But I really doubt they know what the words really mean. And that is not surprising. John Dean on Countdown this week said that the current generation of Republicans basically just crave power and the destruction of their enemy, and have no real guiding principles or beliefs. That is why they can, without shame or even short term memory, vote for massive spending under a President Bush and decry such spending as “oppressive,” “tyrannical,” “fascist,” “socialist” and “communist” under a President Obama. A simple logic lesson reveals that Republicans are what they decry.
Using big inflammatory words and labels is a means to an end for them. They care not about definitions and usage, which is ironic for such champions of English as our only language. But to help them out, American Dad (not the Fox version) has compiled a basic middle school primer for them so it is guaranteed that even Sarah Palin can read and understand it:
Most 8th graders have access to a Mirriam-Webster dictionary, so let’s use the definitions from there, just so we don’t go over the heads of the folks in the GOP.
Fascism: “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”
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You can tell that fascism is a wee bit different from socialism and communism by taking a little peek at the grand daddy of all fascists, Benito Mussolini. Benny had a private army, called Blackshirts, that he used to attack, imprison and kill socialists and communists. He helped his fellow fascist, Adolf Hitler (his was a race-based fascism) both invade France and support the fascist “nationalist” side in the Spanish Civil War (which made him a new fascist friend, Generalissimo Franco). Another hint: In 1945, Benny and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were dragged out and lynched by the local communists.But, in case the distinction isn’t clear yet, let’s go back to the dictionary.
Socialism: “1. any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods; 2(a): a system of society or group living in which there is no private property; 2(b): a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state; 3. a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.
Communism: 1(a): a theory advocating elimination of private property b: a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed; 2(a): a doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian socialism and Marxism-Leninism that was the official ideology of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; 2(b): a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production; 2(c): a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably 2(d): communist systems collectively.
Now the political spectrum is a complex, layered and nuanced thing, but we won’t burden you with all that just yet. In the most simple left-right terms, communism is the far left, socialism is left, liberalism/progressivism is center-left, while conservatism is right and fascism and feudalism are far right.
See? Obama can’t be fascist, socialist and communist all at once. (Perhaps next week we’ll show how he’s not any of them.)
By calling Obama all three at once, Republicans reveal their inherent stupidity. Pick a slur, er ah, I mean label, and stand by it, for the love of God. You should really read the entire American Dad piece, if only to discover who on the American ideological spectrum is really what.