Coulter and Fascism

I got a letter from a certain "S. D. W." which read in part:

When I was an undergrad, I read selections from Mein Kampf as part of a poli sci class. Reading selections from Ann Coulter's Slander brought back flashbacks. It seems to me that the vitriolic hyperbole of Mein Kampf, and the way Hitler described Jews bears close similarity to Ms. Coulter's rantings about liberals.

Interesting idea S.D. I've thought similar things in the past but I've hesitated to say them for fear of being accused of name-calling--there is certainly nothing lazier than calling your opponent a Nazi; it's about as silly as calling them a Communist, one of the most common epithets applied to me in AntiCoulter hate mail. Still, while not claiming Coulter as a goosestepping brown shirt (sartorially she seems to prefer black leather), I think some points can be made here.

I was reading a book on racism (Racism: A Short History Racism: A Short History by George Frederickson.) and came across this quote: "Racism originates from a mind-set that regards "them" as different from "us" in ways that are permanent and unbridgeable...What is being denied is the possibility that the racializers and the racialized can coexist in the same society." Doesn't this describe Coulter's attitude towards liberals and Democrats? We're evil, traitors, cowards and stupid (also "girly-boys"). We can't be reasoned with, only harangued and intimidated. We are the eternal enemy. Which is pretty much how Adolf described the Jews.

In Coulter's worship of Bush we can see similar fascist tendencies. She insists that all Americans must blindly support the president. No criticism can be allowed. Those who do criticize Bush are called "traitors." Leader worship was a central Nazi ideology. The recent "election" in Iraq shows similar fascistic attitudes. If you missed this, Iraq just had an election where 100% of the population voted their support for Saddam Hussein (which is better than the 99.96 he got back in 1995). Clearly this is a rigged farce but many Iraqis buy into it. Here is one Iraqi on their love of their leader.

Why would anybody say 'no' to Saddam Hussein? He is the symbol of our freedom and of our future. The only person Iraqis want to say 'no' to is George W. Bush

Flip Bush and Hussein's names around and you have Coulter's views in a nutshell. Patriotism for Coulter means unthinking obedience to our Fuhrer, er, leader.

So is Coulter a Nazi? No. She has not, to my knowledge, advocated genocide, but her unthinking scapegoating of liberals is very close to the Nazi scapegoating of Jews, and her insistence on blind obedience to Bush is exactly like Nazi dogma on Hitler. At the very least, she seems to have a warped understanding of the American Constitution and American traditions of multi-party democracy.

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