USA: Beacon of Stupid (C-Span Edition)

During this morning's Washington Journal, a nimrod called in to express her support of Eric Cantor and Michele Bachmann (!), followed by an interesting tirade:

The people that drink from the kool-aid seem to think that there is a magical tree of money behind Washington and their theory is that if you want to go on a diet, you should eat more cakes and steaks. And if you want to stop drinking, you should fill your house with alcohol. I mean it's insanity. But what really is scaring the rest of us, the other half of us, is the fascism. I mean the true fascism that is happening in this country today. […] The belligerent takeover of a one-party system.

This caller seems to suffer from the classic can't-remember-anything-before-the-last-five-minutes syndrome. Had she not been afflicted with this terrible disease, she just might remember her hero's advice on how Americans should sacrifice during times of war and (at the time) an imminent recession: Go shopping. But no, that's not insanity in her world. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

And then there's her fascination with the word "fascism." Like plenty of other words in the English language, this is one that is thrown around quite a bit without realizing what it even means. So, as a service to someone who is clearly afflicted, I'll provide a summary of the term, care of Wikipedia:

Fascism is a radical, authoritarian nationalist ideology that aims to create a single-party state with a government led by a dictator who seeks national unity and development by requiring individuals to subordinate self-interest to the collective interest of the nation or race. Fascist movements promote violence between nations, political factions, and races as part of a social Darwinist and militarist stance that views violence between these groups as a natural and positive part of evolution. In the view of these groups being in perpetual conflict, fascists believe only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and have an aggressive warrior mentality by conquering, dominating, and eventually eliminating people deemed weak and degenerate.

Now, does this sound more like the current administration and its supporters or the administration and accompanying sheep from the last eight years? Thought so. Funny how it's never a one-party takeover when your party is the "winning team." Eric Cantor's response to the caller's babbling is just as amusing:

Now as far as a one-party government in here, I think what the public is doing they're finally waking up and everybody is realizing that checks and balances are a part of the system and divided government is something that is beneficial to a balanced debate, and something that can produce a better outcome.

All of a sudden, Eric is interested in a balanced debate. Wow, things really have changed in Washington. What a great day!

By the way, Eric, the public finally woke up last November. It's you and your kin that are still asleep.

[H/T to ThinkProgress]