Senator "Sheets" Byrd (D-KKK)

[Montgomery Burns]

compares Republicans to Hitler and the Nazi Party.

Dontcha love the rhetoric of the left?

You might have missed this story since the liberal media has refused to report it, but thankfully Fox News has been on the story (just like when they were reporting the UN's Oil for Food scandal back in January/04. The liberal media only grudgingly reported it after the US election and they realized that they were stuck with Dubya for another 4 years).

Tonight on Hannity & Colmes, Sean Hannity grilled some leftwinger on what he thought of the former KKK member Senator "Sheets" Byrd saying this.

Unsurprisingly, the leftie refused to give a straight answer (it appears he agreed with Byrd), until Hannity gave up in exasperation.

Once again, a liberal ends up looking like a fool on the Fox News Channel. No wonder many libs are scared to come on Fox News.

[Shakeyhands]

read what he said again.

[Black Dog]

compares Republicans to Hitler and the Nazi Party

If the brown shirt fits....

[caesar]

The comparison of bush and Hitler has been seen many times before. Invading countries without just cause; bullying tactics; thinking themselves some great untouchable hero or such.

[Montgomery Burns]

Their favorite terms are Nazi and fascist.

Me thinks too many people here are members of Moveon.org.

The hiliarious thing is that both Hitler and Mussolini were leftists.

But that's what the left is all about. They chant their mantras and their catechisms because many of them seem incapable of rational thought.

[WageSlave]

Their favorite terms are Nazi and fascist.

Me thinks too many people here are members of Moveon.org.

The hiliarious thing is that both Hitler and Mussolini were leftists.

But that's what the left is all about. They chant their mantras and their catechisms because many of them seem incapable of rational thought.

Leftists eh?

A marriage between the corporations and the military, with rigidly controlled social structures, is much closer to that of the American government, than it is even to Stalin's regime.

Call it irrational but then you'd be wrong.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear Montgomery Burns,

The hiliarious thing is that both Hitler and Mussolini were leftists. 

This is a very common, yet silly myth that I shall dispell right now. Perhaps you should try a little reading...

Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. The word fascism (uncapitalized) has come to mean any political stance or system of government resembling Mussolini's, as further discussed below.

source:wikipedia

You'll notice the words "right wing" above, (at least I hope you do, right-wingers can be awfully myopic when it comes to truth, or to things they don't wish to see) and both Hitler and Mussolini styled their leadership after it. Generally, if you wave a flag, you are moreso a fascist than not.

The rule of rule, is that;

totalitarianism=right wing (or fascism), and

democracy=left-wing.

It has to do with either seeking power or equality.

This has seldom ever been practiced in the real world, because almost every country or ruler has mixed their rule of the country with the system of economy, and generally tainted both. This is why the term 'Marxist-Leninist has to be broken into two parts. One of them, Marxism, is an economic system, and Leninism was the totalitarian style of enforcing law within the country. The problem is, they really aren't compatible.

[TokyoTakarazuka]

I agree that most political scientists would describe fascism as right-leaning, but it's actually hard to fit it in the political spectrum since the definitions of what left and right are have changed so much over the years. However, the idea that fascism is leftist is not a 'silly myth', but rather, something that is seriously debated by scholars. Although all rejected pure Marxism, some fascists proclaimed themselves to be socialist in nature, therefore presumably leftist. Most, however, declared themselves to represent a synthesis of the right and the left, perhaps explaining the difficulty in classifying them.

As you point out, totalitarianism is not exclusively fascist. Leninists and Maoists also support the totalitarian model, yet would anyone argue that these are 'leftist' ideologies? I don't know of anyone who would argue that Lenin, Stalin, and other communists were 'right-wing' in a modern sense. Similarly, democracy was essentially a creation of classical liberals, who were considered 'leftist' at the time. Today, few would argue that classical liberalism represents the 'right-wing' of the political spectrum. Modern neoliberal (classical liberal) thinkers are often referred to as the 'far-right'.

In social policy, fascism resembles the modern 'right'. Fascists were nationalist, anti-pacifist, largely traditionalist, and they believed in the inequality of man. In addition, in politics their anti-communism often helped them to forge alliances with 'conservative' parties.

However, in economics fascism, especially Italian fascism, is generally more similar to the modern left. The left today is often associated with government control over the economy. Mussolini, like Stalin, was intent on gaining total control over the nation's productivity, which he achieved by reorganizing the economy into centrally-controlled corporations, largely run by government appointees. To me, Mussolini's corporatism seems leftist, but he himself said that it in reality represented a synthesis between rightist and leftist economics. Mussolini also believed strongly in the welfare state, which is today considered a leftist trait. Hitler did not nationalize the economy like Mussolini did, and unlike communists he was not contemptuous towards capitalists. However, he did maintain tight control over Germany's big businesses and ensured that they would produce only those materials that he believed would further the fascist state. Hitler himself once said that fascism was a less-populist form of Marxism, and he often referred to his system of government as a form of 'socialism'. In an interesting statement he once asked a fellow politician, "Why should we need to socialize the banks and factories? We are socializing the people?" To be honest, I'm not sure whether this statement reflects a more rightist, or a more leftist stance.

I think the essential problem lies in defining the left and right. For instance, Hitler was strongly against free trade. In the 1930's, that would've made him a rightist, since conservative parties of that era supported protectionism. However, modern rightist thought strongly emphasizes global trade. So does that mean his trade policy was rightist, or leftist?

And of course, comparing the ideology of the modern Republican Party to fascism is absolutely ridiculous.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear TokyoTakarazuka,

An excellent post.

Hitler himself once said that fascism was a less-populist form of Marxism, and he often referred to his system of government as a form of 'socialism'.

While the party name , NSDAP might by it's title appear left-wing, in reality it was never practiced with much conviction. Hitler practiced something more akin to 'social engineering' rather than adhering to 'socialism'. For most fascists, the tenets of 'inclusion and equality' were narrowly and subjectively defined, with their own borders being the outside edge.

So does that mean his trade policy was rightist, or leftist?

I would say that an true anarchist represents the farthest right on the spectrum, but no one can last long without allegiances.