PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

Definitions:

• Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultra-nationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society, and of the economy, which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.
• Nazism is the body of political and economic doctrines held and put into effect by in Germany from 1933 to 1945, including the totalitarian principle of government, predominance of especially Germanic groups assumed to be racially superior, and supremacy of the Führer.

Those definitions could just as well characterize the United States in the reign of one Donald Trump as they did with Italy and Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.

So it is that the question in the headline is one that has perturbed me for three years now as we have seen Trump careen from one issue to another, mimicking either Fascism or Nazism, take your pick – and risking the very future of American democracy.

All of this came to mind again this weekend as I read a piece in the Wall Street Journal by Federico Finchelstein, author of a new book, “From Fascism to Populism in History.” Here is how Finchelstein started his piece:

“Despite the growing allegations about his misconduct, President Trump remains idolized by many of his supporters. His campaign rallies feature fans whose devotion is unwavering. These expressions of love should be concerning. They share features with the unconditional form of love typical of political cults that has often manifested in dangerous ways.

“Idolizing the ‘leader’ is a key dimension of fascism. In the 1930s and 1940s, different fascist leaders inspired cults of personality, which came in different colors across the globe. In China, supporters of Chiang Kai-shek wore blue shirts, while Brazilian supporters of Plínio Salgado wore integralista green shirts. Argentina’s dictator Jose F. Uriburu, Romania’s Corneliu Codreanu and Spain’s Francisco Franco similarly inspired loyal followings.

‘Supporters of fascism fervently believed in the heroic, even god-like nature of their leaders. Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propaganda minister, wrote in his diaries about his feelings for Adolf Hitler: ‘I love him … I bow to the greater man, to the political genius.’ Such devotion ultimately allowed leaders to insulate themselves from criticism and accountability.”

Finchelstein’s piece conjured up renewed images for me of comparisons between Nazi leader Adolph Hitler and Trump, though I suppose similar comparisons could be said to exist between Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Trump.

As I wrote in a previous blog:

• Like Hitler, Trump has watched approvingly as his followers use violence to silence hecklers, dissenters and protesters.
• Like Hitler, Trump appeals to a specific race – his race — as being above all others and, thus, wants to subjugate the “others,” even to near-death.
• Like Hitler, Trump offers few real plans or strategies for confronting the nation’s challenges, giving voters instead the assurance that he, by force of his personality alone, will solve them. Of course, he never does, believing that he benefits more from the problem than any solution.
• Like Hitler, Trump has presented the electorate a scapegoat for its fears and vulnerabilities. Hitler gave the Germans the Jews. Trump has given the U.S. the immigrants.
• Like Hitler, Trump proposes to register and restrict the immigrants whom he condemns as all being criminals, even though most of them simply seek a better life in this country.
• Like Hitler, Trump views everything through his own lens – and he is always front and center. This is one of the clearest illustrations of what a narcissist is. Hitler was one. Trump is another.

Now, as the impeachment process grinds away in the U.S. House, subject of course, to a vote in the U.S. Senate, Trump is on rampage again, coming across as a victim and using the most incendiary language to inflame the passions of his supporters.

He likens what is happening to him to a “witch hunt “or a “coup,” and believes Democrats are out to get him.

Here’s the way veteran political reporter Dan Balz put it in a piece for the Washington Post:

“The president’s behavior gives expression to the judgment he seems to have reached, that what he faces is not going away and requires him to fight back with all the energy he can muster. The urgency and defensiveness of his statements and the sharpness of his attacks on those who are closing in on him underscore the frustrations and anger.”

So, for me, I still wonder how Trumpians can stand by “their leader.” I also wonder how extreme Trump will get, either to curry more favor from supporters or castigate detractors.

I hope we don’t have to find out, but I fear we will.