Monday, July 28, 2008

Right-Wing Delusions: The Liberal Nazi


"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." -- Sinclair Lewis

Recently my girlfriend forwarded me an email from an extreme right-wing friend of hers. You know the guy. They guy who thinks Liberals are the scourge of society and that all of society's problems can be solved with some good old-fashioned Reagan tax cuts for the wealthy. So "that guy" distributed an email which was presumably a clever attempt to associate modern American liberalism with the German Nazis of the 1940's. The email was in the form of a letter to executed Nazi war criminal Julius Streicher from none other than the Führer himself. Written from beyond the grave, this Adolf Hitler is getting the last laugh, because although the United States aided in defeating Hitler in WWII, Americans have since incorporated many elements of national Socialism into their own government. The text of the "letter" can be found here.

The letter levels an assortment of allegations at the American left, many of which are patently false or downright ludicrous. The letter accuses a recently re-elected president (presumably Bill Clinton) of "affirming the legitimacy of exterminating infants during birth" in an effort to equate liberal views on abortion to Hitler's use of mass extermination. Obviously, Clinton did not advocate the extermination of babies "during birth," and if, as it appears, the author is referring to a woman's right to an abortion, it is an extraordinary reach to compare abortion to an orchestrated genocide. Also in the letter, Hitler praises Americans for banning smoking in many public places and teaching of the dangers of second hand smoke. Presumably, the "real" author of the letter ascribes to an austere libertarian ideology, where even government's involvement in matters of public health is seen as an iron fist of oppression. There is also a ridiculous claim that gun-control laws are proposed, not to curb violent crime, but rather to control the masses.

Essentially, the objective of the letter is to locate a few areas where Nazi policy and modern liberalism more or less coincide, in a thinly-veiled effort to compare American liberalism to Nazism. Of course, a more didactic approach would have been much more thoroughly researched and contain less generalization and grasping. What the letter amounts to is cheap ad hominem attack on liberals that doesn't stand up to even the slightest scrutiny.

Conservatives and Libertarians, and all opponents of a functioning government, need a way to portray government as inherently evil. Luckily for them, history has given us the Nazis, or National Socialist Party. The fact that the Nazis considered themselves socialists is convenient for anyone who seeks to quickly and easily attack any kind of social program. Whether it is universal healthcare, welfare, public education, food stamps, public works projects, they are all seen as a slippery slope to socialism, and inevitably, rampant Nazism. Of course, this is a ridiculous conclusion for one to draw. There are countless examples of free nations with socialized medicine, education, transportation, etc. And believe it or not, citizens of these nations have NOT lost basic human rights as a result of social programs. Their leaders have NOT engaged in genocide nor have they engaged in campaigns of world domination. In fact, many of these nations enjoy a quality of life greater than or equivalent to that of the United States.

The flimsy premise or ad hominem name-calling aren't even the most disturbing elements of the "letter." Probably most unnerving is the fact that this is yet antother attempt by conservatives to downplay their own ideolgical ties to fascist regimes by painting liberals as the modern-day Third Reich. While fascism may have a few fleeting elements in common with liberalism, much of the neo-conservative playbook is taken from the most fundamental tenets of fascism. Nazism especially, was a far-right political movement, characterized by opposition to communism, extreme nationalism, military domination, xenophobia, authoritarian leadership, and opposition to liberalism. Of course, the slight similarities between Nazism and liberalism (essentially, a functioning central government) are enough for right-wing pundits to have a field day with Nazi-Liberal comparisons:

Anyway, you get the point.

This is a very fascinating article I found outlining the 14 fundamental characteristics of fascist regimes, from Hitler's Germany, Franco's Spain, Mussolini's Italy, and others.

http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=britt_23_2

You don't have to get too far down the list before you start to see very striking similarities between fascism and modern American conservatism, or more aptly, neo-conservatism (although fascism also shares a much with 1950's McCarthyism).

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.

Believe it or not, a central issue in the 2008 election will be Barack Obama's alleged lack of patriotism. From his lapel pin stance to his wife's misconstrued "pride" comments, Republican's will actually try to have Americans believing that a career public servant would actually run for president of a country he despises. They did the same thing with John Kerry in 2004, and got many people believing that the draft-dodging Bush-Cheney ticket was somehow more patriotic than a decorated war veteran.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.

While conservatives have fought ardently for the right to bear arms, they have not been so zealous in other areas. The Bush Administration has rolled back habeas corpus, a fundamental right dating back to 1215 and the Magna Carta. A 2002 administration memo stated that the 4th Amendment has no application to "Domestic Military Operations," which could mean almost anything. Republicans have also fought for increased privacy and legal immunity for telecommunications companies that helped the government execute Bush's warrantless surveillance program.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.

In perhaps the single most prolific and comprehensive moment in conservative scapegoating, the late Reverend Jerry Falwell most famously blamed liberals, feminists, gays, lesbians, secularists, pagans, the ACLU and abortionists for the September 11th attacks. Similarly, conservatives have also found it convenient to blame immigrants and Muslims for many of America's woes. In fact, the examples of conservative scapegoating are so numerous and so ridiculous that I'll only share a few of the more insane examples here:


4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.

George W. Bush famously stated, "I am a War President." This seemed to indicate that war would be the central identifying characteristic of his administration; it has. By declaring a "Global War on Terror" and coining the vague classification "Enemy Combatant," Bush laid the groundwork for United States to be in a perpetual war against anyone, with potentially anyone being a wartime enemy of America. Bush set the precedent for "preemptive war," meaning the U.S. no longer even needs a good reason to start a war. God forbid if Canada ever looked at us funny.

5. Rampant sexism.

While I wouldn't exactly consider conservative to endorse "rampant sexism," they do generally wind up on the less sexually equal side of many arguments. Most notably, conservatives staunch opposition to reproductive rights and homosexual marriage are enough to clearly place them on the more sexist side of the aisle.

6. A controlled mass media.

While the U.S. media is certainly more free than in many countries throughout the world, there are certainly areas where government is not doing what it can to promote a free press. Despite the emergence of the internet as a varied source of information, the so-called "mainstream media" has become more consolidated in recent years. Deregulation of media corporations has been a cornerstone of conservative policy, leaving much of the mainstream media in a very small number of hands. Also, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan (not surprisingly) revealed that conservative-leaning Fox News Channel receives daily talking points directly from the White House.

7. Obsession with national security.

This one is a no brainer. The whole "9/11 changed everything" argument has been used to promote a pseudo-police state in the U.S., where Americans' phone calls and emails can be monitored, toothpaste is confiscated, babies appear on a "no-fly" list, In addition to granting themselves the right to spy on Americans without obtaining a warrant, the Bush administration has even gone as far as to monitor the meetings and communications of anti-war groups.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.

The union of government and religion is a clearly conservative trademark. Probably the most notable cases of this intermingling of interest exists within the public school system, where many states have made it mandatory to teach intelligent design and unlawful to teach anything but abstinence as sexual education. Republicans have for several decades enjoyed an alliance with the Christian Right, which has helped them win elections while helping religious organizations have more influence in government affairs. Not surprisingly, Christian leaders David Kuo and John DiIulio claimed that the Bush White House pandered to Christian groups for political benefit, without actually taking their concerns seriously.

9. Power of corporations protected.

What will probably be seen as the trademark of Reagan-era conservatism is the enormous, unchecked power corporations have gained. Corporations enjoy lower taxes than at virtually any time in the nation's history, while trade agreements have allowed them to profit more by exporting American middle-class jobs overseas. The Bush White House has also made sure that defense contractors are not held accountable for failures and even criminal behavior in Iraq. The most clear-cut example can be seen in our current mortgage crisis. President Bush has supported a bailout of Bear-Stearns, while opposing assistance for troubled homeowners, calling defaultees "irresponsible." Bush has also made sure to fill his cabinet with industry-friendly executives, essentially installed to ensure that the regulatory bodies they are meant to oversee don't perform any regulation at all. This all leads to a class arrangement typical of fascist regimes, with most or all of the power concentrated in the hands of a few leaders and large corporations, and a deepening divide between the haves and have nots.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.

Another conservative hallmark is the opposition to organized labor. While conservative claim to stand for the middle-class working man, they have for decades fought to weaken the power of unions. Of course conservatives will never actually outline their opposition to labor, but it is no surprise that unions simply do not endorse Republicans. Check out the website of the AFL-CIO, whose latest tally of union endorsement shows a Democratic candidates pitching a shutout. John McCain's own website doesn't contain any mention of organized labor, but labor's eternal nemesis, free trade. McCain believes the U.S. "should engage in ... efforts to reduce barriers to trade," and admits that "globalization will not automatically benefit every American." (no sh*#!)

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.

On numerous occasions, most notably at NASA and the EPA, Bush administration officials have edited the work of scientists and scholars to downplay information that might be harmful to Republican allies, i.e., polluters. Meanwhile, conservative pundits deride almost all university professors as elitist, liberal eggheads that are brainwashing our youth.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment.

See: U.S. prison population. Part of the conservative ideology is the idea that people are basically all bad or all good. The "bad" people need to stay in prison and cannot be rehabilitated. Ex-convicts don't deserve the right to vote even after they have served their time. Since only "bad" people misuse guns, we needn't make laws that restrict the right of "good" people to own guns. That's the gist of the conservative stance on crime. Demonize drug offenders, statutory rapists and other fringe-criminals, while Bush commutes the sentence of convicted perjurer, Scooter Libby.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.

See: "Heckuva job, Brownie." It's not surprising that cronyism and corruption go hand in hand. George Bush's "buddies" Mike Brown, Alberto Gonzalez, Karl Rove have all been involved in scandal, and have all been forced to "spend more time with their family." For Christ sakes, Bush tried to nominate his personal attorney (Harriet Miers) to the Supreme Court! I'm surprised he hasn't tried to nominate his family practitioner to the office of surgeon general.

14. Fraudulent elections.

Leave it to conservatives to usher in a new age in American politics where only 28% of Americans are "Very confident" that votes will be counted accurately nationwide. Conservatives have fought to oppose laws requiring paper ballot receipts and upheld antiquated voter ID laws. Conservatives have invented a voter fraud epidemic that does not exist, the purpose of which is to challenge the voting rights of qualified citizens. Yet as we have seen with the caging lists in Florida, inconsistencies with exit poll results in Ohio, and the mass disenfranchisement of minority voters, there is not a voter fraud epidemic, but an election fraud epidemic, one which at nearly every turn has mysteriously helped the Republican candidate.

Posted by Nick Mitchell at 7:54 PM