I assume you've read Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism? If not, you are in for a treat. I thought it would just be a polemic, but the argument is historically sound and much more subtle than I expected, tracing the historical context of the "progressive" movement from the last half of the 19th century through the intellectual trends the brought us Woodrow Wilson, the Italian Fascisti and the NRA.

Much of Goldberg's argument is that the Left loves to redefine "fascist" to mean their political enemies but it is definitely a misuse of the word which was more accurately a description of "progressive" agendas.

I think you'd enjoy the book because you have the historical knowledge to get the contextual references.

I don't have much interest in or sympathy for the demagogic bumper sticker versions of anti-Obama rhetoric that are infesting talk-radio - mainly because they offend my intellectual elitism <bg> - but there is some validity to the idea that if fascism comes to America it will not be jack-booted storm troopers kicking down the door, but a polite knock on the door by a lawyer and a social worker who say "We're from the Government, and we're here to help." <s>


>Mike, don't mess with my knowledge of history. Mussolini did end up on a lamppost but look at the 20's and 30's for guidance.
>
>>That is a terrible analogy, LOL. I thought you had a better understanding of history.
>>
>>Mussolini was last seen hanging from a lamppost, wasn't he?
>>
>>>As much as I dislike Obama, I have to back Peter in this fight. Obama is no Hitler. I think a closer parallel is Mussolini.
>>>
>>>>Kevin, if you think I'll gonna take your 'information' serious, while you do not want to renounce the claim that Obama is like Hitler, then you're seriously in error.
>>>>
>>>>Peter, I don't say "Obama is like Hitler"....I assert that many of Obama's fundamentals are eerily similar to that of what Hitler advocated during his rise to power.