To kick off Sunday’s Global Public Square, CNN host Fareed Zakaria, praised a “brilliant scholarly work” comparing British and German conservative parties in the early 20th century. The point was to suggest that America was on its way to emulate Germany with the modern Republican Party and News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch marching to create a new Nazi Party to destroy our democracy.
But fear not, Zakaria reassured would-be critics he wasn’t saying Republicans WERE Nazis. He was only saying they’re LIKE Nazis. He said this while the chyron said "Republicans need an exorcism."
Opining about how British conservatism was able to “discipline its extremists,” Zakaria praised “The Tori Party, strong and hierarchical, was eventually able to tamp down these factions and stabilize British democracy.”
From there, he suggested America was headed in the direction of Nazi Germany and tried to draw a comparison between immigrant Rupert Murdoch and an early Nazi sympathizer in the German media:
In Germany, by contrast, the main conservative party was weak and disorganized, dependent on outside groups for help. This provided an opening for a sort of early incarnation of Rupert Murdoch, the nationalist Alfred Hugenberg, who used his media empire and business connections to seize control of the party and tried to drive it to the right. The infighting sapped the strength of its party and many of its voters began to flock to far-right alternatives like the Nazi Party. Hugenberg allied with Hitler, thinking this would be a way to decidedly take control of the conservative movement.
The rest, of course, is history.
CNN pit boss Jeff Zucker must have loved that disgraceful comparison since it took a below-the-belt shot at Fox News and other popular News Corp. properties.
“I am not making a comparison between extreme Republicans and Nazis,” Zakaria hollowly tried to defend his ridiculous comments. “I am making the argument that when parties lose the ability to police their extremists, bad things happen not just to the party but also to democracy itself.”
Zakaria immediately blew apart his own defense when he tried to assert that the Republican Party was full of dangerous people:
Already, much of today's Republican Party has been permeated by extremism. According to a recent American Enterprise Institute survey, 56 percent of Republicans believe “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” 39 percent backed and even stronger statement. “If elected leaders will not protect America, the people must do it themselves even if it requires taking violent actions.”
“These are not views compatible with democracy,” he proclaimed.
But in the course of his ranting, Zakaria betrayed his own disgust for democracy and the will of the governed. After smearing the Tea Party as “radicals,” be lamented how “We are moving into a world where democracies have fewer and fewer gatekeepers” like the legacy media and backroom political deals.
“Once upon a time, they picked the presidential candidates to present to the public. Now primary voters, often more radical than party leaders, have usurped that key function,” he whined.
Of course, there was no mention of the fact the extremist wing of the Democratic Party was swiftly taking control. This is CNN.
Zakaria’s smear of Republicans and disdain for the voting public was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Cadillac and Dove. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the horrible content they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS
February 21, 2021
10:02:55 a.m. EasternFAREED ZAKARIA: In a brilliant scholarly work, Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy, Harvard’s Daniel Ziblatt argues that Britain remained a democracy in the early 20th century while Germany veered into fascism, because the main conservative party in the U.K. was able to discipline its extremists.
For years before World War I, British conservatives faced a threat from anti-democratic elements of their party. Particularly, radicals in Northern Ireland. The Tori Party, strong and hierarchical, was eventually able to tamp down these factions and stabilize British democracy.
In Germany, by contrast, the main conservative party was weak and disorganized, dependent on outside groups for help. This provided an opening for a sort of early incarnation of Rupert Murdoch, the nationalist Alfred Hugenberg, who used his media empire and business connections to seize control of the party and tried to drive it to the right. The infighting sapped the strength of its party and many of its voters began to flock to far-right alternatives like the Nazi Party. Hugenberg allied with Hitler, thinking this would be a way to decidedly take control of the conservative movement.
The rest, of course, is history.
I am not making a comparison between extreme Republicans and Nazis. I am making the argument that when parties lose the ability to police their extremists, bad things happen not just to the party but also to democracy itself.
Already, much of today's Republican Party has been permeated by extremism. According to a recent American Enterprise Institute survey, 56 percent of Republicans believe “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” 39 percent backed and even stronger statement. “If elected leaders will not protect America, the people must do it themselves even if it requires taking violent actions.”
These are not views compatible with democracy.
