Nazi sympathisers in government

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tamada
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Nazi sympathisers in government

Post by tamada » May 17, 2023, 11:07 pm

Rachel Maddow's onto something with a story of how a foreign agent "colluded with over 20 sitting members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to launder and spread Nazi propaganda, often at taxpayers' expense. Those congressmen were associated with the America First Committee, a group with many antisemitic leaders."

43 minute podcast or a 10 minute speed read. Up to you.

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/15/11430786 ... a-in-ultra


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Re: Nazi sympathisers in government

Post by Mosquito » May 18, 2023, 5:08 am

Not shocking news, even if the number used was "over 50" doubt anyone tracking US politics would be surprised.

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Re: Nazi sympathisers in government

Post by tamada » May 18, 2023, 8:33 am

The motivations of the America First Committee may have preyed upon the average American's reluctance to be drawn into another war "over there" but the anti-Semitism is presented as their primary motivation. It sort of resonates with the current exhortations of the MAGA troupe who I will politely suggest are quite xenophobic rather than overtly anti-Semitic. There's a call for less emphasis on foreign policy, a reduced overseas presence and walking away from international alliances. More looking inward and turning their backs on the rest of the world.

This handful of elected officials from over 80 years ago were apparently sympathetic to Hitler and his ideals. What's the motivation and influences that fuel this current perception of growing acceptance of right and extreme right politics in the US?

Looking at the denouement that never was when the biggest sedition prosecution in American history was stopped, I don't hold out the same hope as some others for Donald Trump to ever face anything similar. This despite his overt complicity in the Capitol insurrection and other acts of malfeasance in office. The upside, from history, appears to be the American people ultimately distancing themselves from these Nazi zealots at the ballot box.
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Re: Nazi sympathisers in government

Post by Whistler » May 18, 2023, 1:20 pm

America in the 30's and 40's was no particular exception, the article kinda proves nothing and is woefully outdated with only a scant validity to the current situation.

Britain had Enoch Powell and the British Union of Fascists, plus an abdicated individual a big fan of Fascism
Australia had De Groot and the New Guard
Walt Disney was a fan
Sweden had Axel Wenner-Gren (founder of Electrolux)
yadda, yadda, yadda
I had a bumper sticker in Texas that read 'Beam me up Scotty'. I often wish I could find one in Udon Thani

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tamada
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Re: Nazi sympathisers in government

Post by tamada » May 18, 2023, 3:01 pm

Yes, it's happened before with the reasons clearly stated being a) anti-Semitism and to a lesser extent, b) avoiding another war in distant lands.

What's the motivation and influences that fuel this current perception of growing acceptance of right and extreme right ideology in the US?

On the premise that it's an irrational reaction to a stimulus or a fear, what are they scared of? These outwardly sane looking people just don't wake up one morning and say, "F@#%it, I'm gonna be a Nazi!"
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Re: Nazi sympathisers in government

Post by deankham » May 18, 2023, 3:09 pm

Well the Nazi 'type' party in one form or another has mass support within Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe.

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Re: Nazi sympathisers in government

Post by tamada » May 18, 2023, 3:55 pm

deankham wrote:
May 18, 2023, 3:09 pm
Well the Nazi 'type' party in one form or another has mass support within Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe.
Yes there are. Europe is an agglomeration of nation states with shared borders but different languages, religions and cultures. There's some degree of overlapping in there and a long history of wars, defending themselves from neighbours and even from each other.

But the homegenized USA? What's their excuse? Two borders, two political parties, a war of independence, a civil war, two mainstream languages and a fairly atypical religious demographic.
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'You don't have to be afraid of everything you don't understand'
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