a.) "Your oath is not a mere formality; you do not swear this oath to someone unknown to you. You do not swear in hope, but with certainty. Fate has made it easy for you to take this oath without condition or reservation.... You have the enormous joy of taking an oath to a man who is the embodiment of a leader. You take an oath to the fighter who demonstrated his leadership... who always acts correctly and who always chose the right way, even when at times the larger part of his movement failed to understand why...."
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b.) I . . .swear and/or affirm that during my term of office I will not actively, publicly, or financially support the election of any candidate other than the Republican Candidate in a partisan unitary, general or special election, or a registered Republican
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c.) "Loyalty not only in deed, but in character is demanded of you...The power and effectiveness of a good organization is even greater when discipline prevails...Be ever a servant of the whole, within the movement as well, and never forget that only the whole movement, not a part of it, can guarantee victory and the conquest of the future..."
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d.) "I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."
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e.)NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2003, as Loyalty Day. I call upon all the people of the United States to join in support of this national observance. I also call upon government officials to display the flag of the United States on all government buildings on Loyalty Day.
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f.) "You take an oath to a man whom you know follows the laws of providence, which he obeys independently of the influence of earthly powers, who leads the people rightly, and who will guide our fate. Through your oath you bind yourselves to a man who — that is our faith — was sent to us by higher powers. Do not seek Adolf Hitler with your mind. You will find him through he strength of your hearts!
Adolf Hitler is Germany and Germany is Adolf Hitler. He who takes an oath to Hitler takes an oath to Germany!"
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calvin.edu
protestzone.com
whitehouse.gov
"I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."
Slate
One Nation Under Bush
October 29, 2004
All officers of the SS were required to take the loyalty oath. Raising their right hand and their left hand placed on their officers sword, the oath went as follows: "I swear to thee, Adolph Hitler as Fuhrer and chancellor of the German Reich, my Loyalty and Bravery. I vow to thee and the superiors whom those shall appoint, obedience until death, so help me God."
Jim Harris
World War II Stories: In Their Own Words
"Sure, only here they'll call it anti-fascism."
Huey Long
When asked if fascism could ever come to America
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Last summer, not very long before I quit blogging, I wrote about an incident in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, in which some local Republicans decided it would be great fun to have a couple of companies from the local Army base attend a Bush campaign rally, in unit formation, wearing special t-shirts emblazoned with the American flag and bearing the label "I am an American soldier" on the back. The fort's commander, one Col. Danny Nobles, did his troops one better: He showed up at the rally in full uniform.
Now as I pointed out at the time, history is filled with examples of bad things that happened because the military of a powerful state decided to dabble in partisan politics -- which is why the code of military justice generally frowns on stunts like the LaCrosse rally. Authoritarian political movements, like trees, from tiny acorns may grow:
If the t-shirt design catches on, then some other party hack might well develop a proprietary patriotic logo -- something distinctly identifiable as a Republican Party symbol -- to go on those t-shirts. (With their "I am an American soldier" slogan, the LaCrosse GOP is half way there already)
Having the troops all wear arm bands with the new party logo on them would also look kind of cool.
But standing around in the sun waiting for the leader to appear can be hot work, so it wouldn't be too surprising if some local GOP chapters started giving the soldiers baseball caps with that patriotic party logo on the front.
And since you now have all these splendid young hunks standing around in their snazzy party outfits, and since their drill sergeants are also on hand, why not do something fun to entertain the crowd -- like having the troops parade in formation past the leader on his podium. What would be the harm in that?
And if the troops are going to parade, why not have them salute? Of course, using the standard military salute might be a little obvious. So why not create a new party salute -- like, say, banging a clenched fist on the heart, or, better yet, extending a stiffened right arm, fingers pointed towards the leader in a gesture of obedience and respect.
Imagine the effect it would have on the crowd -- all those handsome young heros, marching in perfect lockstep, showing their loyalty to their commander in chief. And if the leader were to give the party salute back, expressing his dedication to the sacred cause of defending the homeland ...
Hah! Let's see the Democrats try to compete with that!
And now we have local GOP Gauleiters in Florida soliciting oaths of allegiance not to the flag, not to the country, not to the constitution, but to the person of the leader -- albeit still an elected one, at least for now.
One people, one country, one leader ...
One step following another.
The truly sinister thing -- and the reason why that Slate story made the hair stand up on the back of my neck -- is that even as these people move, like sleepwalkers, towards a distinctly American version of the cult of the leader, most of them honestly appear to have no idea what they're doing, or creating. I'm not even sure the Rovians themselves entirely understand the atavistic instincts they've awakened in Bush's most loyal followers. But the current is running now, fast and strong. And we're all heading for the rapids.
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