Last edited Mon Mar 14, 2016, 05:42 PM - Edit history (1)

However, I disagree with Carl Bernstein. He isn't "birthing" anything.
He has merely tapped into the undercurrent of Fascism that has always existed
here, and given them a loud, voice that has attracted haters, bigots, Birchers, KKK, Skin Heads, White Supremists, and the easily fooled, low information haters, and given them a outlet and a focal point.

Sarah Palin showed this to us in 2008, and how easily these people will follow an authoritarian as long as they talk in hate slogans and vague nationalism.

And, YES. I said "these people".
In this case, it applies.

After all, who was the Democratic nominee (and eventual winner of the presidential election) in 2008? That is a critical detail in discussions regarding the ugly undercurrents in American society of racism, white supremacy, xenophobia, and other forms of hatred and bigotry.

I'm going to edit my post.
Thanks for the heads up.

Trump appears to meet the "fascist minimum" as described by one of the leading scholars on fascism, Roger Griffin: *palingenetic ultranationalism*. Palingenesis -- rising up, once again, from defeat or embarrassment, to renewed greatness. "Make America great again". Ultranationalism -- no definition required.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palingenetic_ultranationalism
Palingenetic ultranationalism is a theory concerning generic fascism formulated by British political theorist Roger Griffin.[1][2] The key elements are that fascism can be defined by its core myth, namely that of "national rebirth" — palingenesis.[1][2] Griffin argues that the unique synthesis of palingenesis and ultranationalism differentiates fascism from para-fascism and other authoritarian nationalist ideologies.[1][2] This is what he calls the "fascist minimum" without which there is no fascism.[1][2]