“It reminds me of what Sinclair Lewis once said, he says: 'When fascism comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross.’”
December 23, 2007 - Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) explained to Tim Russert of Meet the Press that in the above statement, he was not calling presidential contender and Republican competitor Mike Huckabee a fascist, but the image of a cross planted in a recently released Huckabee campaign ad brought the quote to his mind.
However, Paul does believe that the United States has adopted fascist leanings. Changes in the country's tone, says the Congressman, such as the USA PATRIOT Act, questioning dissenters' patriotism during the war, and civil liberties abuses indicate corporatism, or "soft fascism”, namely a stronghold by the military-industrial complex on society.
"So," said Russert, "you think we're close to fascism?"
Mentioning a documentary entitled "Freedom to Fascism," Paul responds, "We're not moving toward Hitler-type fascism, but we are moving toward a softer fascism. Loss of civil liberties, corporations running the show, big government in bed with big business. So you have the military-industrial complex, you have the medical-industrial complex, you have the financial industry, you have the communications industry. They go to Washington and spend hundreds of millions of dollars.
"That's where the control is," says the Congressman. "I call that a soft form of fascism - something that's very dangerous."