Whitman on American Inspiration for European Extremism

James Q. Whitman, Yale Law School, has an op-ed in today's Los Angeles Times, with the headline When the Nazis wrote the Nuremberg laws, they looked to racist American statutes:

The European far right sees much to admire in the United States, with political leaders such as Marine le Pen of France and Geert Wilders of the Netherlands celebrating events — such as the recent presidential election — that seem to bode well for their brand of ethno-nationalism. Is this cross-Atlantic bond unprecedented? A sharp break with the past? If it seems so, that’s only because we rarely acknowledge America’s place in the extremist vanguard — its history as a model, even, for the very worst European excesses. More.