The words “dictator” and “fascist” mean whatever the left says they mean …
… and the Humpty Dumpty left says they mean “Trump.”
And why do I call them the “Humpty Dumpty left”? This is why:
`And only ONE for birthday presents, you know. There’s glory for you!’
`I don’t know what you mean by “glory,”‘ Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. `Of course you don’t– till I tell you. I meant “there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!”‘
`But “glory” doesn’t mean “a nice knock-down argument,”‘ Alice objected.
`When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean–neither more nor less.’
`The question is,’ said Alice, `whether you CAN make words mean so many different things.’
`The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master– that’s all.’
The question is who is to be master, and the left has been master of this for quite some time. It thought it would continue to be master, but at the moment it’s not. Let’s try to keep it that way:
I don't know how many more times I have to say this before leftists will get it through their oblong-shaped, smooth-brained heads, but I'm going to say it again now:
1. Rule by unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats who "resist" the Constitutional will of the electorate is NOT…
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) February 3, 2025
From 1946:
But he was not limiting this remark to how the Left uses language:
People and politicians on the right invariably fail to appreciate the importance of language and its impact on perceptions. The left is almost always on top of this.
Most infuriating to me, is how the left will shape the debates very early on by choosing the nomenclature and language used to discuss it. Then right-wingers blythely carry on the discussion using the left’s language, thinking these distinctions are only semantics & therefore unimportant. They’re NOT.
I don’t believe that “the perception IS the reality,” but in politics, it comes pretty damn close.
Because the people on the right are so bad at this, we now have a situation where 40+% of the electorate actually believes that the left are defenders of democracy, when nothing could be further from the truth.
An important point about “democracy” is the distinction between unbridled and unrestricted majoritarian rule (i.e. “mobocracy”), and a representative republic such as ours. The Dems would love the former as long as they can control the mob through the media.
“An important point about “democracy” is the distinction between unbridled and unrestricted majoritarian rule (i.e. “mobocracy”), and a representative republic such as ours. The Dems would love the former as long as they can control the mob through the media.”
True for the left leadership. For the run of the mill libs I know, they think pure democracy is a more moral form of government. Like everything else with them, try to point to the history and general failure of pure democracy….like talking to Humpty’s wall
Trump has made a good start, time will tell if he has the ruthlessness required to finish the job.
We kept bringing a knife to a gun fight and were puzzled at our lack of success. Our ‘leaders’ refused to fight with the weapons the other side employed and were committed to America suiciding with honor.
Yes, “left leadership” is much more accurate than “Dems.” Thanks physicsguy.
Niketas Choniates: Were you quoting Hayek?
Orwell if memory serves ‘politics of the english language’
I still have a copy of Jonah Goldberg’s “Liberal Fascism,” written before he went mad over Trump. Almost all of the people currently throwing the word “fascism” around have no information about actual historical fascists. For them it only means “people we don’t like.”
If you want to see how bad ” pure democracy” is , read about Athens during the Peloponnesian War.
And the very real Athenian Empire of that period is an an example of how , yes, Democracies will invade other territory.
And what is this nonsense about the US taking over Gaza!????
Trump wasn’t elected to get the US into that kind of thing!
Or is this a negotiation tool ?
@Niketas Choniates 5:06 pm quotes George Orwell, naturally a great source on the subject.
Here’s Orwell’s famous essay:
–George Orwell, “What is Fascism?” (1944) https://www.orwell.ru/library/articles/As_I_Please/english/efasc
Orwell says in the essay:
___________________________________
It will be seen that, as used, the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print.
___________________________________
However, toward the end Orwell notes:
___________________________________
Yet underneath all this mess there does lie a kind of buried meaning….
…even the people who recklessly fling the word ‘Fascist’ in every direction attach at any rate an emotional significance to it. By ‘Fascism’ they mean, roughly speaking, something cruel, unscrupulous, arrogant, obscurantist, anti-liberal and anti-working-class. Except for the relatively small number of Fascist sympathizers, almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. That is about as near to a definition as this much-abused word has come….
All one can do for the moment is to use the word with a certain amount of circumspection and not, as is usually done, degrade it to the level of a swearword.
___________________________________
I am a Trump supporter, even a fan.
But I wasn’t at the start for exactly that reason. Trump uses bully tactics. I understand that now as the way he negotiates, coming from the hardball world of New York real estate development.
It’s not just TDS. I know Trump isn’t a nascent Hitler, but I don’t entirely blame people who get that whiff and run with it.
TommyJay @5:22pm,
I appreciated it and was fully aware of what was going on, and I’m sure many, many others were also. But I would tolerate a certain percentage of nonsense and inefficiency in meetings at the workplace, and the actual work, rather than lose my job. I managed to hold out adding pronouns to my email moniker throughout this nonsense, but I was prepared to do it if it meant termination. I sat through countless personal stories about my co-workers, “personal journeys” and the “lens they were viewing the discussion from.” “My truth” was probably the most difficult opening clause to tolerate in a meeting.
But I work in tech, am good at my job and can avoid more nonsense than most. I admire people who spoke up, and lost their positions for their stances, (James Damore, Dr. Peterson,) but “woke” nonsense wasn’t the first time I had to put up with lunacy at my workplace. One’s employees are individuals and an organization does not share all beliefs. I would quit over a request to lie, or do something unethical, and have, but putting up with 15 – 20% inefficiency and having to sit through a few struggle sessions with co-workers was a nuisance, but not intolerable.
However, it was always a minority viewpoint and a timesuck and I am very glad it is being rooted out.
@Niketas Choniates 5:06 pm quotes George Orwell, naturally a great source on the subject.
Here’s Orwell’s famous essay:
–George Orwell, “What is Fascism?” (1944) https://www.orwell.ru/library/articles/As_I_Please/english/efasc
Orwell says in the essay:
___________________________________
It will be seen that, as used, the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print.
___________________________________
However, toward the end Orwell notes:
___________________________________
Yet underneath all this mess there does lie a kind of buried meaning
….
…even the people who recklessly fling the word ‘Fascist’ in every direction attach at any rate an emotional significance to it. By ‘Fascism’ they mean, roughly speaking, something cruel, unscrupulous, arrogant, obscurantist, anti-liberal and anti-working-class. Except for the relatively small number of Fascist sympathizers, almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. That is about as near to a definition as this much-abused word has come….
All one can do for the moment is to use the word with a certain amount of circumspection and not, as is usually done, degrade it to the level of a swearword.
___________________________________
I am a Trump supporter, even a fan.
But I wasn’t at the start for exactly that reason. Trump uses bully tactics. I understand that now as the way he negotiates, coming from the hardball world of New York real estate development.
It’s not just TDS. I understand Trump isn’t a nascent Hitler, but I don’t entirely blame people who get that whiff and run with it.
huxley @7:51,
Your final, two paragraphs sum up my feelings nearly precisely. I like that his tactics appear to be bearing fruit, and the opposition is truly diabolical, but this sense that we are at war with our countrymen, and 40% are idiots or corrupt, does not sit well with me.
“Diversity is our strength,” was always a lie. Unity is our strength. Not unity of extrinsic characteristics but unity of purpose. It’s common knowledge one can instill that unity in one’s country through war with a foreign adversary, like Oceania, but it’s not sustainable. I hope to see more of the unity that was present in Japan, Germany and Italy as they rebuilt from World War II. Nations pulling together for a better future for the next generation.
To dismantle devolve power is the opposite of autocracy sometimes brute forces like elons team of young wunderkinds is necessary to decode these byzantine elements no one has really tried to cut this gordian knots in iconoclastic ways will it work we will see
…brute forces like elons team of young wunderkinds is necessary… — Miguel
I just heard about this minutes ago. The DOGE team is picking up these brilliant young people. And AOC is ranting that Elon is stupid and that his young hires are completely inexperienced. Inexperienced in Washington corruption, perhaps.
RTF,
I would love to see unity instead of divisiveness. However, it’s just getting worse. On the last week, I’ve had 3 friends of over 40 years tell me that they hate me as a voted for Trump because of how he’s now destroying the country. I find it very sad and disturbing.
physicsguy,
I am sorry to hear that. I know it’s a long shot, but I hope your friends gain reason and see the truth that is Leftist corruption.
@miguel:no one has really tried to cut this gordian knots in iconoclastic ways
No one has wanted to. For example, plenty of Republicans have been taking USAID money this whole time. The House Republican leadership have been passing the spending bills for this stuff this whole time, they had the power to veto it and didn’t. Lots of people ostensibly on our side have been part of this all along.
@TommyJay:The DOGE team is picking up these brilliant young people
Let’s not fall for another narrative. It didn’t need geniuses to look into this stuff, it needed somebody willing to do it. If 6 geniuses got this far in a week or two, I’m sure a team of 50 midwits could have done it in a year, and how many decades has this crap been going on?
Databases have been online since at least the 2010s.
huxley:
I’ve thought for quite a while that Trump’s bullying characteristics are part of what makes some people hate him. They also make him effective. Bullies tend to pick on the weak because they can, just for the sake of bullying. In contrast, Trump picks on those he sees as doing something wrong and being vulnerable to pressure.
No one is a bigger bully than the Democrat party. Trump is just hitting back. It’s been said before, the Democrats are probably thinking it would have been better if Trump had won in 2020, rather than now. I don’t think they were quite prepared for what’s happening since the Inauguration.
physicsguy:
When Trump was elected, a friend I have been close to for 3 decades, and who weathered all the previous political storms, stopped talking to me. So I agree with you. And with every extreme thing that Trump does, I think the reaction will get worse.
On the other hand, deporting criminal illegal aliens seems something a lot of Democrats wouldn’t object to. Likewise with saving money devoted to stuff like transgender operas. But that’s not the way the left is presenting what’s happening.
I also wonder about this “take over Gaza” business that just came out today. It will take a while to digest what is bluster and what really is going to happen there. One thing I know is that the 2-state solution is untenable.
The DOGE team is picking up these brilliant young people.
TommyJay:
I’m quite excited about Elon’s DOGE team of wonderboys They are using AI to pick apart the convoluted funding paths of USAID. I suspect that it’s going to be a lot harder to conceal such skullduggery in the future.
One of those “kids” is Luke Farritor, who won the Vesuvius Challenge—being offered to the first person who could use AI to decode an ancient scroll from the ruins near Pompeii.
_____________________________________
A treasure trove of ancient texts has been unreadable for 2,000 years. By using an AI program he designed, Luke Farritor helped unveil its mysteries for the first time.
https://www.thefp.com/p/luke-farritor-vesuvius-challenge-scrolls-rome
_____________________________________
Elon knows talent when he sees it.
Those putting down these “kids” forget that the PC revolution was largely forged by guys in their early 20s.
On the last week, I’ve had 3 friends of over 40 years tell me that they hate me as a voted for Trump because of how he’s now destroying the country. I find it very sad and disturbing.
physicsguy:
Quite so. Sorry to hear it.
huxley,
I can’t think of a revolution that wasn’t led by young men in their 20s.
Maybe Lenin or Mao? Regardless of their age, they used idealistic youth as their shock troops.
@ neo:
Geez … they certainly didn’t make him more effective from 2017-2021.
Sounds like you’re making excuses for bullying.
Granted, Trump is behaving differently towards individuals in his second term—so far. However, in my ‘Trump Tally‘ under Weak:
Here he acts forcibly against a much weaker enemy, but backs down like a ‘Bully‘ towards a more powerful enemy—whom he admits supplies & supports the weaker enemy.
I’m still waiting to see how he handles the powerful Russian enemy vs. the much weaker victim Ukraine…
Very interesting comments!
So Miguel says the brute force of the wunderkinds is “necessary.”
Niketas says: If 6 geniuses got this far in a week or two, I’m sure a team of 50 midwits could have done it in a year, and how many decades has this crap been going on?
And huxley is excited by: wonderboys using AI to pick apart convoluted funding paths.
____________
Also, huxley mentions the kids that created the PC revolution, which is where my mind went too.
This example is maybe not so applicable in terms of comparing apples and oranges, but I recall the demise of the Ashton Tate database software company during the PC revolution. Major software versions 1 through 3 were very successful, and then version 4 was delayed and delayed.
Eventually the company crumbled and one pundit analysis stated following: You can’t take a large, difficult and complex project and throw a large number of average intellects at it, and hope they will sort it all out. You need brilliance at the top with a clear vision and plan, and a modest number of relatively brilliant workers further down the worker chain.
_________
Is speed of execution by DOGE important?
Another analogy that might be more apt is the Nazi blitzkrieg. (OK, it’s very unfortunate that this is a Nazi analogy, but I think that military analysts are unanimous in thinking that early Nazi campaigns were brilliant and extremely effective.) If DOGE can move very quickly, they might be able to stay ahead of “the resistance” for a while. I think it is a huge positive factor.
An open question is the extent to which DOGE changes are reversible or irreversible.
Trump picks on those he sees as doing something wrong and being vulnerable to pressure.
–neo
I also noticed Trump’s bullying as being remarkably effective in clearing out his weak opponents in 2016.
I don’t like bullying, but it did clarify matters.
Here’s a fairly concise definition of fascism, specifically its Nazi incarnation, from an acknowledged expert: Joseph Goebbels.
https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/haken32.htm
(missing is any reference to conducting aggressive war, maybe he memories of 1914-1918 were still too close)
I’m not too interested in post mortem critiques of President Trump’s performance in 2017-2021, under the unprecidented criminality of the Democrats from 2016 to 2025.
In the here and now President Trump and his administration are inside the Democrat’s OODA loop and for now they are toast, pining for the fijords, singing in the celestial choir, dead parrots.
Rufus
With regard to the “40%” who are ignorant or corrupt: Why else vote for democrats?
I’ve been in various discussion groups, formal and not, over many years. Recently, one guy said, kindly, that I was “on the periphery”.
True. But in various discussions, I’ve been asked angrily how I know all this stuff. Not that I’m a real encyclopedia. But I know things which invalidate their positions. Either they didn’t know–idiots–or they knew and lied–corrupt.
You have to believe an awful lot of things which aren’t true to vote democrat, or you have to see a personal advantage in it despite the downside in general.
I’m also a man who prefers living in the moment; however:
Assuming, “that” was really what really happened back “then.”
Then was well documented over 4 years, e.g., turnover rate.
Now is not even a month in…
For anyone who is baffled, confused, uncertain or less than comfortable at the pace of Trump’s march through
GeorgiaDC, there are two words:Michael Flynn.
Trump is acting firmly, effectively, swiftly, and decisively to achieve reform. That is not bullying.
In my youth I attended a high school with a mixed race student body located in a troubled inner city neighborhood. The student body had a disproportionate number of very bad actors (including outright psychopaths) and dealing with them required finesse and courage. “Bullying,” accompanied by actual physical violence, was not unusual nor was it a rare occurrence. Trump’s so-called bullying does not hold a candle to it.
I have ended several long-term friendships for reasons discussed here. I don’t feel particularly bad about it. I don’t hate them, but I can’t stand to be around them anymore or listen to what they say. Times change, people change, friends grow apart and friendships fade. The way of the world.
“…to achieve reform….”
Well, yes…but I would fine-tune that a bit with
“…to save the country…and protect it from those who would destroy it….”
George Orwell would recognize this crazy era we are living in.
Anyone slightly to the right of Joseph Stalin is considered to be a Fascist.
Yeah Lt. Col. Vindmann was one of those in the “turnover crowd”; turn over a rock and see what lives unseen in the bureaucracy.
When I make harsh blog comments about leftists, I’ve started calling them “fascists,” rather than “communists.” Miseducation has led to many people thinking that Communism isn’t so bad, despite it having killed far more innocent people than Nazism.
Also, Antifa and its ilk claim to be anti-fascist, so perhaps someone with an open mind might be led by my posts to wonder if people who wear masks and black clothing and physically attack their political opponents, could themselves be fascists, despite claiming to be “anti-fascist.”
I like calling BS on Antifa.
karmi, remember the corollary :
Those who do remember history will also have to repeat it, because there’s always some bonehead out there who doesn’t.
@ TommyJay > “An important point about “democracy” is the distinction between unbridled and unrestricted majoritarian rule (i.e. “mobocracy”), and a representative republic such as ours. The Dems would love the former as long as they can control the mob through the media.”
I suspect that the USAID donations to the Regime Media are the tip of the iceberg in the distribution of the government’s slush funds extorted from taxpayers, including (of course) the Republicans who constitute at least half the country (not all of Trump’s 2024 voters are even conservatives, but they are getting what they used to vote for good and hard).
https://thenewneo.com/2025/02/05/it-turns-out-that-many-media-sites-favoring-democrats-have-been-on-the-usaid-payroll/
NPR is an outright Democrat party organ with bylines.
@ Rufus > “However, it was always a minority viewpoint and a timesuck and I am very glad it is being rooted out.”
It was the camel’s nose under the tent, or one of the cogs on the ratchet, or the hot water boiling the frog: whichever analogy one prefers.
The problem with the Left’s subversion is that the first steps look so innocuous, or even so virtuous, that one feels foolish objecting to them, or can be made to feel so.
C. S. Lewis captured the phenomenon in his “The Inner Ring” speaking of individuals selling their souls to the World, which is not so far from selling them to the Devil.
We see that essay quoted frequently by conservatives, often in a Christian context, and my most recent encounter was in excerpt posted in a comment just this week.
I recommend Sarah’s blog post itself, which is about her personal confrontations with the ratchet in the book publishing context, but could well apply to anyone tempted by the allure of the Left, or threatened by its bullies.
https://accordingtohoyt.com/2025/02/03/deals-with-the-devil/#comment-1007861
Of course, today’s scoundrel-groomers are not at all jolly and friendly, but they used to at least pretend to be sane.
The full essay by Lewis is here.
https://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/
From the same post, another familiar reference.
groovy38e2a5c308 says: February 3, 2025 at 9:41 am
“Why Richard, it profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. . . but for Wales!” — Just wanted to put that out there before somebody else does!
@ physicsguy >”they hate me as a [person who] voted for Trump because of how he’s now destroying the country.”
(and to others losing family and friends through TDS)
Remember that they are getting all their information (the “other facts” as it were) from a media that is being paid by Democrats to shill for Democrats, even aside from the fact that most of their “journalists” are ideologically in tune with Democrats.
In their world:
Canada and Mexico backing down under Trump’s tariff threats were a defeat for Trump.
Sending violent gang members and lone-wolf murders and rapists either back to their own countries, to Guantanamo, or to Bukele’s home-for-wayward-criminals is the same as cruelly jerking their gardeners and nannies away (well for the NJ governor, that could be the case).
Ending support for UNRWA is identical to starving innocent Gazans.
Stalin was a good guy for defeating Hitler.
The employees of the Administrative State (aka Deep State) are entitled to run the country the way they see fit, not the way the Chief Executive (aka President) directs.
And so forth, just for a small sample of recent events.
They literally do not know what we know.
In that context, it’s worth posting the entire tweet from Cynical Publius that Neo linked:
@ Niketas > “Lots of people ostensibly on our side have been part of this all along.”
Indeed.
And most of them were possibly part of his first administration.
The question I have: if DOGE uncovers any who are in his second administration, will he kick them out?
I suppose it would depend on the intent and the context.
As I said about Rubio elsewhere, the lines are so long and tangled, it’s possible that some politicians are not aware of the ultimate source of their donations or supporters.
On the other hand, anyone who knowing took money from USAID or any other government agency to influence government policy (that has to be illegal in so many ways!) should be fired if an employee or appointee, and primaried if elected, with full disclosure of the facts.
TommyJay, re DOGE team:
“they might be able to stay ahead of “the resistance” for a while. I think it is a huge positive factor.
Yes, yes, YES!
The Dems are now screeching & hurling inciteful threats — as they do to gain traction when facts need drowning out.
“An open question is the extent to which DOGE changes are reversible or irreversible.”
Indeed. We need Congress to step up & back their findings with legal backstops. ASAP!
Lewis Carroll is now fascist.