Stop Me, If You've Heard This One Before.....

Vienna 1938

There is a big series of connections in this rant, please try to connect the dots....
On March 11, 1938, the Austrian government announced the cancellation of a planned plebiscite to decide on the Austrian relationship to the Third Reich. For years, the Germans had been pumping money, propaganda and support to the ultra nationalist pro German political forces in Austria. Austria had a huge Jewish and foreign population, the heritage from the glory of the old Austro Hungarian Empire, which had inherited the legacy of the European portion of the Ottoman Empire. Intellectually and economically, the non Aryan population of Austria flourished, precariously.
Their success was used to foment nationalistic hate. As the Austrians suffered in the post WW1 depression, under the terms of their defeat as allies of the Germans, this hate festered and was used as a political tool by the forces of fascism who would use it to gain power and economic domination. There were daily anti Jewish demonstrations and most Jewish male university students had to become formidable fencers, because though it was outlawed, dueling for their honor became a fact of life.
A few hours after the plebiscite was cancelled, due to threats of a German military intervention, the radios announced the resignation of the government except for the Nazi puppet Seyss-Inquart. 
It was as if a switch was thrown. The silent streets exploded with brown shirted mobs screaming, "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer! Heil Hitler!" and more poignantly, "Juden verreckren!"- Death to Jews.
We all know how this nasty little tale turns out. Six million Jews die, Austria gets it ass kicked as a German ally and the nationalistic idiots who were manipulated into this obscene farce are worse off than ever before. Please, stop me if you've heard this one before....

Pro Orban Fidesz Party Demonstration in Hungary

Fast forward...almost 75 years later. We are now in Budapest, Hungary. The forces of neo nationalist fascism are in control again whipping the same idiotic fervor against any one who isn't...Hungarian. There have been mass murders of gypsies. Any middle eastern ethnic group is being persecuted and discriminated against and now, Marton Gyongyosi of the powerful Jobbik Hungarian Militant Nationalist Political Party went to the next predictable level, demanding that the government register and assess all Jewish citizens as a potential security risk. Again, the same generic idiotic self destructive behavior being encouraged and exploited to scapegoat the economic plight of Hungary. The nationalist fervor is actually encouraged by the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban and his far right Fidesz Party. Orban is a hero to the far right neo nazis all over Europe. He is staunchly ant European Union, though Hungary is a member of the Union. Orban, like all right wing conservatives promotes the economic well being of the upper classes, reducing their taxation while shifting the burdens to the lower and middle class. He has cut health services, assistance to the poor to the bone. The Hungarian standard of living is one of the sorriest in Europe. But Orban has succeeded in shifting the blame to EU through a non stop barrage of propaganda and scape goating. Wer all know how this sorry little debacle will probably end up. It's a story that's getting pretty stale.
By the way, Orban has been well received and has gotten advice and financial support from the Koch Brothers and their Tea Party, Dick Armey founded group, Freedom Works...Stop me if you've heard this before....
Here in France we watch in horror as he is courted by Marine LePen, the leader of France's own ultra nationalistic conservative right wing Front National. They both use their conservative Catholic ideology as crutches to prop them up. Both LePen and the far right advisor and Interior Minister to Nicolas Sarkozy, Claude Gueant, have been very close to The Koch Brothers and have admires and students of the techniques of groups like Freedom Works. They count on exploiting the natural economic and racial paranoia of the ignorant to further their own grasp on power. Stop me if you'e heard this one before....
You ask, how can people be so stupid? How can they make the same mistakes over and over again? How can forty nine percent of American Republicans believe that President Obama won reelection thanks to the allegedly illegal work of a group that no longer exists, according to a Public Policy Polling survey?

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) was at the center of anti-Obama energy in 2008, when Republicans cited some faulty registration forms obtained by ACORN as proof of voter fraud. The charge was particularly potent, since Obama hired one of the organizations associated with ACORN to run voter turnout for him in the primary.

But in 2010, ACORN filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, putting an end to the community organizing effort altogether. Still, the fact that ACORN no longer exists hasn’t stopped the group from serving its role as scapegoat. Fifty two percent of Republicans blamed ACORN for Obama’s win in 2008, saying that they “stole” the election for him. That number only dropped by 3 percent, and 49 percent blame ACORN this time around.

The same forces, the conservative ignorant nationalism that drove Austria into multiple disasters and is now creating a cataclysm in Hungary are hard at work fueled by the same generic specie of manipulative psychopaths. The denial of racism and the scapegoating of immigrant groups was the back beat of our last presidential campaign. The Tea Party is an ignorant mob controlled by the wealthiest, greediest forces at large on the planet. Obviously, if 49% of Republicans believe that a black man won the presidency by the dishonest dealings of a group which does not even exist, somebody is pulling their strings...Stop me, if you've heard this one before...If you were paying attention, you might have noticed that Marine LePen visited The USA during her recent failed presidential campaign to establish connections with the Tea Party, the Koch Brothers, Freedom Works...luckily for France, she not only lost big, her party was reduced to only one member in the present legislature, her little sister.

Freedom Works, The Tea Party, The Koch Brothers, Dick Armey and FOX NEWS! The same sad story, over and over again, now it's your turn. No, you can't stop me....