Welcome friends!
I have to say conservatism here in the USA is pretty funny sometimes. It’s so outrageously incoherent and idiotic one supposes no conservative could possibly expect anyone to take him or her literally or even seriously and yet one can never be entirely sure. Why do they say the things they say? Are they stupid? Crazy? Crafty like a fox? After a lifetime of admittedly rather casual research I still don’t know. What got me thinking about this issue yet again was some statements Dan Schneider, executive director of the American Conservative Union, delivered this year at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). In a move reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s Night of the Long Knives albeit without the knives Mr. Schneider dramatically repudiated what has become known as the “alt-right” segment of the American conservative movement and ejected one of their main spokespeople who had apparently previously been attending CPAC events without incident for some time. Don’t get me wrong. Seems a sensible enough public relations move now these alt-right groups have become a more visible presence in our political and cultural life. You may recall some of these people were in the news shortly after the recent presidential election celebrating Mr. Trump’s victory at a restaurant in our nation’s capital. On that occasion the leader I mentioned earlier in the context of being ejected from this year’s CPAC had railed against Jews, quoted Nazi propaganda (in the original German mind you), explained his belief that America “belonged” to “white” people (or in his own crazy talk version the “children of the sun” apparently not fully comprehending the genetic mechanisms historically giving rise to different skin tones), and called out the following noteworthy slogans: Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory! His audience enthusiastically shouted these slogans back and several over excited attendees apparently gave the old Nazi stiff arm salute. Got the picture? To state the obvious I’m perfectly fine with mainstream American conservatives finally cutting these people loose. Indeed, one can’t help but wonder what took them so damned long. But then again a little later CPAC attendees enthusiastically endorsed as a true exemplar of bona fide conservatism the man the alt-right views as championing their extremist ideals: President Donald Trump. For his part, President Trump informed the group, “you finally have a president,” and called his victory “a win for conservative values.” But that’s just the sort of self serving hypocrisy one expects from American conservatives. That’s not really what I wanted to address here. No, the most notable element of the whole affair for me and the bit I’d really like to address in this post was Mr. Schneider’s fanciful denunciation of the alt-right segment of the American conservative movement as a “left-wing fascist group.”
I feel I just addressed the close association between American conservatism and fascism the other day but since conservatives insist upon bringing it up I suppose I might as well take another shot at it... Sorry but only selected archived (previous year) posts are currently available full text on this website. All posts including this one are available in my annual anthology ebook series available at the Amazon Kindle Bookstore for a nominal fee. Hey, we all need to make a buck somehow, right? If you find my timeless jewels of wisdom amusing or perhaps even amusingly irritating throw me a bone now and then. Thank you my friends!
