Populist Nationalists are Birds of a Feather

Jeremy Corbyn shares a lot of traits with Donald Trump. No, Corbyn isn't a fascist (though he has been accused of antisemitism). But they still have a lot in common. First, they are both populist nationalists who want to return to a glorified past that never really existed, dredging up old failed ideas with promises that people can have their cake and eat it too. They are both anti-EU. They both praise dictators and autocrats. In Corbyn's case this includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Castros, Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro, and anyone else who tramples their people's rights in the name of socialism. 

Corbyn was asked by the media about his stance on Venezuela in light of the anti-democracy palace coup that Maduro has recently pulled off. Millions of pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets and faced violent repression, imprisonment, and assassination campaigns at the hands of the government. 

His response was "What I condemn is the violence that’s been done by any side, by all sides, in all this [emphasis added]." 

Corbyn's response was simply Trumpian. Or perhaps, since it came days before Trump's response to the violence surrounding a fascist rally in Charlottesville, VA, Trump's response was Corbynesque. Whereas Trump equated violence by Nazis with that of people protesting Nazis, Corbyn is equating violence of a socialist dictatorship with that of people protesting in defense of democracy. 

Corbyn went on to say "we also have to recognise that there have been effective and serious attempts at reducing poverty in Venezuela." This about a country where Venezuelans are dying from a lack of access to medication because the government won't admit there is a shortage and can't afford to import medicine at its sham of an official exchange rate, where the average Venezuelan is losing weight in what's being called the "Maduro diet" due to a scarcity of basic foodstuffs. I guess there's "very fine people" on both sides. 

As Corbyn tweeted earlier this year, "if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."

Gary Cohn is Still a Collaborator

Gary Cohn is a former Goldman Sachs banker who washed into the Trump Administration when they were draining the swamp. He is presently the Director of the National Economic Council and at the top of most pundits’ list to succeed Janet Yellen as Chair of the Federal Reserve once her term ends in February 2018; or at least he was.

Cohn, who is Jewish, was standing next to Trump when Trump said that there were "fine people" marching among Nazis and KKK members. Cohn later gave an interview to the Financial Times where he said that “citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK.” And, according to the Washington Post, has privately voiced his frustration and shock at Trump’s comments and even considered resigning. While it may seem standard for a politician to condemn hate groups, Cohn’s remarks reportedly angered Trump.

I imagine Cohn is a smart guy and knows a lot about finance, but he has no formal background in economics and no relevant experience in monetary economics. So I really hope his comments have reduced his chances to be in charge of the Federal Reserve. He is unqualified for that position.

Cohn’s reaction to Trump’s comments equating Nazis with anti-Nazis is how a non-bigot should react. So I guess he's better than other people in the administration. But Cohn still deserves the label of fascist collaborator. He expressed no qualms when the targets of Trump’s bigotry were Muslims, Latinos, Blacks, Asians, immigrants, women, etc. Only after Cohn felt a group he belongs to was the target did he find his conscious. Has he never encountered the Martin Niemöller quote? How is he shocked that Jews are also among the targets of the bigots who support the President he works for.