The idea that Donald Trump is more authoritarian that most other Washington critters, especially his more prominent critics, is laughable. As surreal as Trump's election may have been, it's just as surreal that anyone could take the Trump-as-Hitler caricature seriously.
Unfortunately, people used to say the same thing about Hitler, before he really keyed into populism and attracted the masses.
I'm not saying that about Trump, though, I'm saying that about Bernie.
His brand of socialism -- the "Free *expletive deleted*it Society, as I call it -- struck an incredible tone with a lot of younger people. It was the adoration of the masses that allowed Hitler to rise to power, backed with all sorts of street mob violence (Berkley, anyone?)
Bernie might claim that that's where Trump is heading, but I really think that if the economy were to go south again and Bernie were to mount another run for president, he might very well win.
And then, I suspect, we'd see the rise of real authoritarianism in this country.
Bernie might claim to be a man of the people. But I think his "man of the people" schtick is just a very thin veneer democracy hiding dyed in the wool Stalin-style communism. Comparisons to Hitler not withstanding, you can't say Fascism, because an element of fascism is ultra nationalism, and I truly believe that Bernie HATES, with unbridled passion, what the United States is.
