Retired General and former Trump chief-of-staff John Kelly’s recent on the record revelations about Trump’s frequent expressions of admiration for Hitler, Trump’s desire for not only another Roy Cohn to defend him (Bill Barr did an impressive imitation) but for loyal generals like Hitler had, Trump’s disdain for military service and sacrifice and his ignorance of history, will make little difference in an election that is all about feeling. On a wave of strong feeling either Trumpie or Harris will surf to victory, and God help us all if that wave breaks the wrong way.

To someone like me, who lost virtually his entire, once large, family to a killing machine unleashed by Mr. Hitler [1], news that a presidential candidate a statistical coin flip away from achieving his dreams of revenge admires, and frequently cited the successes of, Mr. Hitler is sickening.

But as Mr. Trumpie pointed out in his own defense, Hitler did a lot of great things too, and he was loved and unquestionably obeyed by his generals, even the ones who tried to assassinate him a couple of times, which many people don’t know, by the way. Hitler’s generals all revered him, even the ones who, with tears in their eyes, admitted under torture “sir, I tried to kill you”.

Chrump, of course, is a famously “transactional”, incurious, strongman-venerating moron who only knows that Hitler, whose word was literally law, dreamed big about making the Fatherland Great Again and, for a while (presumably before being betrayed by his own sick, disloyal people) was a huge winner. Nobody got ratings, or dominated, like Mr. Hitler at the time, nobody besides Mr. Trump, of course, if he’d been there, on German reality TV.

On the other hand, to someone who thinks Jews have too much unchecked power, that they control the weather (actually, I do that sometimes) and are hellbent on importing tens of millions of raping brown people to pervert democracy and impose their anti-Christian values by Jew trickery, using brainwashed, savage Blacks, Browns and Yellows, who will replace all White Christians, as Q foretells, well, Hitler, whatever his possible faults, had basically the right idea.

Lock the Soroses up, take their ill-gotten wealth (only white Christian billionaires deserve their honestly acquired wealth) and eventually, just quietly get rid of the eternal enemy of Jesus Christ. Where’s the hole in that plan? It’s perfect for someone who believes a violent mob assault on the Capitol police was totally justified “legitimate political discourse” or that the virtuous South was forced to become the Confederacy after the “union” viciously attacked them. Only a Jew could argue against propositions so straightforward.

The two sides do not have equally strong arguments, of course, but that’s not the point. Scholar of fascism Robert Paxton pointed out that fascism is not an ideology based on reasoned arguments but appeals to blood, soil, national grievance and violent action. Here’s Paxton:

“It seems doubtful,” Paxton wrote in The New York Review of Books in 1994, “that some common intellectual position can be the defining character of movements that valued action above thought, the instincts of the blood above reason, duty to the community above intellectual freedom, and national particularism above any kind of universal value. Is fascism an ‘ism’ at all?” Fascism, he argued, was propelled more by feelings than ideas.

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In this way fascism closely resembles the worldview of any narcissist and the little social circle they control. The infallible leader’s appeal is always to feelings, their own and the supreme values of loyalty, faith and love of those in their orbit. These appeals bypass observable cause and effect, context, ideals, facts, reason, logic, discussion, deliberation or anything else that “enlightened” souls try to guide their behavior by. If I feel it, says the leader, it’s fucking true. If you have a defiant feeling against mine, you’re fucking dead, asshole!

And so it always is, from Mr. Hitler to Mr. Koch to Mr. Nixon to Mr. Stone to Mr. Trump. The only people bothered by this natural hierarchy of strength are handwringing losers who sit worrying, and tapping, while virile men of action martyr themselves for a glorious cause that makes them feel righteous. In an advertising-based world where ads are ubiquitous and only strong feeling matters, how can you fault them for doing what heroes always do, being ready to die, and righteously kill, for their faith?

[1] I love this New York Times style tic. In a long ago article about Eric Clapton and Bo Diddley, the two guitar players were referred to throughout as Mr. Clapton and Mr. Diddley. That tickled me greatly.

In a country where a deadly riot conducted by followers of an enraged candidate who lost an election that wasn’t close, lied about losing and sent a mob of patriotic martyrs to overturn the will of the voters, an estimated 50% of likely voters appear to believe that this riot was not a riot at all but “legitimate political discourse.” That was the phrase Ronna Romney McDaniel, head of the MAGA Republican National Committee parroted to describe the direct, frontal assault on democracy, with very fine people on both sides. the finest people.

“We had no guns,” claimed their madly riffing candidate the other day, lying, as is his reflex, “only they had guns”. The “they” in question was law enforcement. Ha ha ha! Isn’t that hitlerious? “Arnold Palmer, gigantic cock, I shouldn’t say this, but mine is only slightly bigger. I know, I know!”

Belief is all that matters in the United States of advertising, and if you truly believe it, you have every right to act righteously on that belief. The triumph of American Exceptionalism right there, boys and girls.

You claim my God is imaginary? Blasphemy! That gives me the right to put you to death. God sez so!!!

Shawn McCreesh summed up this “vicious and absurd” election beautifully in the New York Times today. He sets the scene the Troll-in-Chief whipped up outside his quick McDonald’s photo op in swing state Pennsylvania:

The parking lot throbbed with hatred, fear and neighbor’s suspicion of neighbor. It became a microcosm of this year’s election, vicious and absurd. There was shouting about Project 2025 and the Jan. 6 riot. Transgender youth and vaccines. Tariffs and abortion. Fascism and communism. Mr. Trump’s supporters wore T-shirts that said “I’m voting for the convicted felon.” The other side yelled, “Lock him up.” One person wore an orange prison jumpsuit and a mask of Mr. Trump’s face.

This is what the mood is like in a swing state, 16 days before an election. Sixteen days before this election. Nearly a decade into the Trump-era of politics, the language is apocalyptic. Social media has supercharged the crude negativity.

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Maybe this social media blasted country really is mad and stupid enough to allow Trump, Bannon, Musk, Giuliani, Kerik, Flynn, Ginni Thomas, Peter Thiel, Miriam Adelson, JD Vance and random Hitler fans to establish massive righteous concentration camps in the name of Jesus Christ and intoxicatingly unfettered predatory capitalism. I hate to say it, and I’ll probably be saying it through broken jaws on the train to camp, but this country will deserve it if violent xenophobia, racism, misogyny, homophobia, lust for tax breaks and other forms of bullying stupidity tilt this unaccountably close election to triumphant American Nazis, based purely on advertising stoked rage.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press uncritically retailed three Trump whoppers in a one minute and nineteen second account of Orange Manhood’s Mickey D trolling exercise in Feasterville, Pennsylvania the other day. The compulsive liar, wearing an apron like a real minimum wage worker, spat out three juicy ones in seconds in this beautiful, free Trump campaign ad. “She never worked at McDonald’s,” (she did) “McDonald’s just confirmed that again, by the way” (the corporate giant, taking a principled moral stance, declined to comment. again) “in other words, she’s Lying Kamala.” (don’t you mean Lyin’ Ted, you demented fascist?)

and if you don’t fight like hell, we’re not going to have a country anymore.

Roy Cohn, a truly grotesque incarnation of human evil, a vicious homophobe who was promiscuous with young men, a corrupt lawyer disbarred, finally, as he was dying of AIDS, had three rules he taught young Donald:

Attack, attack, attack. Admit nothing, deny everything. No matter what happens, you claim victory and never admit defeat.

Sound familiar?