OpenLeft: Beck raising consciousness of fascism

[marmar]

Beck raising consciousness of fascism
by: Paul Rosenberg

Sun Feb 21, 2010 at 18:00


When UT Law Professor Sandy Levinson starts sounding a bit like David Neiwert, then you know something's up:

The New York Times reports that Glenn Beck, in his closing speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference described "progressivism" as a cancer, "the disease in America." Let there be no doubt that this is nothing more than the stench of fascism, which relies on treating one's political opponents as what Carl Schmitt, the great (I use that word advisedly) Weimar political theorist (who ended up supporting Hitler's takeover in 1933), termed "enemies" who were viewed ultimately as subhuman (as "cancers" are), ulutimately fit to be eradicated "by any means necessary....

It is past time for Republicans to be called on whether or not they tolerate millions of their fellow citizens being called "cancers" and "diseases." We are indeed in a true moment of cultural and political warfare, in which Glenn Beck has made very clear that he has no regard whatsoever for the most basic notions of civility (which begin by granting the possibility that one's opponents simply disagree rather than are "cancers" to be ripped out of the body politic).

What "Beckism" presages is more terrorist violence like that conducted in Austin, Texas, where a demented citizen flew into an IRS building and killed a true American "hero" a/k/a known as a public servant who had dedicated his life to tax collection. One might remember that Justice Holmes called taxes "the price we pay for civilization." Part of our move toward fascism is to view as "heroes" only those who carry guns and are prepared to risk their lives while preparing to inflict fatal violence on others. We must recognize that all public servants are, in their own ways, "heroes." The Republican Party for the past generation has systematically viewed all public servants, save for the military, as chumps, who if they had any real talent, would be working in the private sector (perhaps in Goldman Sachs, etc.). I truly fear for our country.

Hear! Hear!

We need to dramatically raise the cost for Republicans to continue indulging the growth of protofascism. Dramatically

Rachel Maddow: Book this man now!



http://www.openleft.com/diary/17503/beck-raising-consciousness-of-fascism

[undeterred]

1. Why do people listen to this man?

He's clearly disturbed and he's not very bright.

[OutNow]

2. Why do people listen to this man

He's Austrian and only rose to the rank of corporal in the army in WW1. And did you see his weird mustache?

[Emit]

3. Check your link, marmar

Don't know if it's too late for you to correct it, but it takes me someplace entirely different than I expected ;)

[marmar]

6. OOOOPS!!! Too many SoCos with lime last night....It's fixed.

nt

[lunatica]

4. It's a classic case of projection

We could see it clearly when Bush demonized the terrorists and enemy combatants and yet he did things that were just as horrible to Iraqi and Afghan citizens. He made them Evil and said they were Evildoers and he meant it. He didn't have the capability to see anything he or the US did as bad. The only difference now is that we're the enemy. The Tea party sees us as Evil and Evildoers. We are 'destroying' their country, their belief that the US can do no harm, their idea that the US is entitled and superior and all things that are good and saintly. We're challenging their God, their inability to see things in any other light than pure black and white.

[lib_wit_it]

13. Oh, puhleeeze! When was the last time the left was *not* demonized by the most immature, loudest,

whiniest, most violent, most selfish reactionaries in this country? It's just more hard to believe now because it seemed that, with the eventual acceptance, even embracing, of progressive policies and programs,the we were headed in an generally more enlightened direction. At least, that's how gullible I was.

Also, since the RW agenda has proven itself disastrous, they can't fight with the facts. They *have* to use emotionalism, sensationalism, and vilification in a lame attempt to justify their sociopathic beliefs and behavior.

[mmonk]

5. Link?

[marmar]

7. Fixed.

[mmonk]

9. Thanks.

[jsmithsen]

8. pre-Progressive golden age?

There was no pre Progressive golden age "without Big government":

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10983

"In the election of 1888, Republicans called for tariffs to protect American manufacturing...
Protectionist tariffs remained the bedrock of economic policy of the Republican Party for the next 20 years. ...But as soon as the Republicans re-assumed power after World War I, they raised tariffs again. The Fordney-McCumber tariff of 1922 generally increased tariff rates across the board. However, it also gave the President power to raise or lower existing tariffs by 50 percent.

The infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff of 1930 was the last outrage inflicted by the Republican protectionists."

[bridgit]

10. I hope that article has been sitting on a shelf somewhere for some time...

Cause how could there be any doubt so to speak
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7zeCjq3jIo8/SpTu-VmkQ5I/AAAAAAAAArg/w_ZXtB7f9mw/s400/beck+nazi.jpg







"Is that it? Is that all there is?"


Why no it isn't and thank you for asking, cause while I am quite sure that Beck would love to take credit for raising the consciousness of fascism - I just don't think he's smart enough to actually *have* done so. And that is the perfect media shill for the 'consciousness of fascism' that never really went anywhere but shopping, like a drug pusher, for a new, addictive, personality type - like: Glenn Beck

They get to remain in the shadows doing their shadowy things, Beck takes whatever heat but because he's so emotionally brittle & needy he'll do it all for money, his new addiction, and the highly specious freedom & liberty such money enables him to stomp & stamp about Roger Aile's' FOXnews like he's in Pee Wee Goebbels' Playhouse


Its more a relationship of codependency. The 'consciousness of fascism' is unpalatable and they know it, so they send in a clown with a head full of addictive worms

[Initech]

11. What does Beck want to accomplish exactly? What are the teabaggers hoping to achieve?

I don't even think they know what they want.

[Caretha]

12. The direction that things are going

have me more worried than I believe I have ever been.

I'm scared for my country, I'm scared for the ordinary citizen trying to just keep things together, and I'm very very scared that nutcases like Beck can help tilt it all over the edge.

[Odin2005]

14. Brownshirt Beckists.