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Allan's avatar

Has there ever been a more organized anti American movement (in our history) than the current make up of the GOP?

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TJ Bingham's avatar

Yes. Thé America First movement during WWII run by Father Coughlin.

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Jill Z's avatar

how does it compare to the American First movement of the 1930s? They had 800,000 members...https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/02/06/513240634/america-first-from-charles-lindbergh-to-president-trump

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knowltok's avatar

While there isn't a formal isolationist organization today, the informal 1/3-1/2 of the GOP that is for paving the way for Putin and Xi is certainly larger and has much more prominent elected officials and spokespeople for it.

And to slightly (ever so slightly) defend America First 1940, they at least didn't have the example of WWII in hindsight to see both how dangerous and fully evil the Nazis were. They could also point to the Nazis fighting the Soviets and wonder about the wisdom of getting involved while the rest of the world beat the shit out of each other. They were wrong, and it certainly could have been seen at the time, but I don't think they were quite so glaringly obviously wrong as Trump and crew are.

It is a smaller world now, a more interconnected world, and our oceans aren't going to protect us long term from unchecked Authoritarian axis between Moscow and Beijing.

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suzc's avatar

And they suffered the consequences of their non-mainstream beliefs. There was a line Americans would not cross. Lindbergh crossed it in a speech and was instantly rejected. Though the movement continued (but never became the GOP itself). There was a line even in the GOP up until Trump really and I guess that is his big contribution to today's GOP. He opened Pandora's box and unleashed the Kraken. You can't unring a bell. Sorry about mixed metaphors; unforgiveable.

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suzc's avatar

They were more fifth columnists and propagandists, I'd say. Never sent an armed mob to destroy the Capitol or murder a VP. Though Lindbergh was outspoken and the movement was Nazi sympathetic. Lindbergh thought communist USSR was greater threat than Hitler. He was antisemitic, white supremacist nationalist and so was America First. But the two parties still had principled members. I'd say today's America First movement which has taken over the GOP, in part by the election of some real uneducated and unfit members and the power lust of some others, is more dangerous to the Republic.

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James Ackerman's avatar

Yes. It was called the Confederate States of America. It took a million dead to squash it

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Charlie Hall's avatar

The Confederate States of America. Other than that, no.

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suzc's avatar

Nope.

And there was an actual organized nazi movement here in WWII.

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