2. I can see the point you are making about "Fascist apologist," but that might hinge on the other side actually being Fascist.  

There is, unfortunately no doubt about the GOP and fascism; the entire party, and particularly Ron DeSantis. Trump is a gangster, which bears a lot of similarities to fascism. But the GOP as a whole has sadly gone whole hog into fascism. The fact that you don't see that is because you don't want to.

I don't think Right Wing automatically equates to Fascist, but I can respect that you feel that this particular group does so then your comments make some sense through that lens.  I just don't happen to see it that way.  And I say this as someone who voted for both Hillary and Joe as President.  I disliked Trump immensely but not quite for the reasons you are stating.  And I don't see DeSantis as being that at all.  

That's interesting, because just about every expert in authoritarianism and fascism in academia disagrees with you. Starting with the forced birth laws against women, moving on to book bannings, to winking and nodding at organized neo-Nazis, firing schoolteachers, to rewriting Black American history, to hi ANTI WOKE laws, building his private 'Election Law' private army, etc, etc... 

4.  I'll admit it hurts a little to see seemingly labeled by you as an "apologist for Fascism."  With actual apologies here, I just don't get the same conclusion.  

You just did just that, Ross. You are an apologist for Ron DeSantis.

Obviously, we are all also colored by our life experiences.  In posts years ago, you referred to some poor treatment of you by someone religious, and I'd imagine that influences your stances.  

I think growing up in a household full of political scientists, historians, scientists and the like who had lived through the rise of fascism in Italy, Germany and Japan; my own life's reading, and the writing and researching of an 800 page book on the subject had a bit more to do with it, but your attempt at patronization and condescension is noted.

I lived through a Far Left revolution in Venezuela that was both authoritarian (call it Fascist if you want because Chavez was FAR more authoritarian than either Trump or DeSantis), and I saw it pretty much destroy that country.  

And I've spent a lot of time in Scandinavia, and Western Europe in general, and am here to tell you that people there are quite happy with their Social Democratic system. I'm also here to tell you that Venezuela rivals Chile in the 1970s as a target for destabilization teams, but that's a whole other story. 

I went to college, and there the most vehement people shouting others down and aggressively calling people names rather than engaging in actual debate were from the Left.  This was blatantly obvious at the time (30 years ago), and it certainly colors my experiences . . . and dare I say biases?

I was in upstate New York when a caravan of hundreds of trucks covered with  Trump flags, full of armed MAGA creeps invaded, threatening people, blocking bridges, etc. I have a recollection of thousands of these self-same morons attacked the Capitol building, attempting to stop the vote certification, intending to kill the former Vice President and the Speaker of the House, stampeded courthouses and state seats across the country with body armor and AR15s, etc... I've watched first hand as neo-Nazi gangs took over the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office. And I've been observing the progress of the GOP for a long, long time.

If you've read this far, let me just conclude with this.  I'll take a little break from this area for a while as I just don't want to be rude and further upset you.  

Here's your hat, what's your hurry.

I'll still look forward to the book (and read it) as it really does look very interesting.  I'll consider what you've had to say here although I probably cannot guarantee it won't change my mind.  I still won't vote for Trump in a subsequent election.  To me, the danger with him really isn't "Fascism" but rather his enormous ego, narcissism, and inability change course or admit fault.  

Yes, he's a psychological basket case and a gangster. He's also a fascist, though the difference between a fascist and a gangster is slight. If you are unsure what fascism is, as you seem to be, I can recommend you to any number of excellent writers on the topic, the rise of fascism in Europe is pretty well-documented. It's rise in Japan is less so, at least in this country, but I'm hoping to partially address that with the publication of my book and the inevitable following discussions.  

Please do accept that I wish you well and none of this comes from a place of animus.

In other words, "Hey, nothing personal, it's just business.' Well, likewise, Ross.