Neo-Nazis and Leftism

 

If Nazi Germany had a Memorial Day, Hitler’s greeting would have been very much in line with this one from Trump:

 Happy Memorial Day to all. But especially to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country they love, and to those in line of a very different, but equally dangerous fire, stopping the threats of the terrorists, misfits and lunatic thugs who are working feverishly from within to overturn and destroy our once great country, which has never been in greater peril than it is right now. We must stop the communists, Marxists and fascist “pigs” at every turn and, Make America Great Again!

The Nazi playbook is all there; false victimization, demonization, scapegoating, and dehumanizing the opposition.

“Wait a minute there, Dubya”, Someone might say. “Haven’t you heard of Godwin’s Law?”

“Why, yes, I have”, I would reply. Then I’d show him what Mike Godwin himself has to say about calling radical Right Republicans neo-Nazis.

" Sure, call Trump a Nazi. Just make sure you know what you’re talking about."

I came up with Godwin’s Law. In its original form, Godwin’s Law goes like this: “As an online discussion continues, the probability of a reference or comparison to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.”

First, let me get this Donald Trump issue out of the way: If you’re thoughtful about it and show some real awareness of history, go ahead and refer to Hitler or Nazis when you talk about Trump. Or any other politician.

OK, I will.

Hitler: "Ein Volk. Ein Reich. Ein Fuhrer!" 

Trump September 17, 2022: "One movement. One people. One family. One glorious American nation!" 

Just as Hitler's Nazis revered their "martyr" in the "Horst Wessel Song", American neo-Nazis revere their "martyr", the insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt. Her mother was just arrested for assault. That's what neo-Nazis do. Violence is their language, as they find delight through cruelties that result in real suffering and loss for people they hate or fear.

And there's so much more.

Like Hitler, Trump has no respect for facts, the rule of law, and our democratic ideals. He begins this attack on our Constitution with an absurd false dichotomy before going to his Big Lie on his deceptively named “Truth Social”.

"Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”

What kind of traitor would call for the termination of the Constitution?

On the day of his SDNY indictment, Trump wailed:

These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President. THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!

“Indicated” by thugs and monsters. 

Here we have Trump’s semi-illiterate version of “Mein Kampf” for MAGAts. We can almost feel the hot-blooded chant of “Ein Reich! Ein Volk! Ein Fuhrer!” behind his vile neo-Nazi diatribes.

Ron Desantis would also echo the original Fuhrer when he told Trey Gowdy on FOX®, “The woke mind virus is basically a form of cultural Marxism. At the end of the day it’s an attack on the truth. And because it’s a war on truth, I think we have no choice but to wage a war on woke”.

“Woke” essentially means whatever and whomever they hate, of course.

DeSantis blew the dog whistle to his racist base when he scored a double, by invoking hate for a Jew, and praise for a white guy who strangled a mentally ill Black man on a subway train.

“We must defeat the Soros-Funded DAs, stop the Left's pro-criminal agenda, and take back the streets for law abiding citizens. We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny. Let’s show this Marine... America’s got his back.”

Penny is charged with second-degree manslaughter. The pro-criminal projection here is once again wrapped in praise for a killer.

They loved the racist who killed Trayvon Martin.

They send money and praise to a sociopath punk named Kyle Rittenhouse for killing BLM protesters.

Governor Abbot plans to pardon another bigot who killed a protester in Texas. The killer Daniel Perry proclaimed, “I might have to kill a few people on my way to work”.

These are the heroes of neo-Nazis.

They LOVE white people who kill Blacks and others they hate.

Then DeSantis pitched a promise that enthralls every Nazi, “I will serve two terms, and I will be able to destroy leftism in this country.”

Imagine if a Democratic candidate said they were going to "destroy conservatism in this country." We know how the corporate media and press would treat that statement with outrage. But It’s OK if you’re a Republican. (IOKIYAR) It’s just “rhetoric” and “legitimate political discourse”, as in how the GOP whitewashed Trump’s coup on 1/6/21. 

"America First" activist Tyler Russel admits what the white nationalist neo-Nazi base really wants. "We don't want freedom. We want a total Trumpian Reich. We want dictator Trump...And we want all these people who are traitors to this nation to go to jail."

To hell with all those American neo-Nazis who want to destroy our democracy. THAT is their goal, as they pack the courts with corrupt anti-democratic judges to cement minority rule.

This is the purpose of their war on truth, democracy, education, and our freedom. They want to restrict the right to vote, dictate forced births, dictate what books children can read, what teachers can teach, how people dress and perform, and force their radical Right, racist, one-party dictatorship on our nation. This is what they do while projecting and howling that the "left" is trying to control them.

Why do they really want to destroy leftism?

Leftism is anti-racist, so they hate it.

Leftism supports separation of church and state and opposes theocracy in the laws and courts, so they hate it. 

Leftism supports women's right to reproductive freedom, so they hate it.

Leftism supports ethical standards for the Supreme Court, so they hate it.

Leftism supports our justice system holding Trump and his mob accountable for their crimes, so they hate it.

Leftism supports school children's safety by banning assault weapons, so they hate it.

Leftism supports public education and public healthcare, so they hate it.

Leftism supports asylum for victims of war, crime, and tyranny, so they hate it.

Leftism supports our Constitutional taxes on the rich and corporations, so they hate it.

Leftism supports our Constitutional regulation of commerce, so they hate it.

Leftism supports our Constitutional provision for the general welfare, so they hate it.

Leftism supports the peaceful transfer of power, so they hate it.

Leftism supports cleaner air and water by regulating polluters, so they hate it.

Leftism supports feeding the poor and treating the sick, so they hate it.

Leftism supports and protects our Constitutional democracy and voting rights, so they hate it.

American neo-Nazis like DeSantis, Trump, and his cult will accuse all who oppose them of being "communists". Just like Hitler did to those who didn't "Sieg Heil" and goose-step for his Third Reich.

No wonder they purged Liz Cheney for daring to speak out, "No party, no nation, no people can defend and perpetuate a constitutional republic if they accept leaders who have gone to war with the rule of law, with the democratic process, with the Constitution itself.”

This is why American neo-Nazis love Trump and DeSantis. They share the same white nationalist hate for democracy and our ideal of consent of the governed. They share the same hate for fellow Americans who don’t look like them, or show intelligence, honesty, decency, and compassion.

Those are NOT their values. They seek wealth, power, and one-party control of our country, and above all, to punish people they hate. There’s the reason they want to destroy leftism, and not fascism.

They are enemies of our Constitution and democratic republic, and they have earned their designation as “neo-Nazis”.

Hillary Was Right

If anyone of sound mind and morals sat through the Trump/CNN debacle last night, I offer them both my pity and congratulations. Witnessing fascism's voice being amplified for over and hour, spewing a stream of lies and hate is exhausting and depressing. 

We can only ask ourselves, "What the hell is wrong with our country?"

This is the question I've been writing about since Bush and Cheney lied us into war and were reelected for their war crimes.

Trump is but the logical consequence of the moral decline and willful ignorance in a large percentage of our citizenry. White nationalism has taken over the American Bible Belt. We're watching good people be deceived by sociopaths and allowing their racial resentments, bigotry and fears of being replaced to dominate their politics. Now the question is, are they still good people?

Were "good Germans" still good people after willingly swearing an oath to Hitler? Sure, they may have still been good parents, and good neighbors and friends to fellow Nazis, but is that enough for them to remain good people?

The answer is no. Their willing embrace of anger and hate in service to evil cancels what might remain of any conscience or decency.

I'll leave it to others to fact check all his lies, and denounce his vile hate and outrageous behavior. We've seen quite enough of it already. 

Instead of my usual ranting, I want to share the important observations of former naval aviator Brynn Tannehill.

She knows her subject, and is the author of “American Fascism: How the GOP is Subverting Democracy".

This is what she tweeted regarding CNN's horror show last night:

A ton of ink (virtual or otherwise) has already been spilled on Trump and CNN. Obviously it was Trump at his most awful. And obviously CNN did our country a disservice by hosting what was effectively a Trump rally. But, there's an angle that's missing from the discussion. 

Namely, the audience. These were all Trump supporters. Republicans and independents who were supporters of the former President. Clinton called them a "basket of deplorables" in 2016, and they got offended.

Last night was a reminder she was right.

They laughed and cheered as Trump mocked the woman he was found liable for sexually assaulting. He was cheered when he called "moderator" Kaitlan Collins "a nasty woman." They eagerly devoured the myriad of lies he told about EVERYTHING.

It was a Gish Gallop, right down to claiming he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours without giving details. (Hint: there's no way the US could do that, even if we cut off aid immediately. Ukraine would keep fighting and looking for alternate suppliers of arms.)

And they believe it all. They LOVE it all. The cruelty is the point. They love Trump and Putin and Orban. They love Jesus too, and have claimed all of American Christianity for their own. They've destroyed its reputation in the process.

For most decent people, who don't laugh at people for being raped, seeing someone wearing a cross is a big warning sign: this person is not safe. This person is not kind. This person does not even vaguely live in the same reality the rest of us do. 

And yes, this thread will get a lot of "not all Christians" messages here. But these folks are at the spearhead a fascist movement that revels in cruelty, domination, and abuse of power. Not everyone that wore a swastika pin was bad, but there weren't many Oskar Schindlers.

But, above all else, last night was a reminder of what America under Trump was, and will be again if we put him back in office. Cruel, theocratic, vulgar, misogynistic, unmoored from reality, ignorant, immune to evidence, and racist. 

These are not good people, even if they believe their religious beliefs make them inherently good. This is a movement centered on grievances and vengeance against enemies of the herrenvolk. What we saw are the true believers Milton Mayer wrote about. 

Hardly anyone will read this. And even if it goes viral, it still isn't enough. But for those that do read it, I hope it reminds you that what is coming is dark beyond all belief. They want vengeance on those they believe they have tolerated for too long.

There is no bottom: there is no point at which his supporters will say, "No, we're going too far, this is wrong." These are people with an axe to grind, and without empathy for anyone who seen as an enemy.

If the 2nd Trump administration was putting trans people through tree shredders, his supporters would demand that they be dipped in lemon juice first.

Last night was a chilling reminder not only can it happen here, it WILL happen here if we get a second Trump term.