Which is stranger, that the editor of the Boston Herald has a picture of Che in his office ("for inspiration") or that Howie Kurtz offers that fact without comment?
Is it because Kevin Convey considers the newspaper a "guerilla" operation against the Globe? Does he know who Che was, and what he did? What does he plan to do with his own vanquished enemies, assuming his success?
Since reading Jonah's book
, I've gotten new insight in the popularity of Che posters on campus and among the left. Fascists, after all, always admire men of action.
Che is the left's equivalent to Horst Wessel.
Actually, Horst Wessel was a leftist by any reasonable definition, as were Mussolini and Hitler. That's one of the ugly little secrets of the left. It's just that the left disowned them after the break with Stalin.
The "are Nazis left or right" meme brings to mind a question: is there such a thing as right-wing anticapitalist ideology? Those who claim Nazism is of the right must believe this to be true (assuming they know Hitler's views on capitalism). Fascism in all its forms may have allowed for private ownership of industry, but the fascist state has a pretty big say in deciding what private industry will produce, IIRC. Not exactly Adam Smith.
>>It's just that the left disowned them after the break with Stalin.
Well, there is no doubt Hitler and Mussolini believed in central planning and the power of government. ;-)
But I think it's ignorant to say that leftists embraced Hitler until Stalin broke with him. I urge you (well, everyone) to read Whittaker Chambers' "Witness" to get a flavor of the times. One of the motifs of 1930's leftism was _opposition_ to Nazism, and people who might otherwise be disinclined to support Communism were drawn to it because of this opposition (cynically exploited by Stalin). The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact caused a real crisis in left-wing circles. Many fervent believers left the movement around that time, because of the pact. Some were disillusioned and wandered over to right-wing circles, while others sought a "purer" leftism, e.g. Trotskyism. Others stuck with Uncle Joe, in the (apparently correct) belief that the Nazi-Soviet Pact was purely tactical and would be repudiated when Joe judged the moment was right.
The echoes of the titanic struggle between Hitler and Stalin continue to the present day. Leftists continue to soft-pedal the crimes of Communists and Communism, partially buoyed by the belief that opposition to Nazism is a fundamental good that excuses those crimes.
BBB
One of the motifs of 1930's leftism was _opposition_ to Nazism, and people who might otherwise be disinclined to support Communism were drawn to it because of this opposition (cynically exploited by Stalin).
Perhaps, but it wasn't because it wasn't leftist. A lot of the left opposed Nazism in the 1930s because of the clear anti-semitism (though, again, they seemed to give Stalin a pass in that regard).
As Jonah Goldberg likes to say to college kids who call him a Nazi, "Take away the racism, the war mongering, and the genocide--just what is it about Nazism you don't like?"
I mean, it had universal health care, heavy regulation of industry, it opposed religion, other than worship of the state, was very concerned about purity of food, etc. What was there not to like to a leftist? In what way is Nazism "right wing" (assuming that one understands "right wing" to mean something akin to classical liberalism and support of free markets)?
The variety of Leftist found on American college campuses cherishes freedom of speech and thought. Nazis didn't.
The variety of Leftist found on American college campuses cherishes freedom of speech and thought.
You're joking, right?
From what alternate reality are you posting this?
The variety of Leftist found on American college campuses cherishes freedom of speech and thought. Nazis didn't.
So why do so many of them love Castro so much?
Speaking of which, unlike some folks I am not the least bit impressed with the literacy rate of a nation like Cuba whose government decides what its citizens can and can't read.