I know that I need to get off this boring train, but I can't help it. Once again a Republican pol has been forced to eat his words after calling comedian, Rush L. "just an entertainer." Kansas Republican rep., Todd Tiahrt has issued an apology to Rush, calling him a "great" Republican "leader."
These guys should have learned by now. Do not mess with Rush. The "Fat Boy will sing," and it will be all over. They should not risk their careers by pushing back against him. After all, he is the titular head of the failing, fascist, fiasco known as the Republican party, and any attempt to deny him his glory will be met with rapid retaliation. I wonder if Rush had to waterboard Tiahrt to get a retraction?
6 comments:
I am no fan of Rush myself (at least as a person), but I don't think you can call the Republicans fascist in any stretch of the imagination - at least according the leading sources on what fascism actually is.
Here's a great definition from the Library of Economics and Liberty:
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html
Even Mussolini would disagree with you since he wanted a much bigger government that the Republicans have ever supported:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.html
I'm not so sure about that.
Fascism:
1. Favors corporate power and elitism.
2. Plays on peoples fears of domination by lower classes.
3. Portrays itself as a champion of law, order, Christian morality and the sanctity of private property.
3. Depends upon financial and other support from vested interests who can't otherwise garner it themselves.
4. Sees peaceful nations as doomed to fall, and makes aggressive militarism a leading characteristic which results in imperialism.
5. Abhors liberal democracies, glorifies the state, and is very nationalistic.
Sounds like Republicans to me.
You hit a nerve with that one! Rush is the Darling of the GOP; an icon; the Godfather of Rhetoric. I would also agree that the GOP has moved toward Fascism. Perhaps they are not quite there yet, but there is zero doubt the GOP is moving toward those principles. A casual glance at the American Fascist Party platform & one can see the extension of the current GOP rhetoric, the very same actions & words we certainly did hear in pre-Nazi Germany.
I think what both of you guys are doing is trying to find comparisons to any Republican view and any Fascist view. The problem with that approach is that this could result in calling either Democratic or Republican views fascist. One could easily find platforms or issues in which comparisons could be made.
However, as you will see in Mussolini's article, fascism is a coherent system like capitalism is a coherent system. And like capitalism, one could apply various emphases, but the whole is greater than the sum of a few parts.
Additionally, many have made the comparison of the Democratic party to fascism. And they use similar style arguments as you guys (looking at issues and comparisons therein). One example is:
Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg.
The difference is, however, Goldberg at least has the pedigree and has shown the evidence in a much more persuasive (and critically acclaimed way). What I am seeing here is more akin to propaganda than a coherent, scholarly argument.
Now, I don't mean that as an attack on either of your character's, that's simple the nature of blogs (I would probably say the same about much of my blog). Still, Christians should be careful in making wholesale critiques without seeming to consider scholarly (even if incorrect) works like Goldberg's.
What this tends to do is cause more division and strife than offer helpful insights to careful readers.
ethicsdaily.com has great piece by Drew Smith up today about limpbrain and the fear demagogues.
And check my comments at Bap Aint Right and Baps Today Marietta flag blog about the new Steven Miller book on Nixon and Graham.
No excuses; get a copy in the Blairsville library soon; great discussion piece for the retirees up there.
And still looking for your review of Ron Rash's Serena.
And hoping Blairsville Public library has at least three copies in circulation.
Unfortunately, the Blairsville Library doesn't have Serena. The region does have it, however. I just haven't reserved it yet. I have to get through Thoreau again first. Just finished Ben Hur and a bio of Harriet Beecher Stowe. I'll also check on the Nixon/Graham as well.
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