I’ve said it before, I’m sayin it again.

No one on this planet is a Nazi. As in, a member of the Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party. That organization was destroyed by the Occupying Allied Powers.

We do have Neo-Nazis. These guys claim linage to the existing Nazi party. Usually with no basis in reality. No one really cares about these guys.

We do have fascist groups that advocate similar policies to the Nazis, usually with some difference. Some embrace the moniker Fascist and some don’t. Usually these guys are easy enough to avoid, and get very little play in the media or mainstream discourse.

Now, what we do have are a bunch of separate groups that contain some ideas that overlap with the Fascists. Racism and Nationalism jump to mind. Some aspects of economic policy depending on the group (distrust of free trade come to mind here). These groups are not fascist.

However, depending on largely the economic situation in America, and parts of Western Europe, these groups may begin to form alliances. As they merge, along with organizational merging and manpower merging, you will also begin to see ideological merging. Economic protectionists may find common ground with anti-immigration groups, who may see the appeal of white supremacists. Only using those as an example.

If this occurs, depending on the exact some circumstances, you may see populist groups with an ideology matching the earlier discounted fascists. They will however, refute this label viciously. Since we’re seeing these groups form largely in what could be considered a conservative substraight (although its extremely important to note that these groups are not conservative in the least) they will most likely attempt to wear the trappings of former movements with glorious histories. Much like the neo-Nazis attempt to establish ideological links to the old Nazi party.

So, what I see today is the disparate component parts of a modern fascist-like movement in many of the fringe right wing groups. I’m not sure I can link them all under the banner of Tea Party, but I certainly see fellow travelers amongst their leaders.

So, where does that leave us in terms of terminology? I’d argue that these groups could be viewed as precursors. On their own, relative harmless. But with a guiding hand, potentially extremely dangerous. So thats my desired label. “Precursor extremist groups”