The Extreme Rhetoric about Extreme Rhetoric (With Bonus Fake Sinclair Lewis Fascism Quote!)

Reason Magazine ^ | 1-11-2011 | Michael C. Moynihan

[DesScorp]

"...The Eliminationists quotes novelist Sinclair Lewis’s quip that fascism in the United States will come "wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." In the days since the shootings in Arizona, an image of the Lewis quote superimposed on an photo of Palin has made the rounds on Facebook and a number of left-leaning blogs. An attack on Beck, Palin, and Limbaugh appeared in letters page of today’s Seattle Times citing Sinclair Lewis’s supposedly prescient observation, and warning Americans not to ignore the signs of a fascist takeover—as so many “middle class Germans” did.

Thankfully, Neiwert’s book footnotes the quote, attributing it to Lewis’s 1935 novel It Can’t Happen Here, though he curiously fails to provide a page number. This is because Neiwert is bluffing, fudging the citation—the (rather unimpressive) line can’t be found in It Can’t Happen Here because Lewis never uttered or committed it to paper. It is, in fact, an Internet quotation; one spread far and wide by the dumb and partisan, despite an obviously murky provenance.

The phony Lewis quote also shows up in liberal journalist Joe Conason’s book (titled, of course, It Can Happen Here) on the coming of fascism in the United States—a threat that vanished, apparently, after the peaceful transition from Bush to Obama. And for those keeping score at home, Chris Matthews, in a recent conversation about Sarah Palin on Hardball, told guest Richard Wolffe that “Huey Long wasn't the most sane guy in the world, Richard, but he said that when fascism comes to America, it will call itself anti-fascism.” As you might have already guessed, the Long quote is also fake."

[DesScorp]

That "When Fascism comes to America" quote that the Left loves so much? It's a fake. Sinclair Lewis never said it. Another Internet Meme is nailed.

[AlexW]

The leftist will say anything to disguise THEIR MARXIST takover of America.
They have succeeded in taking over the media and education.
Next will come suppression of any speech that criticizes them.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Joe Conason is a Keith Olbermann wannabe. Almost as crazy but he goes back a lot further in time than Keithie does for his leftwing nuttinest.

Fortunately, most people have forgotten that he exists because the competition to be the craziest has a lot of new entrants, including Crazy Ed Schulz, Rachel Madcow, Keithie, Lawrence O’Donnell, Katie Couric, Joyce Behar, Chrissy Matthews and Paul “why does my beard itch so much?” Krugman, the marxist from New Jersey.

It is time that we brought back the cartoon series “Looney Tunes”. So much material to work with.