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Originally Posted by ottopilot
Are we talking about the meaning of words or are we talking about what politicians claim to be? If perception is reality, then I see where you're coming from. But the fundamental concepts of conservatism and libertarianism don't work in classic fascism.
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Traditional conservatism, or post WWII conservatism, probably doesn't work with fascism. Neo-conservatism clearly does. It's the tie between true conservatism and fascism.
If you look at Bush, though, you can't call him liberal or socialist. He cut spending on libraries, cut spending on pediatric training for doctors, cut spending on renewable energy, stopped research into cleaner automobiles, reduced the CAP program budget by 86%, cut funding for the Boys and Girls club by $60m, cut $200 million from workforce training programs for dislocated workers, eliminated prescription contraceptive coverage (cept viagra), cut $700m in funds for public housing repairs, cut $500m from the EPA, and cut $15m from programs dealing with child abuse and neglect... just in his first year. He's a conservative through and through, but he's also a fascist.
He's been a VERY strong purporter of nationalism, he's actively worked against human rights, he's named phantom enemies as a unifying cause, he's created a much stronger military and executive, we've seen clear evidence of the government controlling a great deal of media, an obsession with national security, we've seen the reemergence of religion in government, corporate power is protected, labor is suppressed, obsession with crime and punishment, etc.