudly call themselves a fascist or nazi are inevitably right wing and associated with home grown far right groups (e.g., the KKK).

Actually, this thread demonstrates my point exactly, and makes your original assertion bullshit.

Jersey Fled said...

“My understanding of fascism also includes the combination of government and big corporations”

Dave got this exactly right. Communists eliminate private business. Facists partner with big businesses. Like Facebook,

RideSpaceMountain said...

Accordijg to them:

Fascist = Right-wing
Right-wing = Far-right
Far-right = Not gay like them
Not gay like them = Does not suck dicks

Amidoinitright?

Iman said...

We are now entering peak “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?” season.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Freder = Left-wing
Left-wing = Sucks dicks

Mike Petrik said...

Our political discourse is embarrassing. Harris stupidly calls Trump a fascist, which he obviously is not. Trump stupidly calls Harris a Marxist, which she obviously is not. But go ahead, AA commenters, rebuke me for being only half right, thereby exposing your charmingly irrepressible ultracrepidarianism.

doctrev said...

That has a real possibility of making student votes evaporate, as opposed to merely collapse, and get administrators pondering how "relevant to the discourse" they were under Trump.

Meanwhile, President Trump has to be looking at the 70% of American Jews voting Democrat while wondering "why am I bothering with these people?" He hasn't exactly been hiding his frustrations.

Yeah, the New York media is right to be worried.

Bob Boyd said...

Kelly was Trump's longest serving Chief of Staff. Why? Why did he continue to serve the terrible Fascist who he believed was working to become a dictator?
What specific actions taken by Trump convinced him Trump was working to institute a Fascist regime?
Can he give a single example of Trump adhering to any ideology whatsoever, much less an extreme one?

Commie Videos and You a Law Professor said...

I am bummed out that Franco is still dead.

Christopher B said...

The difference being Trump has actual evidence of the symmetry of the policies and actions of Harris and other Democrats with the policies and actions of real Communists. The only thing Harris has is out of context quotes and perjured testimony.

Quaestor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mark said...

Musk campaigning for Trump would line right up with that.

Cappy said...

Don't care any more.

Quaestor said...

rhhardin writes, "Actually an etymology joke."

Well...

The fascis was an axe surrounded with a bundle of rods carried by a member of the bodyguard (lictors) of a magistrate as a symbol of authority. The more senior the magistrate the more lictors accompanied him, thus the common plural form, fasces. (The mace carried by the Congressional Sergeant-at-Arms is a representation of a fascis). In Middle English a faggot is a bundle of sticks to be used as firewood, so there's a meandering connection between the symbolic weapon (rods to beat with, an axe to kill with) and a convenient means to carry fuel. In the 17th century, faggot became contemptuous slang for a first-year student at Oxford or Cambridge, deriving from the right of upperclassmen to demand and receive menial services from the new arrivals, fetching firewood, for example -- a usage that persisted into the 20th century. In the 19th century, faggot became a term for cigarettes because they were sold in bundles bound with a strip of paper. The individual smokes were termed fags. However, there's no etymological connection between fascist and the slang for a homosexual. It's merely an accidental homophone (not a queer communication device, you dirty-minded Althousians!) between two unrelated words in two unrelated languages.

mikeski said...

Mike "King" Kelly was, and remains, one of the most famous 19th century baseball players, and the inspiration for the then-popular pop sing "Slide Kelly Slide".

mikeski said...

I've been in the I'm-voting-for-him-because-fuck-you-that's-why stage for a loooong time now.

narciso said...

The world would have been much better if both kathy griffith and anderson cooper had never gotten off that reality show

RideSpaceMountain said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rory said...

Fascist derives from "fasces" - a bundle of sticks tied together. The bundle can't be broken like an individual stick could be. The downside is that the individual sticks lose their freedom of movement. In extreme fascism, party nominating election results could be completely ignored, and you would not hear a peep from individual voters as the nominee was replaced by the party's decision makers

RideSpaceMountain said...

Wait'll those bunches-of-cigarettes get a load of the double fasces hanging on the walls of both houses of congress, they'll probably need to console themselves by going left-wing (left-wing = suck some dicks) cause their country has been fascist all along.

RMc said...

"Ultracrepidarianism": the act of using big words in comment sections in a desperate hope that they'll impress somebody. They don't.

Mike Petrik said...

Nazism has some similarities with fascism, but they are not the same. It is fair to consider German nazism to be a variant of socialism insomuch as it was inspired by certain common assumptions (even if not that many, really), but that case is harder to make with fascism properly understood. That said, Hitler admired the mystical elements of fascism and eventually incorporated similar elements into Nazi thinking.

rhhardin said...

The word bassoon comes from French basson and from Italian bassone (basso with the augmentative suffix -one).[3] However, the Italian name for the same instrument is fagotto, in Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Romanian it is fagot,[4] and in German Fagott. Fagot is an Old French word meaning a bundle of sticks.[5] The dulcian came to be known as fagotto in Italy. However, the usual etymology that equates fagotto with "bundle of sticks" is somewhat misleading, as the latter term did not come into general use until later. However an early English variation, "faget", was used as early as 1450 to refer to firewood, which is 100 years before the earliest recorded use of the dulcian (1550). Further citation is needed to prove the lack of relation between the meaning "bundle of sticks" and "fagotto" (Italian) or variants. Some think that it may resemble the Roman fasces, a standard of bound sticks with an axe. A further discrepancy lies in the fact that the dulcian was carved out of a single block of wood—in other words, a single "stick" and not a bundle.

chuck said...

Franco was a monarchist. The King is dead, long live the King :)

Mike Petrik said...

@RMc I rest my case! 😂

AMDG said...

Trump is not a Fascist, he is a buffoon.

Let’s use Kelly’s formulation and apply it both candidates:

Dictatorial Leadership: I go. Ack to Obama’s “pen and phone” comment which is a direct challenge to the separation of powers. Harris e plicity desires to neuter the Supreme Court. The winner near is Harris.

Centralized autocracy: Whether it be elections, abortion, and a host of other issues it is the Democrats that want the big decisions made in Washington.

Militarism: Trump does like the parades, etc. so the nod goes to him.

Suppression of opposition: Whether it be lawfare against Trump, the investigation of traditional Catholics, the sustained assault on the First Amendment, etc. it is clearly the Democrats who actively engage in the suppression of the opposition.

Belief in a natural social hierarchy Under the Democrats as long as you went to the right school or you are a suburban white female, or you are a member of the LGBTWTF community you are in like Flynn.

Progressivism is the gateway drug to Fascism.












AMDG said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Inga said...

”She’s a Marxist. She’s a fascist,” the former president declared last week, weirdly combining labels that normally contradict each other.

Trump claimed, without a shred of evidence, that Vice President Harris, whom he has dubbed ”Comrade Kamala,” “wants this country to go communist.”

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-09-02/presidential-election-donald-trump-calls-kamala-harris-a-marxist-a-communist-even-a-fascist-why-his-wild-punches-arent-landing

Althouse didn’t blog about it when Trump said this, or am I mistaken?

Clyde said...

Also from Wikipedia, on the article about the Fasces, from which the word Fascism originates:

The fasces, as a bundle of rods with an axe, was a grouping of all the equipment needed to inflict corporal or capital punishment. In ancient Rome, the bundle was a material symbol of a Roman magistrate's full civil and military power, known as imperium. They were carried in a procession with a magistrate by lictors, who carried the fasces and at times used the birch rods as punishment to enforce obedience with magisterial commands.[7] In common language and literature, the fasces were regularly associated with certain offices: praetors were referred to in Greek as the hexapelekus (lit. 'six axes') and the consuls were referred to as "the twelve fasces" as literary metonymy.[8] Beyond serving as insignia of office, it also symbolised the republic and its prestige.[9]

After the classical period, with the fall of the Roman state, thinkers were removed from the "psychological terror generated by the original Roman fasces" in the antique period. By the Renaissance, there emerged a conflation of the fasces with a Greek fable first recorded by Babrius in the second century AD depicting how individual sticks can be easily broken but how a bundle could not be.[10] This story is common across Eurasian culture and by the thirteenth century AD was recorded in the Secret History of the Mongols.[11] While there is no historical connection between the original fasces and this fable,[12] by the sixteenth century AD, fasces were "inextricably linked" with interpretations of the fable as one expressing unity and harmony.[11]

Mike Petrik said...

Nailed it, AMDG.

Goldenpause said...

Many of us would agree that Harris is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. How she ever got to be the Presidential nominee of a major political party is a scandal.

GRW3 said...

I think we now know one of the major problem causers in the Trump administration.

Iman said...

I see a Fasces>>>Feces<<<Democrats Venn Diagram through the mist…

Inga said...

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-harris-fascist-jd-vance-b2614984.html

“CNN shows supercut of Trump calling Harris ‘fascist’ – after JD Vance said no one should be using the word. JD Vance called for Democrats to reduce their ‘ridiculous and inflammatory political rhetoric’ as his running mate repeatedly calls Harris a ‘fascist’.”

Mike Petrik said...

You are right. Harris is many unappealing things, but Marxist is not one of them. She could no more define Marxism than she could define Fascism. Trump calling her a Marxist is just a way to get voters to fear his extremism, just as Harris calling him a fascist is simply a way to get voters to fear his extremism. The difference is that her extremism rests with her policy preferences, whereas his rests with his obnoxious personality.

Amadeus 48 said...

John Kelly is an unreliable narrator. He needs about ten years of psychiatric care. I first realized this when I read his comments about a speech by Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL), and then I watched the speech. Kelly got it totally wrong. I couldn't understand how he could mischaracterize what she said so completely.

Here is CNN's report from 2018:
"In a briefing that took place in October 2017, Kelly took to the podium and erroneously claimed Wilson took credit for securing “$20 million” in federal funding to build a new FBI field office in Miami in 2015. A video of the dedication ceremony posted by the Sun Sentinel shows his claim is false."

Eva Marie said...


The fascist/Hitler nonsense that the left keeps throwing at the right has increased in intensity with the dying off of the WW2 generation. Soldiers on the left and on the right who fought side by side and had the experience of encountering real Nazis served as a brake to the hysteria on the left

Bob Boyd said...

"Trump is a buffoon" is so 2020.

Lazarus said...

“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” he said.

It's hard to find anything in that definition that applies to Trump. "Belief in a natural social hierarchy," though, stands out from the rest. If people are really honest with themselves, they'd have to admit that such a belief is more common than they'd like us to think. It's one of those things that it's inconvenient to admit in public.

Bob Boyd said...

America has had more Hitlers in my lifetime than you could shake a bundle of sticks at.
Nixon was Hitler, Reagan was Hitler, Bush Sr. was Hitler, W was Hitler.
I can't remember if McCain was Hitler, he probably was and Palin was probably Lady Hitler at the same time.
Romney is still pissed that Trump stole the Hitler mantle he worked so hard for.
Even DeSantis was Hitler for brief a shining moment.
The Dems have dialed the Hitler thing up to eleven for Trump. It's about all they have and it's not scaring anyone but Democrats.

Dude1394 said...

If you remove the far right label, this directly describes the democrat party. It literally does. The democrat party is a fascist one. That is a fact per that definition.

wendybar said...

Check out all the pictures of Trump showing that he IS Hitler!!!

https://twitchy.com/samj/2024/10/24/fuzzychimp-thread-trump-hitler-n2402666

Here's an example!!

Fuzzy Chimp 🇺🇸🍌
@fuzzychimpcom
·
Follow
Replying to @fuzzychimpcom
Date Unknown: Hitler meets with John Kerry.

https://x.com/fuzzychimpcom/status/1849218641268555893

jaydub said...

Mussolini was originally a socialist politician and journalist at the Avanti! newspaper. In 1912, he became a member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), but was expelled for advocating military intervention in World War I. His philosophy was socialist long before he founded the Italian fascists, and the fascist party incorporated socialism where convenient.

Inga said...

”She’s a Marxist, Communist, Fascist, Socialist”

Wince said...

I always remember the bottom right frame from this page of Mad Magazine's Planet of the Ape's satire from March 1973.

FASCIST PIGS!

Luke Lea said...

The donor class, composed of the ten or twelve thousand wealthiest families in America, is really getting panicky (again) about Trump ending their thirty-year-running neoliberal gravy train. At least that's my personal interpretation of what is propelling all of these libelous descriptions of who Trump "really is."

TaeJohnDo said...

"My opponent is literally Hitler in a fancy top hat." - Stephen Douglas, 1858

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Over 80 years of every Republican presidential candidate being compared to or called "Hitler" and "Nazi." Their playbook never changes. Occasionally they like to throw in "Fascist" especially when, like now, they are acting like fascists by trying to jail their political opponents.

Rusty said...

Uh. No, Mark. Musk has not been compelled by the state to participate. Do you understand the difference?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

KKK, the armed wing of the Democrat's Jim Crow war, was "far right" eh? You guys just can't take responsibility for your side. Ever.

Rusty said...

You've earned your appellation today.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

If you knew how to read you would see this thread perfectly refutes your bullshit propaganda and proves Althouse correct, and prescient.

Yancey Ward said...

Lonejustice- which party actively uses government to suppress dissent and jails people for political protest with long prison terms?

planetgeo said...

The problem with defining fascism is that once you do everyone above the intelligence level of an Inga can clearly see that the characteristics listed ("centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition [and] belief in a natural social hierarchy") are much more evident in the actions of Biden-Harris than they were in the actions of Trump during the 4 years he was President. Asserting that this is how he would act in the future isn't actually supported by how he acted when he had the power to do so, but didn't.

Rusty said...

More of a Stalinist, I think.

Bob B said...

From the always correct Babylon Bee:

Democrats have warned that if elected a second time, Donald Trump will be an evil dictator just like Adolf Hitler. When asked why Trump didn't become Hitler during his first term, Democrats explained that he simply forgot.

"Trump meant to be Hitler, but he forgot," explained Vice President Harris in a press conference at the White House. "Being Hitler just totally slipped his mind. Make no mistake, if Trump is elected again, he absolutely plans to turn into Hitler and probably will write himself a reminder this time."

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Nice!

Iman said...

Ev'rybody's talking 'bout
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Communism, Marxism, Socialism, Fascism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m
All we are saying is give Trump a chance
All we are saying is give Trump a chance

A chance to right this sinking ship.

Joe Bar said...

Nice reference.

Aggie said...

I would just like to quietly point out here, that an order of fries is a small bundle of potato sticks. Just sayin'.

s'opihjerdt said...

It takes a Volksgemeinschaft...

Christopher B said...

As I remarked above to the suggestion that Kelly is being blackmailed into these comments, I think you have it exactly right. I prefer to call it the Zombie Global Order because it's what persisted on fumes after the US created the Global Order to contain and eventually implode the USSR and its bloc. It's going away regardless of who wins the US election in November (or any reasonably free election anywhere, really) but the Democrats have become the US party most wedded to the idea that it can be maintained indefinitely. In some form it probably could be but it's becoming clearer daily the maintenance would take the form of supra-national pseudo-democratic rule by a global oligarchy manipulating the public using control of education and mass communication. (i.e. Orwell called it almost a century ago.)

Aggie said...

Nice humanity you've got there. Be a shame that something happened to it.

John henry said...

Doesn't militarism require one to use the military? President Trump liked a strong, visible military. He did not like to use it.

Having a strong, visible, military can go a long way to preventing the need to use it. Nobody attacks the strong country.

OTOH, with a demmy president, the temptation to use the military is great. This temptation exists even when there is no need. See Wilson, FDR, Truman, LBJ, Clinton

John Henry

Sebastian said...

"When did Trump ever say that the better way to run America is through "centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition [and] belief in a natural social hierarchy"?" When did a "journalist" ever ask such a question of a Trump hater? Anyway, in the last few days we've learned from Kamala and Joe, as if we didn't know, that Trump is Hitler and has to be locked up.

But the Kelly episode illustrates Trump's weakness: too many ignorant, disloyal fools on staff. It also illustrates a dangerous weakness in the American elite: too many ignorant, disloyal fools in general. And yes, Trump himself is ignorant on most things-- but not anti-American and, campaign BS aside, no fool.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

According to John Kelly's premier information source, Wikipedia, Kelly was chosen as Trump Chief of Staff because John had shown to be the most capable in overseen "some of the most controversial policies of Trump's agenda"

Excerpt: According to the New Yorker, Kelly left the DHS with a:

...reputation as one of the most aggressive enforcers of immigration law in recent American history. His record belies the short length of his tenure. In six months, Kelly eliminated guidelines that governed federal immigration agents' work; vastly expanded the categories of immigrants being targeted for deportation; threatened to abandon the Obama-era program that grants legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children; and has even broached the idea of splitting up mothers and children at the border to "deter" people from coming to the U.S.[39]

He rose to prominence by implementing Trump's immigration policies, the promises that got Trump elected.

John henry said...

So Inga, are you denying that Brandon, Harris et al meet the definition of fascist in Ann's post?

Or Mussolini's elevator definition: "Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state."

John Henry

Yancey Ward said...

I am going make some conditional predictions:

(1) If Trump is the apparent likely, but narrow, winner on Election Night or the day after (we will know), riots will break out in the major cities that will make the George Floyd riots look like an afternoon tea. This will have been planned from the top but won't need to have been encouraged very much- it will be done to put pressure on the Trump electors to defect while, at the same time, preparing the ground for multiple lawsuits and a push in Congress in January to un-elect Trump. This is why the House outcome matters- this doesn't work if the GOP holds a majority and it probably doesn't work if the GOP holds an absolute majority of the House state by state delegations but watch for unfaithful electors who vote for someone like Mitt Romney- if that happens the GOP is preparing to aid in the dump Trump movement.

Yancey Ward said...

(2) If Trump clearly wins by a large margin in the electoral college (306+) that includes 50,000 + margins in the swing states, then I think Democrats slink away with their tails between their legs. This is especially true if Trump wins the popular vote, too.

John henry said...

RH Hardin,

Thank you for the etymology of fasces.

And that sent me down a rabbit hole thinking about one of my favorite Nevil Shute books. It is about a wealthy banker reopening a bankrupt shipyard, skirting the law to do so and winding up in jail. But with the shipyard operating and rejuvenating the "Ruined City" (American title).

His title, and the title used in Britain was "Kindling". By reopening the shipyard, he provided work for the men of the town and restored the city.

Now I wonder, without evidence! if our founding fathers saw what they were doing as starting a small fire that would eventually become a large one and chose the fasces as a symbol of the kindling/firewood they were setting in place.

As I say, a rabbit hole.

John Henry

Yancey Ward said...

I also failed to know that she was doing a town-hall on CNN and I think the reason we didn't know is because she has done so badly in these kinds of forums that her supporters in the media decided not to highlight it so no one would watch it live and hope to use edited/selected clips the day after. I watched the whole thing this morning after reading Althouse's post- there is literally nothing in there that can used as is to help Harris and editing it to be helpful is going to be chore.

RCOCEAN II said...

The "Trump experience" that I've gone through for the last 9 years has been an eye-opener for me. Pundits, Pols, others that I thought were on "our side" turned out to be fakes, frauds, and con-men. They'd posed as "True Conservatives" "Rightwingers" "Enemies of the Liberal/left" and Trump showed they were actually on the other side!

Others in our elite, have shown they will throw away every historical tradition and norm to destroy Trump. They dont believe in the "Rule of law". They don't believe in "The power of the presidency". They don't believe in objective reporting, or putting aside differences for the good of the country and uniting us. Just put up someone Trump and they show they don't believe any of that. Just in keeping power and pushing their Globalist uniparty agenda. The FBI and our intelligent agencies aren't full of patriots they're full of leftwing hacks.

And Kelly, Milli Vanilli, and others have shown me the military - at least at the top - is rotten to the core. Full of egotistical, self-seekers, who just want the applause of the MSM and liberal/left establishment.

Kelly is the militarist - not Trump. Kelly is the one who wants USA troops in the middle east fighting wars - not Trump. Kelly is the one who didn't want to control the border. Kelly who wanted to ignore the popular will and push transgenders in the military. Its Kelly who conspried with Mattis to hide things from his commander in chief and ignore his orders. Kelly is closer to a "fascist" then Trump!

RCOCEAN II said...

BTW, whenever someone says "Trump is a fascist" all you have to do is show him serving up the fries at McDonalds and ask "What was fascist about his first term"?

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

I'm guessing John Kelly fell prey to the press insistent negative stories about Trump. The impeachments and ultimately, the Jan 6 media interpretation made it all the more necessary for Kelly to distance himself from having being part of it. After having a spotless military career, why let it all come crashing down by having served in the Trump White House? Kelly set out to clear his name and reputation. Kelly chose the John Dean route.

doctrev said...

Burn those urban blights to the ground. But it's not going to matter: if Trump wins so big that fraud is insufficient to stop him, not even a military dictatorship could hold back the anger if he isn't President.

Bob Boyd said...

Trump is "far right" we're told.
In 2016 the NeverTrump Republicans insisted Trump was not conservative enough and that's why they opposed him. Now he's far right.
What does far right even mean?

wildswan said...

The Democratic party is worse. Proof in two words. Liz Cheney. Liz Cheney is a fascist - see everything said about her, her father, the Bush family over the years. Fascists. But now this hereditary fascist is supporting the Dems because the Dems are advancing her ideals and the Republicans are not. Deluded far-leftists are working their hearts out - or anyhow, whinging a lot. For what? To help advance Cheneyism, i.e., Dem Crypto-Fascism. And they are unaware of the danger. Unaware. That's always the greater danger.

PS If Trump said the military is scum and losers, how is that militarism? If Cheney and Kelly speak for the Dems and call for NATO expansion from the Vistula River to the Japan Sea (almost), how is that not militarism?

RCOCEAN II said...

Last comment. I wondered why Kelly popped up now. where was he in 2020? where was he during the primaries. And the answer is: He's out. Trump made it clear there would be no Kelly in a 2nd Trump term. So, Kelly attacked Trump. Sour grapes. Disgruntled ex-employee.

doctrev said...

He obviously is. If someone actually said that in front of him and his unspoken response is "well I would be Paulus if you make me Field Marshal," he's obviously unfit for his rank. Such an overt and STUPID fraud is grounds for President Trump to tear up Kelly's commission. Which means no pension, no benefits.

gilbar said...

fascism is Simply Defined..
as Many people here have already stated; fascism means STRONGER TOGETHER!
If/When a politician uses That phrase.. you KNOW what they ARE..
If/When a political party permits the use of That phrase.. you KNOW what they are
Things NEVER Change.. Once a fascist; ALWAYS a fascist

America's ONLY HOPE, is to RISE UP, and EVICT the users of THAT Phrase!
I'm pretty sure, that's what Kammy meant.. Wasn't it?

Christopher B said...

There is not a snowball's chance in hell the Democrats will 'slink away' if Trump wins, even if he eclipsed Regan's 1984 49-2 stomping of Mondale. Part of the whole 'Trump is Hitler (what are we up to now?) 5.0' is justification for unprecedented intimidation and manipulation of the Electors and the EC Ratification that will make the 2017 pu$$y-hat demonstrations and 2020 'Summer of Love' look like a summer picnic. If Trump wins get ready for a January 6, 2025 that will actually be what the Democrats claim J6 2021 was.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

It's difficult to impossible to debate dishonest people, and calling Trump a fascist, even by the Wikipedia definition, which completely overlooks economics, is completely dishonest.

Christopher B said...

I see that was your prediction #1 (I was reading most recent first) but I'll stand by my comment. It's going to happen regardless of the breadth of Trump's victory or what kind of control the GOP has in Congress.

Dude1394 said...

Exactly correct with the disloyal people he put on his staff. Starting with Sessions ( where is he now???). In his defence he relied on the republican party to help him staff out. But what else would you do if you didn't have all of the crony's lined up to get their beaks wet? He didn't have 50 years of shared trough gorging to know who could be trusted.

I"m hoping that we have weeded enough and Vance can help him there. I noticed that he is not going to use the existing federal mechanism that he used last time to staff positions, he will go it alone.

Of course the entrenched system is crying that they world will fall apart if he does it himself. But c'est la vie. I hope he pulls a Milieu chainsaw to the thing, maybe a twitter like firing of 70%. I don't expect he will do that, but oh how joyous that would be.

Did you order your Handmaids Tale Outfit yet?/ Rachel Maddow is a Psychopath said...

Yes. The left are wholly dishonest in every direction.

gilbar said...

fun thoughts!
it's looking possible, that Trump might win the popular vote, yet lose Pennsylvania (and thus the Electoral College)..

If THAT happens, watch for ALL Democrats to be PRAISING the Electoral College

Similarly; IF Trump pulls it off (and Tester goes down, and thus the Democrat Senate); watch for ALL Democrats to be PRAISING the filibuster!

Will a single one of them admit that in September they were arguing the flip side? Of COURSE NOT

Dude1394 said...

Interesting, so do you think the democrats will just let the cities burn up?

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

Remember when Hillary was running, and they came out with that Star Trek movie where the Federation was openly fascist? Where Scotty said "Ya can nae break sticks when they're in a bundle" while she ran under the slogan of "Stronger Together."

I used to not debate liberals in person, for blood pressure reasons, but now I do, and you know what? When they can't just slink away, like Freder or Cookie do, but are in a position where they kind of have to answer your questions, you can make a lot of progress with them.

Dude1394 said...

I doubt it seriously. He is a THREAT TO DEMOCRACY after all, and expecially a THREAT TO REPARATIONS!!

Did you order your Handmaids Tale Outfit yet?/ Rachel Maddow is a Psychopath said...

X:
"So you mean to tell me Trump said “I need the kind of generals Hitler had” four whole years ago and no one said anything about it until 12 days before the election."

Narayanan said...

I say looking up definition=meeting definition

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

It's Goebbels's playbook that says, probably on page one, to always accuse the other side of whatever it is that you are doing that you suspect the normies won't like.

By the way, Ingaramus, "normies" can be Democrats or Republicans, they are just people who believe what they are told by the media or politicians, because they wouldn't lie themselves for personal gain.

bleh said...

Fascism is defined as the political ideology of whoever is at the top of the Republican ticket.

Promises made Promises kept said...

If retired four-star generals are calling Trump a fascist and billionaires are behaving like he’s a fascist, then Trump is probably a fascist.

The problem is that there are a lot of Americans who look like the duck and will vote for the duck, so a large portion of the population thinks, acts and walks like the duck.

Promises made Promises kept said...

Whether it's Trump praising Hitler's generals or Harris praising Dwight Eisenhower, both candidates have embraced divisive World War II military leaders. 🤔

Yancey Ward said...

Bich, generals and rich businessmen are usually the supporters of fascist politicians historically. Perhaps you should consider the reality that you are full of shit.

Bruce Hayden said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Original Mike said...

"Musk has not been compelled by the state to participate. Do you understand the difference?"

No, he doesn't.

Yancey Ward said...

Christopher, I am, perhaps, giving the Democrats too much credit for knowing what is politically tenable and what is not.

Original Mike said...

"Makes me wonder what sort of blackmail material do they have on Kelly?"

Interesting thought.

Yancey Ward said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bruce Hayden said...

The definitive definition of Fascism should probably be the one by Nobel Laureate Frederick Hayek, in his book “the Road to Serfdom”. It was written contemporaneously with the rise of Fascism, and ultimately, the Nazis, in response to the rise of communism a decade or so earlier in Russia. We see an echo of this with the resurgence of AntiFA (Anti Fascists) four years ago. In the later 1920s and early 1930s, AntiFA was a Soviet backed paramilitary organization that fought the Nazis for control of German socialism in the streets of Germany. The big difference between the original AntiFA and the current one is their change of loyalties from Stalin to Mao, from Moscow to Beijing, after the fall of the Soviet Union.

WW I effectively destroyed the old order, which was based on an interbred aristocracy that bumbled into the first industrialized war. Much of the younger generation of that aristocracy died leading millions of their countrymen to their deaths. All for what was, for them, the Great Game, of the latter 19th Century. The Germans helped destroy the Russian monarchy by aiding Lenin, just to see how violent and brutal his Soviet Union turned out. Communism is communal socialism, with the means of production t
keenly owned by the community. It thrived in the vacuum caused by the destruction of the old order. The rest of the old order had been destroyed by the war too, and was ripe for replacement. The most effective response was Fascism, which was corporate socialism. The means of production remained tokenly in private hands, but only if they did what the government demanded to retain their power. So, you had the government exerting their control over the means of production through the largest corporations in the country. Hitler and his Nazis refined this by layering nationalism on top of fascism. With their triumph over AntiFA over control of German socialism, in those street brawls, the stage was set for WW II.

Why didn’t Jews drive German cars after the war (and, in my generation, still don’t)? Because during WW II, the largest companies in Germany were provided slave (meaning free Jewish) labor to produce their products. Then, the Jews were murdered on an industrial level. This was the bargain made by companies like Damler Benz, etc - toe the line, do what the government wants, and get rewarded. But cross it, and get destroyed. The rest of western Europe and the US followed suit, with some form of Fascism-lite, like FDR’s New Deal, to counter the threat of Soviet communism style socialism. Then WW II came around, with Germany militarily rejecting the ruinous reparations imposed on them, esp by France, then made the mistake of declaring war on the US. And the fascist sentiments in the UK, and esp the US, were snuffed out. Looking back, they probably should have gone east first, to bring their socialist battle with communist socialism home to the Russians/Soviets. Instead of liberating Alsace and Lorraine first).

In any case, it’s interesting to bring the fight between these two forms of socialism forward 80-90 years. The fascists and the communists are still fighting for control of the Democratic Party, with the fascists tending to be on top. Obama and Harris are the children of Marxist economists, but Biden and much of Dem party elite are very happily fascists, trading their government power with large corporations, for significant bribes, as long as the big corporations do what they are told. We see this with DEI and censorship. But, the younger generation, not yet on the fascist gravy train, and esp AntiFA and its kin, are their street level shock troops. And notice with Trump and Musk, how apostates are treated, with the full force of the government as the stick used against them, for their refusal to take the bribery carrot.

Original Mike said...

This asshole (Wibble) has been making such pronouncements for a long time. He celebrated the Baltimore harbor bridge collapse and the devastation of Helene.

Did you order your Handmaids Tale Outfit yet?/ Rachel Maddow is a Psychopath said...

Kamala is a puppet for secret controllers who demand various forms of mass social controls.
Calling them Fascist, communist or socialist might be a little off the mark. But - not by much. It's an amalgam of corruption - with a basis of communist -Soviet-like controls.
Is there a word for hyper centralized control - mass censorship - punitive taxes - massive influx of illegal entrants - WAR machine grift - and lies? yeah = The Modern Democrat Party.

Bruce Hayden said...

Sorry, Yancey. Cleaned up my long post before I saw your comment.

Achilles said...

Trump is describing the ACTIONS that democrats and the regime are taking.

Censorship. Lawfair. Assassinations and Attempts. Jailing political prisoners. Widespread BLM/Antifa political violence. Destroying livelihoods with vaccine mandates.

The actions of this regime are fascist. lonejustice is just bitter that Trump is actually fighting fascism and his GOPe losers turned out to be traitors and cucks.

Drago said...

LLR-democratical and Abacus Boy Rich is clearly still reeling from the Tesla 3rd Qtr Earnings call yesterday.

Today the Tesla shorts are still scrambling to cover their losses which is precisely the opposite of what Abacus Boy said would happen.

Tsk tsk tsk

So we are treated to more Harry Sisson-level gaslighting antics from Rich.

I suppose it was inevitable.

Hassayamper said...

Indeed, and it is also remarkably edifying to compare that founding document of Fascism point-for-point with the platforms of the Republican and Democrat parties. You will only find the outcome surprising if you are a low-information left-wing dimwit educated in our public schools.

Drago said...

LLR-democratical lonejustice proving, once again, precisely why he is clearly the dumbest and least capable of all the pro-democratical FakeCons.

Sad.

Hassayamper said...

Musk has not been compelled by the state to participate.

Strictly speaking, Facebook wasn't either. They invited the government's political commissars into their business.

This is not the case in the UK or EU, however. The government censorship is now mandatory over there. 100% the same as Mussolini's Fascism.

Leland said...

"”She’s a Marxist, Communist, Fascist, Socialist”, all are opposed to right wing free markets and the agency of individuals.

gilbar said...

four-star generals.. and billionaires.. are Pretty Much THE DEFINITION of fascism.
of course, not quite.. here, let me spruce it up for you!

LEFTIST four-star generals.. and billionaires.. THE DEFINITION of fascism.

Christopher B said...

Dude1394 ... they did it in 2020. Witness Gwinnie Walz keeping the windows of the MN governor's mansion open so she could smell the burning tires.

gilbar said...

bleh hits it ON THE NOSE

Original Mike said...

"Militarism: Trump does like the parades, etc. so the nod goes to him."

The current administration is in a shooting was with Russia.
I'll take the parades.

mccullough said...

The original theory of communism is that it was supposed to be global. Fascism was national. National Socialism in practice wasn’t much different than Russian Communism. Fascists allowed private businesses but exerted a lot of control over them as opposed to the government owning and running the businesses in Russia. Chinese Communism is similar to fascism. But the government in both Fascist countries and Communist countries exerts total control whenever it wants. Of course Fascist Spain and Fascist Chile became democratic but Russia didn’t. The countries that became Fascist did so to avoid Communism. If you were born in the east part of Germany in 1933 you got a dozen years of Fascism followed by 45 years of Communism. Rough

Aggie said...

"Everything under the Arches, nothing outside the Arches, nothing against the Arches" - just sayin'....

Hassayamper said...

A Nazi. Just like Mitt Romney and George W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush, and Dick Cheney (before he turned good), and Antonin Scalia, Ted Cruz, and so many others before him.

Every single Republican presidential candidate since Thomas Dewey, including Eisenhower himself, has been accused of being a Nazi by prominent Democrats. At this point, more than seventy-five years later, it is as laughable as being accused of being a Jacobite or a Whig.

Leland said...

+1000

Aaron said...

A centralized bureaucracy exists, and it works against Trump.

So that fails the test.

The interagency consensus turned on Trump.

Bruce Hayden said...

Except that you are engaging in historical revisionism. The billionaires are doing their traditional part in a fascist state - doing what the government orders in exchange for government largess. No different than Damler Benz, and the other largest German companies, using free (often Jewish) slave labor in exchange for doing what the national government demanded.

Let me note that I am not Jewish, so didn’t have relatives in concentration camps helping to build German vehicles. I like my German cars. I have been driving them now for 37 years, after buying my first Audi. Two years ago, I bought an Audi Q7 so why partner could get in and out of it. She has always been a Mercedes fan, and when she couldn’t stand the Q7s fough ride over the horrid streets in Las Vegas, I bought my first Mercedes, a CLS 450, a similarly sized SUV. And mostly love it. It’s just precise, where the Audi is sloppy, except for driving on windy roads, where the Audi hugs the road, and the Mercedes rides like a boat. But that’s why Damler Benz kept popping up in my diatribes.

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