I think some commenters are missing the point. It’s not that Dunn quoted Mao. It’s that she said Mao was one of her “two favorite political philosophers.” If she had simply quoted Mao to make some point there would be no controversy. It was that she held him next to Mother Teresa as someone to be admired, studied and perhaps emulated.

The really frightening thing her is that it is apparent that there is a large subculture that Dunn is part of in which admiring Mao’s political philosophy is considered not only acceptable but unremarkable. It’s inconceivable that any American political figure could survive in public life if they said that Hitler was one their “two favorite political philosophers” but in comparison Hitler was a rank amateur compared to Mao when it came to mass killings. The fact that a lot of people on the left see nothing wrong with admiring Mao should disturb everyone.

We can toss this episode in the box along with their fetishistic adoration of the murderous anti-American communist Che. After some point, we have to stop granting them the assumption they aren’t actively hostile to American ideals.