Obama campaign sign in L.A. modeled after Fascist Mussolini portrait

PJMedia contributor Ringo came across these intriguing Obama campaign signs yesterday in front of a house in Hollywood:

Here’s the sign’s stylized Obama portrait visible more clearly:

Now, you’re likely thinking to yourself: “That Obama portrait looks vaguely familiar. Have I seen it somewhere before?”

And the answer is Yes. Because this particular Obama campaign sign portrait was apparently modeled after various iconic portraits of Fascist leader Benito Mussolini.

Not possible? Judge for yourself:

Almost every official portait of Mussolini released by the Fascist Party had the identical facial expression found in the Obama campaign sign.

This well-known 1934 Fascist painting of Mussolini is housed in London’s Imperial War Museum.

This 1920’s Fascist propaganda painting of Mussolini also seems to have been an inspiration for the Obama portrait, including the deep-set eyes.

Here are a couple more Fascist photos, just to be thorough — and there are dozens more similar pictures of the unmistakable “Mussolini scowl” easily findable on the Web:

Now, I don’t know where this Los Angeles homeowner obtained this particular Obama sign — did he make it by hand himself? Was it manufactured by some outside pro-Obama group? Or is it an official sign released by the Obama campaign? (Post any tips on its origins in the comments section below.)

[UPDATE: Commenters docweasel and Para point out that these campaign signs are widely available online from various sources and even have their own blog and do seem to be sold by a left-leaning pro-Obama company (“Signs are Union Made. … Each sign has the authentic Union Shop stamp printed right on it.“) but it’s still not clear if the “Obama Lawn Yard Signs” company manufactures them or simply distributes signs made by the Obama campaign itself.]

Whoever made it, the Mussolini/Fascist/dictator vibe is undeniable. And even if you were entirely unfamiliar with the famous Mussolini scowl replicated in the 2012 campaign sign, why would any Democrat voter find this particular Obama portrait appealing or impressive? It reeks of Big Brother-ish totalitarianism all on its own, even without an historical precedent. Why depict your lovable candidate as a menacing, frowning tyrant?

Could this be the progressives’ secret love of totalitarianism peeking through once again? Many have already demonstrated the progressive/totalitarian connection. In fact, our own Ed Driscoll previously noted back in the 2008 campaign some extremely disturbing graphic parallels between Obama campaign/cult posters and those of earlier, uh, shall we say movements.

If you are a progressive reading this, you likely imagine yourself the polar opposite of the Fascists, but I ask you to stop and ponder a moment how you, your belief system and your behavior are viewed by others. When we see people demanding greater government power and expressing unquestioned devotion to a charismatic leader, we think “incipient totalitarianism.” You only exacerbate that impression by imitating the very design philosophy of previous totalitarian movements.

Are you sure you’re on the right side of history?

(Obama campaign sign photos all by Ringo of ringospictures.com.)