Was Hitler right-wing?  Wikipedia says he was, but does history confirm this?  Today's American left would love to be able to assert that Hitler was right-wing in order to bolster the claim that President Trump is Hitler 2.0.

For example, Beto O'Rourke referred to a deceptively edited video that people on the Left claim shows President Trump calling asylum-seekers at the Mexican-American border "animals.  In fact, Trump's comment about "animals" was referring to some of the most heinous people on the planet today: members of the MS-13 gang.  Then, in case anyone paying attention to his comments was insufficiently provoked, O'Rourke added this: "Now, we would not be surprised if in the Third Reich if other human beings were described as an infestation, as a cockroach, or a pest that you would want to kill, but to do that in 2017 or '18 in the United States of America doesn't make sense."

This is not the first time someone on the left has erroneously accused Trump of Nazi-like tendencies.  When Trump spoke about the protests in 2017 that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia, he clearly stated a forthright denunciation of the neo-Nazis and their use of violence by saying, "The neo-Nazis and white nationalists ... should be condemned totally."  Rather than sharing Trump's comment, most media outlets promulgated the fiction that Trump endorsed the neo-Nazis by repeatedly citing deceptively edited comments.  A few days later, giving the media a second chance at getting their facts straight, Trump said, "Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans." 

Unfortunately, the media failed to correct their disingenuous reporting, and thus was born an incident of fake news so notorious that it even garnered its own nickname: the Charlottesville Hoax.

The Left has been calling those on the right Nazis and fascists for a long time.  Given the tremendous damage false narratives and specious definitions can cause, it would be helpful to bring forward a clear definition of left and right wing in America today.

Since the right espouses individual rights and limited power for the government, we can examine the historical record to determine if Hitler and the Nazis' rise to power in Germany was built on these ideals.  What did Hitler say to persuade Germany that he was the best person to lead their nation?  Long before becoming chancellor, Hitler presented his choice of governing philosophies for Germany when he announced his 25 Point Program on February 24, 1920.  Let's examine a few of his 25 points to see how they compare to current events in US politics.

23. We demand legal opposition to known lies and their promulgation through the press.  Publications which are counter to the general good are to be forbidden.

Point 23 of Hitler's program places the state in complete control of the press and hence free speech.  In similar fashion, Democrats have shown that they wish to be able to forbid speech they don't like.  In 2014, every single Senate Democrat voted for a constitutional amendment that would have given to Congress and the States the power to "regulate and set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections."

24. We demand freedom of religion for all religious denominations within the state so long as they do not endanger its existence or oppose the moral senses of the Germanic race.  The Party ... is convinced that a lasting recovery of our nation can only succeed from within on the framework: "THE GOOD OF THE COMMUNITY BEFORE THE GOOD OF THE INDIVIDUAL." 

These ALL CAPS were included in the original version by the way, emphatically showing that the citizen was to be totally suborned to the state.  Current thinking on the Left regards an individual's free expression of his faith to be allowable only in private.  Check with Chick-fil-A and outspoken Christians on college campuses or in Hollywood to gauge the ferocity of abuse likely to come your way for standing up for your beliefs in the public square.

7. We demand that the state be charged first with providing the opportunity for a livelihood and way of life for the citizens. 

The Democrats two months ago released their Green New Deal, which has an overview released by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's office stating that it aims to provide "economic security for all who are unable or unwilling to work."  Most, if not all, of the Democrats currently running for president have come out in favor of the Green New Deal.

17. We demand a land reform suitable to our needs, provision of a law for the free expropriation of land for the purposes of public utility, abolition of taxes on land and prevention of all speculation in land. 

The Green New Deal is not bashful about matching Hitler's level of government confiscation, demanding that anyone owning property in America must involve himself in "upgrading all existing buildings in the United States and building new buildings to achieve maximal energy efficiency, water efficiency, safety, affordability, comfort, and durability."

25. For the execution of all of this we demand the formation of a strong central power in the Reich.  Unlimited authority of the central parliament over the whole Reich and its organizations in general.

Hitler was clear that he was in favor of unlimited authority for his government.  The Democrats' enthusiastic welcome for the Green New Deal shows that just like Hitler and the Nazis, the left today relentlessly pushes for the government to gain controlling power over speech, the economy, health care, energy, our homes, and even our lives.  

Fortunately, the right has noticed the Left's growing thirst for power and continues to fight the expansion of government.  For example, when the government takeover of health care known as Obamacare was passed by Democrats in Congress using questionable parliamentary tactics, Tea Party activists rose up in indignation, costing Democrats 63 seats in the House along with six in the Senate in the next election.

Maybe back then some of us failed to see the Left's pursuit of a totalitarian government evidenced by Obamacare, but America today is grateful for the wonderfully revelatory document that is the Green New Deal.  It espouses the largest expansion of government ever proposed in America, and has been endorsed by almost every Democrat running for president. 

Neither Hitler nor today's left-wing Democrats ever saw a governmental power-grab they didn't aid and abet.  Clearly, Trump isn't and never has been Hitler 2.0.  He and his followers are determined to limit the reach of government, understanding that if government grows unchecked, personal freedom and an individual's opportunity to advance himself will gradually disappear.  If we continue to allow Americans to flourish and prosper through their own free choices and hard work, the result will always be America "the shining city on a hill." 

Image: Louis P. Hirshman via Wikimedia Commons.