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| Home Front: Politix |
| Woodrow Wilson: American Fascist |
| 2008-02-05 |
| Jonah Goldberg, author of Liberal Fascism I'm thinking of an American president who demonized ethnic groups as enemies of the state, censored the press, imprisoned dissidents, bullied political opponents, spewed propaganda, often expressed contempt for the Constitution, approved warrantless searches and eavesdropping, and pursued his policies with a blind, religious certainty. Oh, and I'm not thinking of George W. Bush, but another "W" – actually "WW": Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat who served from 1913 to 1921. President Wilson is mostly remembered today as the first modern liberal president, the first (and only) POTUS with a PhD, and the only political scientist to occupy the Oval Office. He was the champion of "self determination" and the author of the idealistic but doomed "Fourteen Points" – his vision of peace for Europe and his hope for a League of Nations. But the nature of his presidency has largely been forgotten. That's a shame, because Wilson's two terms in office provide the clearest historical window into the soul of progressivism. Wilson's racism, his ideological rigidity, and his antipathy toward the Constitution were all products of the progressive worldview. And since "progressivism" is suddenly in vogue – today's leading Democrats proudly wear the label – it's worth actually reviewing what progressivism was and what actually happened under the last full-throated progressive president. The record should give sober pause to anyone who's mesmerized by the progressive promise. . . . |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #10 Of Teddy Roosevelt's two Maternal Unckles, one was an officer on the CSS Alabama and the other was a purchasing agent for the Confederacy in England. Both were never allowed to return to the US. Again, irrelevant. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2008-02-05 20:03 |
| #9 Agreed 2x4 - is is only relevant to the degree that, having grown up in that milieu, he himself evidenced a strong and openly expressed sense of the inferiority not only of African Americans but also of Irish and other immigrants of the time. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-02-05 19:58 |
| #8 His father was a chaplain in the Confederate army. They owned slaves when he was growing up. [My granpaw was a reactionary--seriously, that was in my profiling file in the old country] Irelevant, lotp. He did not own any slaves. Everything else stands. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2008-02-05 13:40 |
| #7 His father was a chaplain in the Confederate army. They owned slaves when he was growing up. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-02-05 12:08 |
| #6 Procopius2k: That reminds me, while it is almost never mentioned, Wilson also directed the segregation of Washington, D.C., which had never before been done. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-02-05 11:41 |
| #5 Yes Moose, she was the first American woman President. So Hillary is nothing 'special', but who needs real history when they can make it up Hollyweird style. However my reading is that the political powers to be didn't know what to do since the Constitution [which people still thought sacred even though Wilson himself thought it in terms of 'living' like many future jurists] was moot on the point of succession when the man was still alive, the Vice President didn't want the job, and the country had to get the admin work done at least. So, they all played a game of looking the other way, while papers went in the room with Edith [Galt] to come out after signed. The policy was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". And iirc, Wilson directed the segregation of the Navy which up till that time was integrated in the ranks. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-02-05 10:41 |
| #4 I see his legacy as a failed one since everything he did led to more war and misery. The WWI treaty to end all wars gave us WWII, the breakup of the Austrian empire gave us the balkanization of the area, and the League of Nations gave us nothing. One of the worst presidents ever. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-02-05 09:40 |
| #3 The author may have a comparison, but the philosophy of fascism hadn't been invented yet. Instead, I would class Wilson as he has been classed, as the first "liberal" President. That is, he was as incompetent, petty, power grasping, and ineffectual as was, later, LBJ, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. His conduct of the war resulted in enormous numbers of unnecessary US casualties. And his creation of the FED essentially nationalized control of the US economy. Another screw up placed the national railway system under Washington control, so that every bureaucrat ordered his own personal rail car. This resulted in a rail traffic jam on the East Coast that took six months to a year to clear. He encouraged anti-German racism, and the formation of "patriotic" organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan, which grew to its greatest heights in the 1920s. Plenty to criticize with the man, including the fact that his wife ran the country secretly after his stroke. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-02-05 08:53 |
| #2 Like the American Protective League. The Donks changed and learned to love union muscle to accomplish the same thing. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-02-05 08:42 |
| #1 Rubbish! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-02-05 08:37 |