It really isn't absurd. It's called 'third position' fascism. It's seen as the middle way between socialism and liberalism. We have been starting to embrace a concept known as 'national corporatism'.
I'm familiar with the concept of corporatism and Third Position economics. It does not strike me as what we're doing, though.
We don't have laissez-faire capitalism.
Right, but it's still capitalism. Regulated capitalism is still capitalism.
Does the phrase 'too big to fail' ring any bells? Fascist.
If you're referring to the bank bailouts, that's Keynesian stimulus, isn't it? My immediate guess is that the fascist state either nationalizes banks entirely or places such overwhelming restrictions on them that they are in essence controlled by the state. Unless I'm living under a rock right now, that is not even close to what's happening in the United States.
NDAA (with Obama's pet indefinite detention clause) and the Patriot Act? Fascist.
Authoritarianism is not exclusive to fascism.
Seriously, look up the history beyond Hitler on this. America has had a long love affair with fascism- we've just ignored the term as it is associated with Nazis.
What? Parts of the population, sure, but the country itself has fetishized "liberty" and other such things far more than its ever courted fascism.
Besides, I always associate the term more with Mussolini's Italy than anything.
People are 100% correct when they say that Obama isn't a socialist when that idea comes up. He most definitely is not.
On this we are in agreement.
He's a fascist and he was continuing what was started before he came into office.
Not quite.
Let's go ahead and assume he's a supporter of corporatist or third position economics for a moment. That doesn't make him a fascist. It might make him some sort of social democrat, but not a fascist. Fascism is about a lot more than just economic policy; he doesn't fit the bill in a myriad of other ways. The first things that pop into my head are the lack of palingenetic nationalism or the fact that he pushes for LGBT rights.
The Bush family were known fascist sympathizers. Clinton really started that ball rolling after Bush Sr's NWO speech though. Fascism is the way of globalism.
I've never heard a fascist support neoliberal globalization.