Let's put it this way. The comparisons have been done, and the fact has been pointed out that the essential elements in the rise to power of such dictators are a willing dictator and a willing populace.
You also need a willing military and no other strong institutions. Nor is there any evidence that the "willing populace" actually exists. Again, true fascists develop pseudo-military organizations that actively use violence to eliminate rivals. They have organized street gangs, often uniformed, and sufficient goon lieutenants to serves as sub-commanders and willing leaders.
Trump has none of that. There is zero evidence of actual street level gangs or violence on anything other than a negligible scale. Rather than pointing to
actual violence, or anything remotely resembling something like the Sturmabteilung, you're pointing to ridiculous threats made by keyboard commandos in their basements. KellyAnne Conway is not Ernst Roehm. Sean Hannity is not Joseph Goebbels. Mike Pence is not Heinrich Himmler.
If you really want to be honest about this, the only demonstrated potential for such a movement lies on the
left. There, we actually do have large street gangs using physical intimidation to suppress rivals. There is BLM, and radical Latino gangs/movements on the West Coast. There are SJW actually growing violent, shutting down attempts by conservatives to speak, and in many cases physically assaulting political opponents -- including Trump supporters -- with whom they disagree. Do I need to post those videos?
There is your real threat of fascism. Not just threats, but actual violence to back up those threats. Political opponents beaten up, law enforcement officers [/I]murdered.[/I] And those groups have an actual
ally running for office. They'll have control of the Justice Department, which may well turn an institutional blind eye to acts of voter intimidation and violence by the left. You'll have a leftist dominated federal court system that will likely give them comparatively free rein as long as they can make anything other than a laugh out loud argument. All of this is
real.
Why aren't you concerned and posting about that? Objectively, there is your true, real threat of fascism, and it's not even that far away. It is an infinitely more credible and realistic threat than some clown making a stupid remark about dogs. The leftist thugs are
real, and
active.
When someone asks how it was that we let actual fascists come to power, I guess you can at least say "well, it's better than having a guy who was in a porn video.
@Smokin Joe , if you are truly concerned about fascism in this country, and aren't just using that as a cheap political argument against Trump, then you are currently aiming your fire in the wrong direction.