25 Responses to “Obama’s philosophically fascist SOTU speech”

1. Matthew M Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 3:08 pm

   Was part of the hatred of Bush rooted in a desire of the left for a president/philosopher king/fuhrer that would take care of them?

2. Bob from Virginia Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 3:09 pm

   Excellent piece, thanks for linking it.

3. Tom Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 3:32 pm

   Shapiro thinks and reads like a young Mark Levin. Refreshing.

4. huxley Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 4:12 pm

   Struck me as short and shallow. The author doesn’t like Obama’s upturned chin and Obama’s soppy, egocentric rhetoric, ergo Obama is philosophically a fascist — the most misused and meaningless term of abuse in current politics.

   I thought the author was leading up to some strong arguments but the article suddenly ended.

   If this is what passes for analysis at Harvard Law School, no wonder Obama is such a tool.

5. J.J. formerly Jimmy J. Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 5:46 pm

   I’m surprised that I disagree with huxley. Perhaps you have not read Jonah Goldberg’s “Liberal Fascism.” To understand how Obama embodies the typical liberal fascist probably escapes those who associate fascsism only with the Germans and Italians of WWII. For me the essay was spot on. Particularly because he pointed out how Obama used the occasion to attack several enemies, and even explained that he wished for debate to end so he could “govern.” Ironic that. He has spent most of his time on campaigning and precious little on governance since being inaugurated.

   He pointed out that Obama expects to be followed and expects to win. (“I don’t quit!”) And to hell with the desires of all those nattering pygmies who still don’t get it. IMO, that was the meaning of the end of his speech.

   Read Goldberg’s book and you will see how the liberals (some call them progressives) wish to sweep aside all opposition, use the government as a command and control unit to obtain their utopian ends. As Goldberg points out in his book, it’s soft fascism, but fascism no less. If they succeed, one day our most dreaded fear will be a knock on the door followed by the words, “Hello, I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”

6. huxley Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 6:15 pm

   J.J.: Yes, I have read JG’s Liberal Fascism.

   That’s a large part of why I expect some sort of reasoned argument when someone, a law student even, makes the accusation of “philosphically fascist” as opposed to tossing out a grab bag of impressions, partial quotes lacking context, and unsupported claims about the US government.

   I don’t like Obama’s mannerisms or egocentric grandiosity or rhetorical tricks or shallow populism either, but I’m not going to wrap up my dislikes with bow labeled “philosophically fascist” just because it makes me and my readers feel good.

   If one is going to speak philosophically, one ought define terms at least and Shapiro makes no attempt to explain by what he means by fascist, much less demonstrating how Obama’s speech fits that definition.

   IMO this is just the flip-side to liberal accusations that conservatives are racists because if you squint hard conservatives are kinda, sorta like racists, dontcha know.

7. Julia NYC Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 6:24 pm

   Great article. I’m sure Harvard Law finds Obama to be quite an embarrassment. Obama is really out of his mind. Has he mentioned anything lately about the civilian army that he wants to create that reports to the White House? I remember it was in his campaign speech. Apparently he thought this idea would be attractive to people. Yikes, that’s when he totally lost me. Serious sounding fascism as far as I’m concerned, and, since I had the luxury of growing up in the wonderful U S of A, I barely even knew what a fascist was. But even I knew that a special, civilian army, with guns and everything, reporting only to Obama was completely insane. And not what we do here in America.

   And of course where was our illustrious 4th Estate during the unveiling of this rather interesting idea? Nowhere, as usual. Just going on about how Michelle is a fashion plate. The next Jackie. (I was a Hillary Dem, and we feminist dems used to be lock step democrats, doing whatever they told us to do, so theoretically I would just be an Obama voter, cause hey, that’s what we all used to do! Ha. Those days are over.)

8. expat Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 7:59 pm

   Julia NYC,

   Here is an example of some recruiting that’s going on–not quite an army but obnoxious enough (via Bookworm Room):

   http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/01/atlas-exclusive-obama-organizing-for-communism-and-youth-corps-in-the-public-school-1.html

9. Mrs Whatsit Says:
   February 4th, 2010 at 9:18 pm

   I’m more troubled about this sentence from the SOTU than almost anything Obama’s said since he was elected:

   We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we’re all created equal; that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it; if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else.

   Forget the fact that he apparently thinks that the quotation “all men are created equal” is in the Constitution rather than the Declaration of Independence. Far more troubling is his misunderstanding of the substance. Look: IF you abide by the law you are protected (those who break the law aren’t entitled to equal protection?); IF you adhere to “our common values” (whose? who gets to decide?) you should be treated equally (but what happens to the others, those stubborn souls who insist on adhering to values of their own, rather than the herd’s?) It’s downright creepy.

   I commented on this once before, but it got buried at the end of a long thread. Weeks later, it’s still bothering me. Does this Harvard-educated lawyer, this Constitutional law teacher, truly believe that the Bill of Rights is conditional on conformance to certain beliefs? Or, perhaps, does he think that it SHOULD be? How did this profound misunderstanding of one of the central principles of this nation get past, not just Obama himself, but the others who must have vetted the speech? Does anyone there know anything???

10. Julia NYC Says:
    February 4th, 2010 at 10:04 pm

    Thanks Expat:

    “The power of good data and reporting” – yuck. Reporting to whom? That is such a creepy sentence. The whole thing seems extremely illegal. I’m sure a lot of the teachers are against it but are too scared to say anything, they would surely be fired. It seems like the President should not be allowed to use the school system to recruit public highschool students for his own personal mailing list that he will be taking with him long after he leaves office in 2012.

    Well, he can try all he wants, but he still seems pretty lame duck to me.

11. J.J. formerly Jimmy J. Says:
    February 4th, 2010 at 11:44 pm

    Huxley, I get your point. It is difficult, given how obnoxious most conservatives find Obama’s plans and policies not to retreat into stereotyping or ad hominem.

    There are several definitions of fascism, depending on the point of view of the person doing the defining. Economic Fascism is defined rather well, I believe here:
    http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html

    Some of the things which Obama said that lead one to see him in the light of fascism are:
    1. He would like to see an end to the debate because he is right and the other side is wrong. (Why would we follow the failed policies of the last 8 years? Longing for a one party nation.)
    2. He seeks to control, indirectly, many of our industries. (Banking, autos, medical insurance.)
    3. He wants companies and people to use their property in the national interest. (Weatherizing our homes, going green in the business world, influencing how much medical care providers will earn.)
    3. Central government planning by calling for a doubling of exports in five years. (While setting iup protective regulations that discourage imports.)
    4. Calls for people to lower their consumption and for “excess” income to be taxed for fairness.

    No that list does not put him in a league with Mussolini. Just an Il Duce wannabe. Maybe it is best to use the less inflammatory Progressive lable pending further developments.

12. Beverly Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 12:58 am

    Leftists are SO convinced that they are right, that they really, really believe “The Argument Should Be OVER, Poople!”

    If you take that point of view, then all the “nattering” about democracy and due process and all the rest of it doesn’t mean beans. You know, Abe Lincoln felt the same way: he dispensed with a good deal of the Constitution because he felt that the South should be forced to remain in the Union by hook or by crook. (Nota bene: he didn’t sign the Emancipation Proclamation until well along into the war, and it didn’t apply to any territory he actually had jurisdiction over!)

    Note also, that I’m not making a case for slavery, just pointing out that this isn’t the first time someone in power was so convinced he was right that he rubbished the rules of our republic.

13. Beverly Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 1:00 am

    Oh, and no, I’m not saying Lincoln was a lefty! (He might be one today, though.)

    And damn, that man could write. Miles ahead of Obummer’s windy generalities and pompous bromides.

14. J.J. formerly Jimmy J. Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 1:08 am

    “And damn, that man could write.”

    So true. I’m presently reading his speeches and letters which cover the period from his entry into politics through his presidency. Excellent insights into the Burning issue of the day – slavery. His words are a tribute to clear thinking and logic. At least that’s the way I see it.

15. huxley Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 1:31 am

    J.J.: I can see Obama as something of a fascist. In fact I do.

    Frankly I was hoping that Shapiro’s piece would give me some serious ammunition on that score, but I would be embarrassed to use his material outside of a conversation in a bar or at a loud party.

16. huxley Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 2:09 am

    Excuse the length of this quote but I love it. Here’s a wonderful, cutting, and funny interview with Jonah Goldberg on Hugh Hewitt two years ago referring to some choice quasi-fascist quotes from the Michelle Obama before the Obama campaign assigned someone to sit on her hard.
    

    HH: Well, listen, here’s some rhetoric … from Michelle Obama. I want to know if you hear in it any [fascist] echoes. Cut number one.

    MO: In 2008, we are still a nation that is too divided. We live in isolation, and because of that isolation, we fear one another. We don’t know our neighbors. We don’t talk. We believe that our pain is our own. We don’t realize that the struggles and challenges of all of us are the same. We are too isolated. And we are still a nation that is still too cynical. We look at it as them and they as opposed to us. We don’t engage, because we are still too cynical.

    HH: Cut number two:

    MO: Don’t get sick in this country, not here. Americans are in debt not because they live frivolously, but because someone got sick. And even with insurance, the deductibles and premiums are so high that people are still putting medication treatments on credit cards. And they can’t get out from under. I could go on and on and on, but this is how we’re living, people, in 2008. And things have gotten progressively worse throughout my lifetime, through Democratic and Republican administrations. It hasn’t gotten better for regular folks.

    JG: Yeah, no it’s an amazing thing. And if we elect the right president, all of a sudden, I’m going to get to know my neighbor (laughing). What?

    HH: But the continuing crisis, right?

    JG: Yeah, yeah.

    HH: Isn’t that part of the playbook?

    JG: Right, that we’re on this incredible, inevitable slippery slope to evil, and the only thing we can do is we need a leader who personifies the people, personifies unity, who will unify and rally the nation in his spirit, and be our savior. And that’s how Obama is running, is he’s running as a secular savior.

    HH: Cut number three:

    MO: We have lost the understanding that in a democracy, we have a mutual obligation to one another, that we cannot measure our greatness in this society by the strongest and richest of us, but we have to measure out greatness by the least of these, that we have to compromise and sacrifice for one another in order to get things done. That is why I’m here, because Barack Obama is the only person in this race who understands that, that before we can work on the problems, we have to fix our souls. Our souls are broken in this nation.

    HH: Jonah Goldberg?

    JG: Mother of pearl. My God. You know, it’s amazing what it reminded me of, is Hillary Clinton’s speech at Wellesley when she graduates. She says we’re not interested in social reconstruction, we’re…no, we’re interested in human reconstruction. She wants to create, recreate new men. The desire to create new men and fix souls, you know, that gets to the heart of this [fascist] drumbeat over the 20th Century.

    HH: The next Michelle Obama cut:

    MO: If we can’t see ourselves in one another, we will never make those sacrifices. So I am here right now, because I am married to the only person in this race who has a chance of healing this nation.

    HH: Jonah?

    JG: (sigh)

    HH: Have you heard this before?

    JG: No, I hadn’t. I hadn’t. She’s going to, you know, I mean, my husband will express the Volksgemeinschaft (laughing)

17. expat Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 8:05 am

    Lincoln knew his priorities and knew when he was sacrificing something lower down on his list in order to preserve the most important. Obama wants everything and sacrifices anything depending on the wind direction. He has nothing to offer but himself, and that is not much of a foundation for our country. People are beginning to see that he offered us a mirror of our dreams and that the mirror is badly cracked.

    I don’t think Americans will fall for a strong man leaning in another direction. I think they will look for something approaching a normal American who likes and respects his fellow citizens.

18. Bob from Virginia Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 11:04 am

    Hux, Here is my Michelle Obama fascist quote
    “Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.”

    Give up my cynicism? Not for gold sweetheart.
    Remember that fascist motto, believe, work, obey, or something like that, I wonder why Obmessiah failed to use that as a campaign slogan, his admirers would have bought it.

19. Bob from Virginia Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 11:06 am

    that should have read “my FAVORITE Michelle Obama fascist quote”.

    Life is hard if one is ADD.

20. Amy Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 11:38 am

    He sees himself as embodiment of the collective will. No president should speak in these terms — not in a representative republic.

    I certainly agree. I have found that disturbing from Day One. Every speech he makes I find myself thinking: “Who does he think he is?”

    Most disturbing moment in SOTU? His attack on the Supreme Court justices. Not only rude and not the sort of person I want representing my country, but showed his dangerous disrespect for the law – when it doesn’t serve his purposes.

21. Sergey Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    Selfishness is not a bug, but a feature. This is an indispensible part of human nature, needed to prevent degeneration of humankind into beehive. Bigotry is also not a bug, but a feature: it is needed to keep cultures and people separate and compete with each other. Inequality is both inevitable and necessary for progress, because natural selection works only by elimination of misfits from reproduction.
    Everybody who wants eradicate selfishness, bigotry and inequality is a fascist. You can take it as a definition of this notion.

22. Obama’s Bunker Bubble « Sake White Says:
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    [...] Bunker Bubble I thought this was a particularly good take on Obama. Explore posts in the same categories: [...]

23. J.J. formerly Jimmy J. Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    Ya know what? I really learn a lot from neo and the commenters here. It’s like being part of a graduate school seminar.

    It makes one feel very grateful for……….well, everything. But especially the Internet.

24. Artfldgr Says:
    February 5th, 2010 at 3:31 pm

    If one is going to speak philosophically, one ought define terms at least and Shapiro makes no attempt to explain by what he means by fascist, much less demonstrating how Obama’s speech fits that definition.

    thats because he isnt writing to the ignorant who dont know what it is in its visceral form

    your faulting him for not doing what you yelled at me when i did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    fascism is communism and capitalism together.

    thats it.. nothing more, nothing less.

    when the state controls the means of production by owning it itself thats communism

    when the state controls the means of production by taxation, laws, rules, and regulations that pick winners and losers and take a big cut from companies, while favoring monopolization..

    thats fascism.
    [not chrony capitalism and all the othe false labels that equate what we have now with capitalism, not with what it is, fascism]

    of course you never lived under it
    or grew up with dozens of people who did.

    so please continue.

    i find your fantasies and other views made up from smoke to be very interesting now. i am no longer interested in participating with you on my level, i am intrested in participating with you on your level.

    so i am trying to learn to key off of the general false reality made by the resonance of similar fantasies replacing historical facts.

    so please continue

25. Obama’s fascist SOTU speech « Public Secrets Says:
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