The US is not fascist

UPDATE: Cindy Sheehan responds in comments.

This is sheer ridiculousness:

“Our government is a fascist state,” [Cindy Sheehan] said to resounding applause, as she called President Bush a “boil” on the nation’s democracy. Though often painted as a liberal, Sheehan said she foresaw no respite coming this November with the possibility of a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. “The Democrats,” she said, echoing the imagery of the 1960s protest movement, “are a product of the system.”

No, Ms. Sheehan. With all due respect, our government is decidedly not a fascist state. By saying that, you cheapen the horror of totalitarian fascism.

In fact, Ms. Sheehan, if this were, in fact, a fascist state, you’d be in prison right now. Under fascism, your right to criticize the government would be non-existent. Under fascism, your words wouldn’t even be permitted to be printed in our (one) local newspaper.

(Make no mistake – I realize that the paper put the “fascist” quote right up there, front and center, so that we’d all think that Sheehan is a kook).

So, to sum up. I’m all for peace and getting the hell out of Iraq as soon as is humanly possible. But if I had been in that audience, waiting 4 hours for Cindy Sheehan to show up, and I had heard her label this country as fascist, I probably would have walked the fuck out.

Millions of people have died and been oppressed under one-party fascist totalitarian dictatorships in the last 100 years. The US may be a lot of things – indeed, the Bush Administration may be hopelessly inept, ignorant, and even malevolent – but it’s not fascist.

Not yet, anyway.

Oh, and as for dissing the Democrats? On whom does Ms. Sheehan pin her hopes? The Greens?