Oliver Kamm with a lengthy and erudite examination of the subject. Fascism and the Left Excellent, as always with Kamm. I was struck by the concluding quotation by Stephen Hook:

I worry that for a large number of people, we have reached that point - where we have lost sight of the common enemy in fear of each other. I have watched political parties shift their stance and contradict themselves - even week-to-week - in the interest of electoral pandering over the interests of truth and good policy and it worries me. I have had arguments with people - long-time Democrats - who really, truly do think that George Bush is responsible for all evil and that, in spite of the facts, the world is on the verge of falling off the precipice on every issue from the economy to civil rights. The SwiftVets? Clearly they've been paid by Republicans to lie. They've not given it a moment's thought (And not just regular folks, either. It's clear that wide swathes of the Mainstream Media from the New York Times to Chris Matthews have completely abrogated their responsibility to inform in favor of indulging their pre-determined conclusions and political tastes.)

Am I just observing this election-cycle up close, and thus more worried over what I'm seeing by its proximity, having lost a bit of perspective on the past? It doesn't feel like it. We have a new kind of threat out there now - I'd say on the horizon but it's really here already - and so many people are stuck, unable to re-examine long held and treasured hatreds. I know one thing - those prejudices are now standing in the way of clear thinking on both domestic politics and policy, and it's troublesome.