Source: American Greatness
by Stu Cvrk
“Merriam-Webster defines a ‘fifth column’ in its original, literal sense: ‘a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or national borders’. That is a high bar … and almost nothing discussed in American politics today clears it. The term has widened in recent years. Political scientists now treat fifth-column politics as rhetoric, policy, or mobilization against domestic ‘enemies within’. Scott Radnitz of the University of Washington splits it into two types: subversive claims aimed at vulnerable minorities or immigrants and collusive claims aimed at elites said to serve a foreign power. Neither needs a hidden army or single chain of command. Both describe a domestic network—whether organized or not—whose activities, funding, or ideology line up with a foreign adversary, or that treats the U.S. constitutional order as illegitimate and works to replace it from the inside.” (09/30/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/30/fifth-columns-in-america-part-one/