404 Barack H. Obama: The Unauthorized BiographyFASCISM AS HATRED OF WOMEN
Given the Obama campaign’s systematic vilification of Senator Clinton, Chelsea Clinton,
Geraldine Ferraro, and many others as women, it is interesting and significant to find that contempt
for women was a common characteristic of fascist movements. As Payne writes, “Another
fundamental characteristic was extreme insistence on what is now termed male chauvinism and the
tendency to exaggerate the masculine principle in almost every aspect of activity.” This aspect of
fascism has been termed “radical misogyny or flight from the feminine, manifesting itself in a
pathological fear of being engulfed by anything in external reality associated with softness, with
dissolution, or the uncontrollable.” In Payne’s view, “No other kind of movement expressed such
complete horror at the slightest suggestion of androgyny.” Part of the problem was perhaps bit more
than a few of the German fascist leaders were themselves closet homosexuals, as in the case of
Ernst Röhm, the leader of the SA Brown Shirts, and one of Hitler’s most formidable rivals for
leadership of the National Socialist movement. Obama has been widely accused of the Internet of
being a secret bisexual. His attempt at bowling before the Pennsylvania primary called forth such
epithets as prissy, dainty, effete, and languid from media observers, with the Wonkette blog asking,
“If he bowls like a fag, does that mean he is one?”
FASCISM AS YOUTH CULT
The Obama campaign has been described by commentators as a youth movement, although there
appears to be some question about how accurate this is. If this is true, it is yet another strong
similarity between Obama and the earlier fascists. Payne writes: “Fascist exaltation of the youth
was unique, however, in that it not only made a special appeal to them but also exalted youth over
all other generations, without exception, and to a greater degree than any other force based itself on
generational conflict. This no doubt stemmed in part from the lateness of fascism and the
identification of the established forces, including much of the left, with leaders and members from
the older, pre-war generation. It also stemmed in part from the organic concept of the nation and of
youth as its new life force, and from the predominance of youth in struggle and militarization.”
(Payne 13-14)
Even though fascist ideology was populist, the visible leadership structure of fascist movements
was overwhelmingly elitist, to say nothing of the bankers and financiers who provided the
indispensable cash support for these demagogic political formations. As Payne notes, many
sociologists have pointed out that “nearly all parties and movements depend on elites and leadership
but some recognize the fact more explicitly and carry it to greater lengths. The most unique feature
of fascism in this regard was the way in which it combined populism and elitism. The appeal to the
entire people and nation, together with the attempts to incorporate the masses in both the structure
and myth, was accompanied by a strong formal emphasis on the role and function of an elite, which
was held to be both uniquely fascist and indispensable to any achievement.” (Payne 14)
Today in the United States it is stubbornly assumed that fascism must always be an extreme
right-wing movement, but this is far from an accurate description of the genesis of fascism. Italian
fascism was the prototype for all other fascism, and was extremely influential internationally, and
Italian fascism was initially much more of a left wing phenomenon than a right-wing one. The
important fact to remember is that Italian leftists had played a very important role in efforts to have
Italy intervene in World War I on the side of the British and French, and this made left wing
nationalism a potent and aggressive force after the war had ended.