Fascism in America

[Victor Steinbok]

Sounds like all perfect descriptions of the Tea Party... it just took a
lot longer than they thought. And the missed "American Exceptionalism".

VS-)

On 8/9/2012 2:42 PM, Garson O'Toole wrote:
> Months ago I was asked about a quotation attributed to Huey Long:
>
> If fascism comes to America it would be on a program of 100 percent Americanism
>
> While exploring this saying I found a cluster of quotations attributed
> to Long and others (including Sinclair Lewis) about fascism coming to
> America.
>
> Here are some of the examples of this comment type starting in the 1930s:
>
> If fascism comes to America
> … it would come disguised as an anti-fascist movement.
> … it would come masked as anti-Fascism.
> … it will be called "democracy."
> … it will be wrapped in an American flag.
> … it will be wrapped in an American flag and carrying a cross
> … it will be called 100 percent Americanism.
> … it will be called Americanism.
>
> Sinclair Lewis wrote "It Can't Happen Here" about populism and fascism
> in a satirical future America. So it is unsurprising that his name
> would be attached to quotes of this type.
>
> It was a large topic with many variants. I did not find substantive
> evidence that Huey Long or Sinclair Lewis wrote or said one of these
> quotes.
>
> Garson

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