Americans always struggle understanding the politics of continental Europe. For starters, the European Right has usually sounded like the American Left, while the Euro Left has sounded like the faculty lounge at Oberlin College. For my European readers, Oberlin is an insane asylum in Ohio. Buckley Conservatives may not have been sincere in their goals, but they put a lot of effort into sounding like small government, Classical Liberals.
Of course, there has also been this weird phrasing that Americans are just now adopting. That is the phrase “extreme far right” that is always center stage, ironically, in European political discussions. The “far left” never gets mentioned. Stalin is never described as “far left” but Hitler is “far right” even though he was a socialist. This has always been confusing to Americans, but we are catching up. Donald Trump is now far-right.
Then there are the political figures. In America, we hold veterans in very high regard, maybe too high, so military service is a good thing for politicians. In Europe, military men command little respect compared to other vocations. In America, we like it when someone goes from rags to riches. Therefore, we like politicians with humble origins. Europeans prefer men and women from the aristocratic and academic backgrounds.
As a result, unsophisticated Americans, like myself, have found European politics a bit murky. Well, that used to true. Americans can now relate to what our brothers and sisters across the Atlantic are experiencing in their politics. The evil Donald Trump is smashing up the political class with his extreme right-wing populism. Across the pond, extreme right-wing parties across Europe are smashing up their respective political classes. It is springtime for Hitlers and they are blossoming across the West.
The most stunning development, the one that has good thinkers on both sides of the Atlantic in a panic, is the sudden rise of Alternative für Deutschland, an extreme right-wing extremist party of the most extreme right-wing kind. Led by the elfin Frauke Petry, this new party rang up surprisingly large vote totals, exclusively on the issue of immigration, particularly opposition to the Merkel policy of Islamification of Germany.
In addition to the ruling class Hitler fantasies, Americans and Germans now appear to have two things in common. One is that the political classes in both countries have displayed a staggering disregard for public welfare in their pursuit of personal salvation. Merkel out posing for selfies with refugees is as tone deaf as Republicans demanding open borders and amnesty for tens of millions of illegals. Cui bono?
The responsibility of the people put in charge, their chief responsibility, is to maintain public order. You cannot have a civilized and prosperous society with civil unrest. Deliberately inviting in these problems, as we see with Merkel in German and the open borders lobbies in America, is a betrayal of the public trust. In another age, the elites would not have to fear these populist parties as the people would have hung the elites before it got to this point.
The other overlap and the most important to consider is the source of support for these extreme right-wing far right extremist movements. Alternative für Deutschland is decidedly middle-class. It has the nickname “the professors party” because its founders were mostly academics. It is vote is coming from middle-class Germans who work in professions. It is support is also overwhelmingly male at this time, with some estimates at 85% male. This is a point that will become central to our future political debates.
Smart people have figured out who is voting for Donald Trump and the thing that jumps out is that Trump has broad-based support across the American middle-class. In fact, he is the candidate of middle America right now. Despite all the hooting and hollering about his angry voters, his rallies look like the crowd at Little League baseball games in a typical American suburb. His issues are also directly aimed at the middle.
Like AfD, Trump is drawing in male voters who have dropped out of the process, but also males who have thrown in the towel on the main parties. Current estimates suggest a 2-to-1 ratio male-to-female for Trump. This is not an accident. German culture has seen the same war on men we have seen in America. German men were literally told they had to urinate sitting down. When you have to get permission from a judge to take a whiz, you’re going to begin to think the people in charge are against you.
One last thing, related to the middle-class nature of these movements, is how the elites are responding. Instead of co-opting the issues, they are trying to link these movements to bogeymen like Pegida and the KKK. That is a telling response and suggests the ruling classes have become decidedly anti-middle class. It is also legitimizing the taboos against xenophobia, racism and ethnocentrism. You can only call decent people Nazis so many times before it loses its power to shame.
What is happening across the West is the people are awakening to the fact that their rulers have a very different vision for their societies than they disclose in public. In many cases, it feels like the rulers have plans for the future that do not include their voters. Those plans may be great ideas, but in stable societies, they must be debated in public. Otherwise, society becomes unstable. That is what is happening in Germany and America. The system is becoming unstable.
“The responsibility of the people put in charge, their chief responsibility, is to maintain public order.”
But not too much of it. If there is order, then there is no need for police; and without police, how can the rulers stay on top?
The real job of the rulers is to loot the workers (meaning the middle class). Let’s call a spade, a spade.
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“..,sudden rise of Alternative für Deutschland, an extreme right-wing extremist party of the most extreme right-wing kind”.
This is sarcasm, yes? Because it is hard to figure out the various political parties and coalitions in European politics, I asked someone who knows a great deal about it, and he said that AfD is not any kind of extremist, right-wing party but gets labeled as such as a sort of knee-jerk reaction to any party which professes to be nationalist or populist. AfD would probably be a centrist type of group if it was here in the US. It’s too bad they didn’t get more votes than they did. Maybe they will next time around, I read that a fresh crop of Immigrants of Doom will be on their way to Germany come spring, which is right around the corner. How many is enough for Mutti Merkel? When does Germany cry “uncle”? At some point, it becomes impossible to turn this ship around.
@ Kathleen – Any party in Germany that makes the statement that they want to “return the Fatherland, lock up mental patients and toss out foreigners” has a distinct Goebbels ring to it. German voters simply used the worst possible party to get the attention of the CDU. If you actually think the Nazi party was a “centrist-type government” you should read up on your history and learn the facts, rather than asking people who obviously have no clue about German politics.
Do you even know who started the AfD or why the party was formed? Perhaps you should stick with American politics since you obviously know nothing of European, or parliamentary democratic government. Quick – without looking it up on Google – who is the president of Germany? And no, that’s not a trick question.
We will see if the immigrants make it here. First they have to cross a number of borders, which is not as easy as it sounds. Their reputation and past actions have not done them any favors and Europeans see them for who they are, not how they were initially perceived. More aggressive actions against them, should they violate the borders, may be more likely this time.
And if Germany sends the message that there are no economic benefits, there is little if any reason for them to come here. Already Denmark has cut benefits to asylum seekers so it may become a move which gains traction in other European countries to make coming north unattractive. As in your own country, illegal immigration declined when your economy declined. By simply removing the incentive, people are less likely to risk coming here.
Ooh, a bit touchy, Karl, hey? When looking up the platform of AdF online there is nothing extremist about it, and in fact I am aware that there are parties within Germany who believe what you state. But I also know that Leftists always call people who disagree with them extremists. It’s par for the course. I never mentioned the Nazis, that’s all your doing, making that ignominious comparison. Odd that you call yourself a conservative, for you speak like you’re Leftist. You’ve been marinated in socialism so long you no longer recognize a centrist party largely concerned with saving your country from the importation of barbarians. What is wrong with trying to preserve ones culture and country? You can’t invite the part of the third world in that wants to kill non-Moslems and think you can do that. These people are unable to be assimilated.
I did have a laugh over your last paragraph. Germany will not stop giving welfare to the barbarians, and is effectively paying for its own ultimate demise. But you can always whistle past the graveyard. Just don’t go near any graveyards where they’ve located new “refugee” housing centers. Might not turn out so well for you.
It’s AfD, not AdF. Suffice to say I’m smart enough to recognize what the Nazi party is and isn’t. And I certainly don’t need to ask someone else’s opinion, especially an American who has zero first hand knowledge. You laugh and jest when your American Nazi party marches the streets because the few idiots in brown shirts there could never do to you what their role models did to us. If you think the Republicans and Democrats are both terrible, you’re welcome to start your own AfD (Alternative für Dummkopf)
Remind me again how in America, where about half of you pay taxes, gives free hand outs from the government isn’t a social state. You’re way ahead of us on that one. A nation with over 11-million illegals – many of whom have only “assimilated” in your prison and jails. But I must give credit where it’s due. You have 10-million more than we do. Well done.
Is it amusing to you to insult Americans on an American blog site? “Dummkopf?” Really? A bit juvenile and pompous, no?
“You have 10-million more than we do.” In sheer numbers, yes, but have you forgotten we have more than 3 times the population you do? Your influx is not over, and your country doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of assimilating them. As some of us in America like to say, “enjoy your muzzies”.
@ Kathleen – You seem to lack the ability to differentiate between Islamists and Muslims, Nazis and centrists. Therefore I question your ability to understand the fundamental principles or political goals of these groups. Your previous comments would indicate most of your knowledge about the subject of German political parties and European politics is based on the questionable scribbling’s of random bloggers, rather than the serious writings of people who understand far more than your simple minded regurgitation of other peoples explanations which are themselves flawed.
As you said yourself “Because it is hard to figure out the various political parties and coalitions in European politics, I asked someone who knows a great deal about it.” My recommendation is simple – do some research on your own and develop your own logical conclusions based on facts of the subject matter, rather than repeating what someone else tells you. The rewards of your successful investigation and understanding of these subjects which “are hard to understand” would be both self rewarding and welcome reading to the rest of us.
Don’t take that as an insult, that that as a personal challenge.
You ARE insulting, but I’m a big girl and not cowed by your dismissal of what I’ve previously posted. I’ve admitted that I don’t know the ins and outs of German politics, that hardly makes me uneducated. Just as you have an opinion on American politics, so do I about German politics. However I do not remember calling you a dummkopf. You are not American yet somehow you fancy yourself an expert on American affairs because you lived here for 20 years? BFD. It is very obvious to me that YOU have limited knowledge of Islam, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this “discussion” at all. Ultimately there is no difference between an Islamist and a Moslem. The Islamist is just the soldier in the larger war of Islam vs. the non-Moslem world. Read the Koran, Hadith, Sunnah. You’ve got your back up because I dare criticize Mutti Merkel and her multi-culture gambit, what it portends for Germany, and the current German government at large. We Americans take great pride in our right and ability to criticize the government without reprisal.
Since you are fond of issuing recommendations, I will do the same: don’t take your governments word for anything. They may not necessarily be on your side. Not everything you read is the truth. Your government has great influence on the news dissemination in your country. Your perceptions are being managed. Or maybe you are really a True Believer? And you can take this as a personal challenge: learn about the ideology of Islam, not the bill of goods being sold to you. Your culture and way of life are at stake.
Viel Gluck, Karl.
I welcome your criticism of Frau Merkel and anything the German government is doing or not doing. Criticism is key in understanding our faults, of which we (like you) have many. Since you seem interested in German politics feel free to ask about what you don’t fully understand or are confused about. I wouldn’t expect you to be able to read German, so I will take the time to look for good English translations that may help you with the subject matter. We Germans are by nature both blunt and critical and enjoy a good debate with people who are well educated about topic.Therefore I extend this olive branch to you in hopes of greater mutual understanding.
Olive branch accepted.
“Locking up” mental patients is hardly a bad thing. 95% of America’s homeless are mental patients who need to be housed in a mental facility, just like the ones in Germany, I’m sure. It’s not jail; it’d humane. They need feeding, shelter, looking after and daily meds. They are also targets for murder, also. And yes, they are a menace, but need caring for. The Left stigmatized putting the homeless, who are homeless because they are mental, in facilities, so now they litter the streets. And just because we Americans don’t live in Germany doesn’t mean we can’t understand German politics. Frau Merkel has put on full display for all the world to see German politics in action. She’s a bit evil.
Wow… wish this thing had an edit button. My comment is riddled with mistakes.
@5MilesOut – I understand what you are saying and I agree to a point that people who are unable to care for themselves should be looked after. That’s a very social concept and I am happy to see some Americans can grasp the benefits of greater social awareness. However here in Germany the last time mental patients, which included the mentally retarded and anyone deemed “mentally unstable” were locked up by the State, they ended up in Dachau.
As for Frau Merkel being “a bit evil” I would be curious to know the thoughts behind this comment.
Assuming this is a typo, party-wise”
“Merkel out posing for selfies with refugees is as tone deaf as Republicans demanding open borders and amnesty for tens of millions of illegals. “
I accept, outwardly, that Angela’s motivation to save Syrians from themselves was humanitarian, but it was an astonishing lapse of judgment (unforgivable in any serious politician) that non-Syrians would not take advantage of the opportunity and with it that enemies of the west wouldn’t join the rush.
Of course, we know all politicians don’t understand numbers in all sorts of ways but how did the woman think the numbers might be manageable, or even limited? Did she think word would get round Syria that the asylum centres were full so best not to try and come?
Worse, her generosity with attendant failure to count is one of the factors that may yet spur not only Britain but other nations to either leave the EU or regard any agreements as non-binding. Yes, there is the possibility she wants the EU to collapse under the burden of sharing and caring, for some odd reason, but if so how does she think Germany would benefit? A new army, perhaps?
There may be some support to the idea that because German Turks have not been a social problem to Germany in the way French Moroccans and Algerians have to France, there was no serious concern for Syrian refugees to come here. For this reason, the average German could assume as things were, so would they remain. Even with an influx of refugees given that Turks have not openly threatened our society in the way the French have suffered under Muslim terrorists attacks. That lesson has been well learned, and thus the appearance of the AfD not so much as a political choice, but as a political weapon aimed at the current ruling coalition.
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Ross Douthat, the NYT reader’s platonic ideal of what a good, housebroken conservative should be, is not elfin. He has, however, officially jumped the shark with this column:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/opinion/sunday/the-party-still-decides.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
In which he explains that the GOP must take the courageous step to deny Trump the nomination even if he were to win the required number of delegates because Trump is an “authoritarian.” Yes, Trump is the authoritarian, so the GOP would be justified in negating the votes of millions and millions of party faithful, betraying their trust in an outrageous fashion, and grossly violating the norms of American democracy. Ross doesn’t seem to detect an irony in this position.
Ross is under the delusion that the decision, while “painful,” would be all for the best and would allow the GOP to “rebuild.” Because Ross is suffering from the “Trump is Hitler” vapors he clearly cannot comprehend that what would actually happen to the GOP should they adopt this course would be the near instantaneous death knell of the party.
Douthat is Jonah Goldberg with less acne and a (much) better looking wife. But still a pegged cuck.
The Republican Party has the opportunity to become a powerful and dynamic movement with massive middle class American support, with or without Trump. It only needs to roughly embrace Trump’s positions on illegal immigration, gun rights, and his “common sense” themes that he throws out there (and typically offered by Trump with few or no supporting policy prescriptions). Instead, most of the Republican operatives seem to crave the perpetuation of their own personal perks and status much more intensely than any broader success. Even those such as Christie seem to be acting as opportunists more than following some sort of politically consistent agenda. The public is left with an array of awful choices. Either a corrupt and incompetent Democrat president, a reemergence of some sort of rump Republican establishment dark horse candidate, or an insurgent (Trump) who will be undermined at every turn by all elements of the current political and social establishment. Such a dreary set of likely choices.
Ross Asshat.
That is all.
(1) “Europeans prefer men and women from the aristocratic and academic backgrounds.” Germans do favor academia over wealth, however aristocracy is not really a benefit. Our Defense Minister Herr Gutenberg was tossed out of office a few years ago for plagiarism. His family name and background did him little good in the political arena. If you look at all our past Chancellors, they’ve all come from very humble beginnings. Yes, they gained power, wealth and status over time, but that’s to be expected for anyone who is successful in their profession.
(2) “Like AfD, Trump is drawing in male voters who have dropped out of the process, but also males who have thrown in the towel on the main parties.” The AfD is primarily from the old East Germany, and any Wessies who are voting AfD are doing so as direct retribution against the CDU rather in favor of AfD. The results may be the same, but the rationale behind the vote is different. (Wessies are West Germans, Ossies are East Germans – from the German words “ost” for east and “west” for west).
The consensus of the German people on the immigration/asylum situation is clear; Frau Merkel made her decision based on the tragedy of the Syrian situation and her intention was humanitarian. It was not some sort of conspiracy move to import Muslims and displace the German people – this idea is utter nonsense and we all know it since we have had Turkish guest workers in Germany since the 1950’s. Muslims in Germany is nothing new. The results of her actions, however noble, do raise legal concerns with existing agreements with neighboring countries and our Constitution. The unforeseen results of hundreds of thousands of refugees heading to Germany (most we know were not Syrian) was unfortunate. Lack of planning, logistical and otherwise, were poorly executed and the entire situation created the conditions we have today.
Frau Merkel is not stupid and not out to “fundamentally change Germany”. I and many conservative Germans believe she and the CDU will be quick to learn from these mistakes and take the necessary action to do what is best for Germany. The challenge is just how quickly. The results from the recent elections are a visual indicator of how upset people really are, and they are letting her know by voting for the extreme parties – not because we think the AfD is good, but because we know this will get her attention in a way she, and the CDU, can not ignore.
Look at the facts; any German who wants one has a job, we have a very good standard of living and we have a strong, viable economy. Therefore the odds of the AfD having any serious influence outside of the states of Lower Saxony and Brandenburg (regardless of the votes in other states) are quite low. Germans are just upset with the immigration situation, nothing else.
Germans are blessed with a few things that will get us through this situation – a good work ethic, a fear of fiscal irresponsibility, a long memory and a serious guilt complex.
Many many American conservatives said the same thing about the Republicans for 25 years. Don’t be shocked if what the CDU learns very different lessons than you expect. I hope I am wrong, but history is not kind on these things.
Fair point. But as noted before, the immigration issue was the spark that set off this entire set of events. As my colleague Herzog correctly stated “CDU voters are just very inert, cautious, phlegmatic, often elderly.” I would add this combination also makes them slow to react. The AfD may be the wake up call they need to take the right steps to correct the mistakes of last year.
Karl,
Why is it that support for PEGIDA and AfD seems to come mainly from the former East?
Also, Did you mean Saxony or Saxony-Anhalt instead of Lower Saxony? PEGIDA has demonstrations in Dresden, but I haven’t heard of any in Hannover.
The former East has 60-years of communism and economic depression to get over. Consider Detroit, you could replace all the buildings and infrastructure there, but the people make it what it is. The AfD is a party and PEGIDA is an anti-American and anti-foreigner movement. Dresden is in Saxony, (east Germany) while Hannover is in Neidersaxen (west Germany).
I know that Niedersachsen is in the West, which is what confused me when you mentioned Lower Saxony as a center for AfD. That is why I asked whether you meant Sachsen or Sachsen Anhalt (to use the correct names) because I didn’t think that AfP had much influence in that area.
I should have said “southern” rather than “lower” Saxony. Sorry for the confusion.
You’re blind Magoo. Add North Rhine-Westphalia to your (incomplete) list of states where AfD will be getting votes.
@ McClintock – Of course the AfD will get votes just like any fringe party does in times like this. Ross Perot, what party was he? He came and went…same thing will happen here. The AfD isn’t a concern in Germany. But I would agree it would be a concern in a country that was a full blown banana republic with a massive national debt, huge unemployment rates, half the population not paying taxes and the other half on welfare, failing industries, defaulting cities, unaffordable health care system, worsening education systems and race riots in major cities.
Karl, let me educate you about Ross Perot. First, he ran as an independent candidate– he did not organize a party apparatus, nor did he have the benefit of a meaningful pre-existing party apparatus to help him. Second, he faced death threats that he considered so serious that he dropped out of the Presidential race for three critical months in order to secure his family’s safety. By the time he re-entered the race in October of 1992, he had lost valuable time and momentum– but still won almost 20% of the popular vote. Once the election was over, he largely dropped out of public life for several years. He eventually got around to organizing the Reform Party in 1995, and ran under its banner in 1996, but by then it was too late and he had lost too much momentum. The internet era had begun, and the economy had started to turn around, causing Americans to forget everything Perot stood for. Of course, Perot turned out to be completely right, but that’s a separate issue entirely. The key points are, (a) there was no party to carry on Perot’s message and mission after 1992, (b) death threats certainly delayed him from organizing a party apparatus until years later, and (c) by the time that party apparatus was put in place, America had lost interest, as the immediate impact of NAFTA was minimal and the long-term consequences of the 1992 election would not be felt for decades. Compare that to Germany’s current muslim invasion problem, where the immediate consequences are just as profound as the long-term consequences. We must therefore conclude that the similarities between AfD and Ross Perot are nonexistent.
@ Buckaroo – Thank you for the excellent information on Ross Perot. I was not aware of death threats. However, my point was not to compare him with the AfD at all…they are worlds apart…the only intention of my point was that like Ross Perot, the AfD is likely to go away (my mistake for a poor choice of analogy). Perhaps I would have been better to have referenced out Pirate Party, which disappeared shortly after gaining seats.
Karl, what if Merkel is in fact evil? What would she do differently than what she has already done?
Read this: https://pjmedia.com/blog/latest-survey-finds-25-of-french-teenagers-are-muslims/?singlepage=true.
Germany may be the last to go, but the Trojan Horse is inside the gate, no matter what Merkel’s motives are.
The test for Frau Merkel is whether she can really adjust her policies to accommodate the changed situation on the ground. Politicians have huge egos, and to change is to admit that one has been wrong. Additionally, politicians must answer to certain powerful and well-connected constituents and contributors, and the political parties themselves, which these politicians represent, have their own policy rigidities, demands, and expectations. Politicians typically double down on unpopular, but deeply held positions. We shall see.
@ McClintock & Dutch – Frau Merkel has done a good job for Germany and there have been a number of things that have shown her to be a strong, successful leader. Germany is the undisputed economic leader of Europe and much of that has to do with good fiscal direction under her leadership. That is very important in the eyes of the German people and just as Americans hold Mr. Obama responsible for the $17-trillion debt, we give her credit for our strong economic situation and the fact we came out of the 2008 and 2013 crisis quite well. As a person, she is still well liked by most Germans. She is not flashy or flamboyant which is important in culture where that would be seen as negative character traits.
As for her positive accomplishments, since her start back in 2005 military conscription went away, various social programs were implemented which people favored and the goal of decommissioning of nuclear plants were all seen as positive steps by the German people. Unlike Mr. Obama, she has a good relationship with Mr. Putin and I believe he has respect for her – plus the he fact she speaks Russian also helps. So overall, she has many positive things in her favor. As mentioned before, she admitted back in 2004 that “multiculturalism has failed” and made it clear last year that Afghani’s are not welcome, nor is anyone else, as economic refugees, so it’s not like she is about to grant amnesty to those who are here illegally.
If I wanted to completely ruin a country, I’d create some positive short-term achievements in order to distract the electorate from the long-term ruination I was perpetrating for allegedly “humanitarian” reasons. Whether Merkel is a fully-conscious malicious actor, or merely an unwitting dupe and catspaw of other, more sinister, interests, is a topic worth exploring. But trying to make the case that she is good for Germany is flat-out retarded.
If that logic were applied to American leadership, you would have to agree that all presidents since Regan have done everything they have done with the sole purpose of ruining the country. Because a case could certainly be made that it were so.
Yes, I’d agree with that, with Obama being by far the worst of the bunch.
“It was not some sort of conspiracy move to import Muslims and displace the German people – this idea is utter nonsense and we all know it since we have had Turkish guest workers in Germany since the 1950’s.”
Karl, I hate to say this, but you are completely delusional. The Cultural Marxists play a long game. Ever consider that the importation of Turkish guest workers starting in the 1950s was simply the first move in a very long chess match– a chess match that Germany is losing? You need to splash some cold water on your face, and wake up.
From a country with 11-million illegals, many of whom are receiving social benefits, I think this is not the place or time for the pot to call the kettle black. Wait and see before making prophetic accusations about the direction of Germany.
You see, we agree again here. The difference is, Hispanics have been a part of American culture for 300 years, especially in places like the southwest. And, our country is huge so it can absorb a large amount of illegal invaders. That said, the invasion is working out terribly for us. Your problem is, Germany is much smaller, and dealing with Muslims represent a challenge an order of magnitude larger than Hispanics. It’s pretty easy to see this is going to be an outright disaster that will manifest itself in awfully short order.
There is a second side to that which many seem to overlook. Muslims are not a people, they are a religion bordering on a cult. Therefore anyone (American, German, Mexican, etc.) can become a Muslim. The Muslims, at least in industrialized countries, tend to draw the disenfranchised, which is one reason they have had little traction here as opposed to France. Look at Louis Farrakhan and his followers. They did not originate in the Middle East, they are home grown haters.
Karl;
I realize that Germany has had for many years now Turkish Muslim guest workers for many years, as you say.
But have they formed their own, insular, near-sharia-law or radical Islamist compliant neighborhoods as they apparently have in the UK and France?
You know, those “no-go” zones in which even the police avoid.
What would be the reaction of the German citizenry if they see that the “Merkel refugees” refuse to assimilate and demand that German laws and customs do not apply to them?
What was the reaction of the German citizenry when the mayor(?) of Cologne told female German nationals to dress differently to avoid provoking the new Muslim refugees from raping them? (Where the hell were all the “feminists” when they heard this)
Is it possible that the German experience with Turkish guest workers will not be an appropriate template to the Merkel refugees?
Lastly, it seems that any political party in Europe that does not align with the leftist, socialist parties is labelled as far right or extreme right.
Your thoughts will be appreciated.
The Greens and especially the Social Democrats (SPD) got pummeled even worse than Merkel’s CDU. As a German, that gives me the greatest satisfaction.
The SPD, of Willy Brandt fame, just twenty years ago used to score between 35 and 45 per cent pretty much everywhere. Before these elections, they were already down to around 25 per cent in two of the three voting states (the third one is a special case, where they have a very popular lady governor) — now they got halved in both of those states and there rank even behind the AfD newcomers. Sweet.
CDU voters are just very inert, cautious, phlegmatic, often elderly, all of which comes into play to explain why they didn’t desert Merkel in larger droves, and inflicted just moderate losses. Nonetheless the overall signal is clear.
The Hitlerization of anything and everything mildly unpleasant: Yes, it may start to wear off, painfully slowly, even in my little country. However, since we actually were the country of Hitler, it’s way more difficult for us than for you guys to boldly counter such demagoguery.
Another parallel to the US / Trump: Participation surged and accounts for a large chunk of the AfD successes.
As regards your analysis of the siege that masculinity has been under in my little country, it is spot-on.
The war on men must reflect the number of women- especially women who have no use for men- in governance jobs. This goes for minorities as they eye fiefdoms in the structure as well.
Take a look at the Michelle Fields hoax from last week. She decided to get in the ring as a combatant in the political process by claiming she was brutalized by Trump people at a rally. They denied it and she screamed sexism. Then video surfaced to undermine her story. Then facts came out that she was maybe a bit of nut. That’s how boys play ball. If you get into the arena, you’re fair game.
Fields, and every other women for that matter, wants special rules for the gals. She demands the benefits of her sex and the benefits of the male sex, but she wants none of the costs. This can never work.
Absolutely. I’ve run five posts on this bint and the final vid just confirmed it. If she gets a job journo-ing, we should make a note of the publication. What’s the betting she’ll have an opinion piece at the WAPO and Blaze?
As you say, you can only call people Nazis so many times before they say “If I’m gonna be accused anyway, might as well be guilty.” I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump develops some kind of volunteer citizen bodyguard as the primaries transition into the general. Lefties are openly and obviously inciting violence at his rallies; getting lots of angry, out-of-work white males who are tired of being pissed on to form goon squads would be child’s play. Notice the big collective “meh” at the (probably fake) story of that reporterette getting shoved down at a Trump rally — the media is pushing that for all they’re worth, but since most people hate the media more than the establishment, reactions among normal people seem to range from “so what?” to “should’ve beaten her twice as hard, and every other reporter, too, on general principles.” There will be brownshirts, and they will be entirely the Left’s fault.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump develops some kind of volunteer citizen bodyguard as the primaries transition into the general.”
I’m pretty surprised that the open-carry crowd hasn’t started showing up at his rallies.
Trump has been a public figure for over 30 years. He certainly has assembled a large, loyal private security apparatus during this time. Furthermore, he now also has the benefit of Secret Service protection– protection that certainly has been beefed up substantially in the wake of the recent attack. While I don’t fully trust the Secret Service, they are highly trained and experienced, and must have at least a little professional pride at stake. I’d also expect that Trump’s security team is keeping a close eye on the Secret Service guys– Trump has the resources to buy the best protection available in the world, and it’s logical to expect that he has some very hard, very spooky men on the job.
The “open-carry crowd”, as you put it, are smart enough to figure this all out for themselves; but even if they weren’t, I’m sure Trump’s security team would actively discourage amateurs from getting in the way.
“There will be brownshirts, and they will be entirely the Left’s fault.”
Once you understand where the Brownshirts came from, you’ll understand that the phenomenon simply won’t be repeated here in the US. The Brownshirts were the outgrowth of the German “Freikorps”. German World War 1 veterans spontaneously organized into various paramilitary units under that collective moniker in order to fight the communist revolutionaries that posed a very real, very immediate threat to take over Germany right after the war ended. The Freikorps were active for several years until the role they played was gradually assumed by more official organs of the emerging postwar German state. Ernst Rohm, a former Freikorps commander, proceeded to organize the SA (aka Brownshirts) from former Freikorps members– something that was pretty easy to do given the circumstances.
People have been led to believe that Germans went spontaneously mad after WW1, and that organizations like the SA somehow sprang fully-formed from their collective unconscious delusions. What really happened, of course, was that Germany was fighting an existential threat from within against Communists, and the weak, degenerate Weimar government simply wasn’t up to the task– creating room for other organizations and leaders to emerge who showed a willingness to face the threat more directly.
So, let’s compare and contrast ~2016 USA with ~1925 Germany:
2016 USA: facing a creeping, gradual, multi-decade, non-violent takeover from Cultural Marxist technocrats.
1925 Germany: facing an immediate, violent takeover from Communist revolutionaries.
2016 USA: A large pool of disorganized, demoralized veterans of disparate foreign wars fought half a world away.
1925 Germany: A large pool of veterans from the Great War fought on their own doorstep, who self-organized to effectively fight an immediate domestic threat.
2016 USA: a successful civilian bilionaire businessman steps forward to peacefully rally his fellow Americans against one-party, DemoPublican Cultural Marxist slow revolutionaries.
1925 Germany: an unsuccessful painter and former decorated NCO war hero steps forward to rally his fellow Germans while simultaneously seizing the reins of elements of a large, self-organized, successful paramilitary organization.
I could keep going, but hopefully this is enough to illustrate how absurd the idea of “21st century American Brownshirts” really is.
I assume by ‘elfin’ you mean ‘quite attractive, of by the Howie Carr standard ‘not guilty’!
I think she is very not guilty.
Z- is there a way to embed a timed editing feature? I feel like a moron looking at my post!
Let me see.
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union still got majority of the votes, even after she invited a mass invasion there was Germans who still voted for her!
I think the West is finished, the reactions against our genocide have been too timid, maybe a Trump Presidency will force not only America but also Europe to start reversing decades of a extremely bad immigration policy but this is like admitting the ruling elites have been wrong all this time and deserve to have their heads chopped. The elites will not go down quietly.
Why not wait until your side has actually lost, to give up the fight? I see a nice healthy reaction building up, across a broad swath of the citizenry. Am personally optimistic about the next 20 years. History is a pendulum, nothing stays the same forever. The left is ascendant in certain areas now, but are incapable of running anything effectively. At the least they will kill any hosts where they take over, and eventually lose power completely. And that’s without any active push back. For crying out loud, the USSR only lasted 70 years!
The problem now is the demographic replacement, the elites have elected a new people, the next decade will be critical to reverse this policy, after that will be too late.
Turk, your optimism is refreshing but it may be misplaced. The Cultural Marxist “Long March Through the Institutions” since the 1950s has taken an absolutely brutal toll, and there is a substantial minority of Americans who are so thoroughly confused and demoralized that, even in the absolute best case scenario, we will be feeling profound aftereffects for generations. You are correct, the USSR did fall, but remember that it was actively opposed by the strongest adversary on earth, the United States of America, from 1950 onwards. There is currently no meaningful organized opposition to the Cultural Marxists– although the good news is, that appears to finally be changing. However, they will not go down without a fight, and nobody fights dirty like a Communist. The next 20 years are going to be ugly.