Soft Fascism Vs. Hard Fascism, You Choose

As frantic as I am about work and stuff, and the fact that I am reading (listening really while I drive back and forth to work) a mystery book called Beautiful Lies the goal of which seems to be to create the most irritating main charater ever in a book. I think the author is succeeding so that if that is what you are looking for go out and buy it.

Let's see where was I? Oh yes, politics. Liberal and democratic (definately not the same thing) blogs are becoming more and more agitated as the election becomes more and more imminant and is looking more and more like the Titanic about fifteen seconds before hitting the little piece of ice. It is a little too late to be thinking about turning that wheel or that perhaps we should have veered to the left a little sooner than we have. Actually it is almost like Capt. Smith ordering an increase in speed and aiming directly at that berg (stop that metaphore).

Obama and his people have doubled down (a phrase I am growing to love) on their opposition to DADT and DOMA at the same time telling the LGBT community that they really are working with their best interests at heart, they just don't understand the politics in all this.

They have come out opposed to a foreclosure moratorium, or Cram Down which would permit bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages, at the same time they are telling those who owe the mortgages that they are working with their best interests at heart, by apparently attempting to re-inflate the housing bubble.

They have decided that their job is to protect torturers and those who violated the various amendments to the constitution concerning cruel and unusual punishments (it's only a punishment if you've been convicted after all and if we hold you for decades without trying you then you haven't been convicted and aren't being punished, right), the sanctity of the home and privacy and well just all the stuff that you learned about in school (oh, you didn't?), after all he is a constitution law scholar, trust him. They not only want to protect those people, but they want to expand on the various constitutional (no caps) violations until their is no privacy left. But hey, if you have nothing to hide than why worry, right?

On top of all this is something else I've been thinking about: Obama is increasing the size of the private armies we have working for us right now in the field C.A.C.I., Blackwater/Xe etc. Well we know how well that worked for the Romans or the Germans, don't we?

Which brings me to my new concept (or maybe I stole it from someone else, I don't remember). The idea of soft fascism vs. hard fascism. Clearly the republicans like those in Kentucky who stomp a woman's head into the curb and then demand an apology from her, or the ones in Alaska who are active duty military personnel and employed by the senatorial candidate who arrest a reporter for asking questions are real hard fascists. You don't agree? Then fuck you, you are an ass hole.

But then we look over at the kinder gentler democrats. As I say above they go along and go forward with the same programs increasing the size of the security state while decreasing the various "protections" provided by the Constitution, but they do this incrementally. At the same time working with an amazing energy to destroy what is left of the middle class, a group that existed in this country in large numbers from around the late 1930s until a couple of years ago. Moving to place all real power (if it hasn't already happened) in the hands of a few plutocrats or oligarchs, whatever you want to call them. Not only do the democrats appear to be unable to change this arc, they do not seem to want to.

Hard fascism/soft fascism; sooner rather than later. My position should be I guess, given my age that we should push it as far into the future as possible with any luck I won't be around.