Former Michigan GOP chairman Saul Anuzis joins the chorus invoking the political ‘f’ word. Last week he wrote on his Twitter account the day before the tea parties:

Obama’s economic speech should double the attendance of Tea Parties!!! Economic fascism is NOT the American way.


He’s using this term intentionally as a scare tactic, as he told the New York Times:

“Rhetorically, Republicans are having a very hard time finding something that raises the consciousness of the average voter,” said Saul Anuzis, a former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party who recently lost a bid to became national party chairman.

Workaday labels like “big spender” and “liberal” have lost their punch, and last fall, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska gained little traction during the presidential campaign by linking Mr. Obama’s agenda to socialism.

So Mr. Anuzis has turned to provocation with a purpose. He calls the president’s domestic agenda “economic fascism.”

“We’ve so overused the word ‘socialism’ that it no longer has the negative connotation it had 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago,” Mr. Anuzis said. “Fascism — everybody still thinks that’s a bad thing.”

But he does acknowledge that the word might sound a little nutty to people: “You’ve got to be careful using the term ‘economic fascism’ in the right way, so it doesn’t come off as extreme.” Sorry Saul, it sounds extreme and absurd no matter how you say it.