OF SOCIALISTS, FASCISTS, AND COMMUNISTS

The Rethuglican party is the party of Fascists, Mussolini Fascists, that is.

The Dispassionate Liberal has a post up about this subject, Flirtin With The Fascists.

I may be indulging in some naive wishful thinking, but I truly believe it is a testament to our unique form of government, a federated three-tiered, three-branched representative republic -- not to mention a bounty of natural resources, robust industrial tradition and innovative technological leadership -- that has kept America from falling into some form of totalitarianism.

We've maintained a democracy (of sorts) for 220 years now, due in no small part because the all too frustrating, grid-locking, gob-smackingly slow mechanisms put in place to protect and give voice to minority concerns by and large keeps the fascist thugs on the right from armed revolt and the left satisfied with navel-gazing debates.

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If you don't have both private ownership of commerce and finance plus a free, open democracy charged with providing stuartship of community services (currency creation, fire & crime protection, transportation infrastructure, education, and at least basic health and elder care), as well as regulation of industry for the common good through promotion of competition and fair labor standards, you don't have "socialism" as we know it in the West today, more unambiguously termed social-democracy.

Now, that was a taste. Go read the rest. It's long but very much worth the time.