II4Cons: Progressivism

Books:

• Ronald J. Pestritto, American Progressivism (at Amazon.com)
• Ronald J. Pestritto, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism (at Amazon.com)
• Jonah Goldberg, Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning (at Amazon.com)
• Bradley C.S. Watson, Living Constitution, Dying Faith: Progressivism and the New Science of Jurisprudence (at Amazon.com)

Articles:

• Ronald J. Pestritto, “Theodore Roosevelt Was No Conservative“
• Ronald J. Pestritto, “Why Progressivism is Not, and Never Was, a Source of Conservative Values“
• Ronald J. Pestritto, “American Progressivism“
• Jonah Goldberg, “Progressivism’s Achilles Heel“
• Terry Easton, “New ‘Progressivism’ is Statist Cancer Eating America’s Soul“
• William L. Anderson, “The Legacy of Progressivism“
• Ronald J. Pestritto, “Reframing America: the Progressive Mission,” Fusion 5.2 (July/Aug. 2009): 4-5
• Matthew Spalding, “Remaking America,” Fusion 5.2 (July/Aug. 2009):16
• Jonah Goldberg, “Dreams from Obama,” Fusion 5.2 (July/Aug. 2009):18-19
• Tom Krannawitter and Ben Boychuk, “McCain-Feingold Isn’t Progress; It’s Progressivism“

Websites:

• The Heritage Foundation > Progressivism and the Attack on the American Founding

Videos:

• “Glenn Beck A Closer Look At The Progressive Movement“
• “Progressives Resemble Fascists“
• “Glenn Beck Exposes the Progressive Movements Fascist Agenda“
• “Michael C. Moynihan on the Glenn Beck Show – 4/14/09“
• “Uncommon Knowledge: The Great Depression with Amity Shlaes“

I’m also posting this information on the Information on Issues for Conservatives (II4Cons) wiki.  Please let me know if there are resources I should add by commenting on this post or sending me a message on Twitter.

Colorado Organizations Supporting Socialized Health Care

The Colorado organizations listed below are among members of Health Care for America NOW (HCAN), a coalition of more than 1000 organizations that are working toward (more) government control of health care.

HCAN’s steering committee includes “ACORN, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Americans United for Change, Campaign for America’s Future, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Campaign for Community Change, Children’s Defense Fund Action Council, Communications Workers of America, MoveOn.org, NAACP, National Council of La Raza, National Education Association, National Women’s Law Center, SEIU, UFCW, USAction, and Working America” (“About Us“; emphasis added).  What does that tell you?

HCAN is planning to spend $82 million on advertising and lobbying.  Where did they get the money?

• 9 to 5 Colorado
• AFL-CIO
• AFSCME
• Colorado Acorn
• Colorado Education Association
• Colorado for Health Care
• Colorado Jobs with Justice
• Colorado Progressive Action (NWFCO/CCC)
• Colorado Progressive Coalition
• Essence of Illumination and Therapeutic Massage
• FRESC
• Health Care for All Colorado
• National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Assn
• National Physicians Alliance
• New Era Colorado
• Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains
• Progress Now Action
• Rocky Mountain District Council of Labor
• SEIU Local 105
• Sisters of Color United for Education
• Universalist Church of Greeley Social Justice Committee
• Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom
• United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7
• Colorado Nurses Association
• Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved
• American Federation of Teachers
• American Friends Service Committee
• Colorado Voices for Coverage Coalition
• Communication Workers of America
• Democracia USA/ Democracia Ahora
• Denver Area Labor Federation
• Greeley Interfaith Association
• Healthcare United
• Jefferson Unitarian Church – Peace, Justice, Liberty Task Force
• Lambda Community Center
• Network of Spiritual Progressives
• Northern Colorado Aids Project
• Rights for All People/Derechos Para Todos
• Colorado Nurses Association

Video: “Beck Says U.S. ‘On the Road to Facism'”

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Video:  “Beck Says U.S. ‘On the Road to Facism’“

What Is Fascism?

This morning I was listening to Glenn Beck on the radio while I was driving to campus. He was talking about how the country is moving toward fascism by way of socialism and suggested that his listeners read the definition of fascism in the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics at the Library of Economics and Liberty.  Here is the first paragraph of the definition by Sheldon Richman:

As an economic system, fascism is socialism with a capitalist veneer. The word derives from fasces, the Roman symbol of collectivism and power: a tied bundle of rods with a protruding ax. In its day (the 1920s and 1930s), fascism was seen as the happy medium between boom-and-bust-prone liberal capitalism, with its alleged class conflict, wasteful competition, and profit-oriented egoism, and revolutionary Marxism, with its violent and socially divisive persecution of the bourgeoisie. Fascism substituted the particularity of nationalism and racialism–“blood and soil”–for the internationalism of both classical liberalism and Marxism.

I found these definitions as well:

• “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition” (“fascism” at Merriam Webster Online)
  
• “a political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism)” (“fascism” at WordNet)
• “[a] system of government that promotes extreme nationalism, repression, anticommunism, and is ruled by a dictator” (“Vocabulary Words Starting With Letter ‘F’” at Oswego City School District Regents Exam Prep Center)

Even though it has a “capitalist veneer,” fascism is obviously still tyranny.  A couple of definitions I found, and didn’t include, put fascism at the far or “extreme” right end of the political spectrum.  Since it puts the nation or race above the individual, it clearly belongs at the left end with socialism and Marxism.