Why they lose: the Left tells us that Trump is like Hitler

Summary: The Left responds to the populist resurgence with contempt and derision, ignoring the overlap in their goals. It’s why they lose. The specifics of their accusations are often daft, such as the warnings that Trump is like Hitler. This demonstrates how why they’ve lost influence. Are they serious, or are these remnants of the Left just performance art — entertainment for the Outer Party (America’s managers and professionals)? This nonsense distracts from the actual reasons to oppose Trump.

“{Reagan is} trying to replace the Bill of Rights with fascist precepts lifted verbatim from Mein Kampf.”
— Congressman William Clay (D-MO).

Perhaps it was inevitable that the election would degenerate into a clickbait festival. Slate, a clickbait powerhouse, has laid down a barrage of misinformation about Trump on their readers. This is typical — “An Eclectic Extremist” by Jacob Weisberg — “Donald Trump’s distinctly American authoritarianism draws equally from the wacko right and wacko left. …The conflict in the 2016 campaign is no longer Trump versus his Republican opponents; it is now Trump versus the American political system.” As usual with these comparisons, Weisberg gives little evidence that Trump is these ugly things. Weisberg mindlessly mentions the Mussolini quote (see below).

Also see this hysterical analysis: “This Is How the West Ends” by Anne Applebaum — “Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, and the breakdown of European stability.” If you get your information from comedians, like many on the Left, see “Louis C.K. Slams Trump“: “The Guy is Hitler … We Are Being Germany in the ’30s”.

Democracy Now interviews Robert Reich pretending to be Professor Xavier (a psychic), saying “Donald Trump Isn’t a Conservative, He’s a Pure Authoritarian” — “Current G.O.P. frontrunner is more dictator than simply right-wing.” They also content with Slate to be a clickbait champion, with gems such as “Is Donald Trump the Charismatic Leader the KKK & Neo-Nazis Have Been Waiting For?”

AlterNet as usual runs some quite deranged content. “Is Donald Trump Getting His Cues from Hitler?” by Steven Rosenfeld — “How the GOP Leader Is Following the Führer’s Recipe.” Kali Holloway reports that Anne Frank’s stepsister says Trump “Is Acting Like Hitler” — “Holocaust Survivors Warn of Historical Parallels. A critique that should chill all of us to the bone.”

Salon has my favorite: “America, you’re stupid: Donald Trump’s political triumph makes it official — we’re a nation of idiots” by Sean Illing at Salon — “Trump’s rise proves we’re full of loud, illiterate and credulous people — and he’s a mirror of them.” How odd that the Left can’t win elections by despising a large block of Americans, despite having the genius of Sean Illing working for them!

It’s sad. One reason the Left has so little influence in America today is their attempts to delegitmize dissent (their foes are Hitler, or like Holocaust deniers). After decades of this they’re preaching only to the faithful; nobody else cares. See “The President NAZI: How U.S. Presidents and Their Political Parties are Compared to Hitler and the Third Reich” by Megan Gallagher, Dec 2005. For another example, see how the Left compared Reagan to NAZIs. For more current comparisons see this by Chad Merda in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The contest continues: what Leftist can make the most over-the-top deranged statement about Trump!

Noam Chomsky at Alternet: “If Trump Wins, 5 Reasons Why the ‘Human Species Is in Very Deep Trouble’“

Evidence that Trump is an authoritarian, like Hitler

“@ilduce2016: “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” – @realDonaldTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain“

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2016

This quote is one of the few bits of evidence given by the Left, which shows the pitifully weak basis for these accusations. It is an ancient adage, a sentiment many people agree with (it’s not wrong just because Mussolini says it). Tipu Sultan (1755-1799), the “Tiger of Mysore”, said “It is better to live like a tiger for a day than like a jackal for 100 years.” Shakespeare’s Caesar says something similar: “Cowards die many times before their deaths. The brave experience death only once.”

Paul Krugman again demonstrates the blindness of the Left, saying “Sorry, there is no reform constituency within the GOP.” They squeeze shut their eyes to avoid seeing his other positions. Opposition to foreign wars in which we have no big stake. Opposition to Wall Street. The need for universal health care coverage. (See Trump’s website, this and especially this). The Left clearly sees Trump channeling two core aspects of populism: racism and nativism (formerly part of the progressives’ creed, but commendably since purged) — and pretends that’s all there is to populism.

There are reasons to worry, as always with any political mass movement. See Donald Trump leads us back to the future, to the dark days of US history. But for the Left equally important is that you must not see the overlapping views of Sanders and Trump! DoublePlusUngood thoughtcrime!

Why the Left loses. How progressives can win.

The rise of populism shows broad support for many policies progressives have advocated. This creates an opportunity to gain support from part of American lost to them since Nixon decisively broke the New Deal coalition (following Goldwater’s betrayal of the GOP tradition). They could run with this opportunity to detach them from the GOP coalition by pointing to the many real reasons to oppose Trump and the GOP — but instead they prefer to lose instead by denouncing the lower classes whose support they need to win and make fun but frivolous arguments.

For more about this historical opportunity being blown see Why the Left is missing the rising populist movement and Liberals look at Trump and populism, but see only their prejudices. This might be the only chance to stop the 1% for a generation or more.

Update: Ask the experts: Is trump a fascist?

• “I asked 5 fascism experts whether Donald Trump is a fascist. Here’s what they said.” by Dylan Matthews at VOX.
• “I Know Fascists; Donald Trump Is No Fascist” by Gianni Riotta (Prof, Princeton) at The Atlantic.
• “Is Donald Trump a Fascist?” by  Jeffrey Herf (Prof History, U Maryland) at The American Interest — “The short answer is ‘no,’ but there’s plenty of room for discomfort.”
• Interview with Robert Paxton (Columbia) at Democracy Now. Despite the out-of-context quote in the headline, and repeated pushes from the interviewer, he pours cold water on the comparison.

For More Information

Important:  For a first step to understanding the resurgence of of populism, led by Trump, read this powerful essay by Thomas Frank (see his books below: “Millions of ordinary Americans support Donald Trump. Here’s why ” in The Guardian, 7 March. He cites this insightful report by Working America: “‘Front Porch Focus Group’ Explores Appeal of Trump’s Right-Wing Message“.

Please like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter. See all posts about Campaign 2016, and especially these …

• Why the Outer Party hates Trump and will waste this opportunity for reform.
• Populism carries Trump to the nomination. He’s completed 1 of 4 steps to victory.
• Trump wins because he says some sensible things which journalists can’t conceal.

For ideas about what you can do see Reforming America: steps to new politics. To understand the coming reformation of American politics I suggest starting with Thomas Frank’s books: What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America (2004), and Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? (2016).