How much difference is there, really, between the far left and the far right? How do the public stances of Michael Moore, Pat Buchanan, and David Duke compare? Proponents of both leftist and rightist extreme views – call them the “Antis,” since they’re best defined by what they’re against – think and sound so much alike, they’ve become soul mates. They’ve moved so far around the political circle they’ve met on the other side, spouting identical positions on such issues as Iraq, the broader War on Terror, and, most particularly, the Jewish state of Israel.
Their own words are the best evidence. Take their view of America’s war against terrorists and Islamic fascism. The two camps, if they can even be distinguished as such, are rabidly antiwar in precisely the same delusional fashion:
“There were no WMD’s. There was no connection to 9/11. This war was a malevolent hoax.” – Llewellyn H. (“Lew”) Rockwell Jr. (“libertarian” head of LewRockwell.com)
“There is no terrorist threat in this country. This is a lie. This is the biggest lie we’ve been told.” – Michael Moore (leftist)
“Iraq had not attacked us, did not threaten us, did not want war with us, could not defeat us.” – Pat Buchanan (paleoconservative)
“There is no credible evidence that Iraq poses any real threat to the United States. Dozens of other nations have weapons of mass destruction.” – David Duke (white supremacist/”former” neo-Nazi)
But such “pacifist” anti-Americanism merely scratches the surface. Dig deeper and you’ll find that for the Antis, the current war only provides more proof of the cunning and manipulative nature of Jews:
“[T]he Bush administration has tied itself firmly to Gen. Sharon and his policies.” [The pending war in Iraq] “looks like Sharon’s war.” – Robert Novak (columnist)
“It’s all part of the same ball of wax, right? The oil companies, Israel, Halliburton.” – Michael Moore
“Who would benefit from a war of civilizations between the West and Islam? Answer: one nation, one leader, one party. Israel, Sharon, Likud.” – Pat Buchanan
“So, for whose benefit does America wage this war? The answer is Israel, Israel, Israel!” – David Duke
“The Israeli puppeteer travels to Washington and meets with the puppet in the White House. He then goes down Pennsylvania Avenue and meets with the puppets in Congress … It is time for the United States Government to stand up and think for itself.” – Ralph Nader (leftist former presidential candidate)
“The Founding Fathers of the United States deeply feared that a foreign government [like Israel] might gain this level of control over a branch of the United States government, and their fears have been vindicated.” – Juan Cole (leftist University of Michigan history professor)
The Antis, though, won’t concede that they are first and foremost anti-Semites. As they would have it, they’re just honest critics of malevolent Jews:
“They charge us with anti-Semitism – i.e., a hatred of Jews for their faith, heritage, or ancestry. False. The truth is, those hurling these charges harbor a ‘passionate attachment’ to a nation not our own that causes them to subordinate the interests of their own country and to act on an assumption that, somehow, what’s good for Israel is good for America.” – Pat Buchanan
“But if you care to lay out the clear and copious evidence of … Israel’s obvious foreknowledge of the attacks of 9/11, then you are automatically labeled ‘anti-Semitic,’ probably the most hateful and onerous title that can be conferred on a human being.” – David Duke (referring to a theory popularized by Antiwar.com’s Dennis “Justin” Raimondo)
“Certainly, there are a number of stories sloshing around the news now…The purveyor of anthrax may have been a former government scientist, Jewish…with the intent to blame the anthrax on Muslim terrorists. Rocketing around the web and spilling into the press are many stories about Israeli spies in America at the time of 9/11….” – Alexander Cockburn (columnist and editor of far-left magazine Counterpunch)