Could political fanaticism propel the U.S. into an authoritarian form of government as has occurred in other countries, including Nazi Germany?

That's a possibility that should concern all Americans, regardless of political party, says novelist Tom Davis, a retired Operation Desert Storm commander who served as a key advisor to a Secretary of the Army and several Army Chiefs of Staff.

"The common theme of extreme ends of the political spectrum is violence and authoritarianism," says Davis, author of "Empty Quiver," on The Lean to the Left Podcast. "I think at this point we all need to be concerned about political fanaticism, at the moment on the right as opposed to the left."

“Empty Quiver” is a novel about the threat of nuclear weapons in the 1980s that is all too real as we live through the challenges of today with Russia attacking Ukraine.

While Davis says that the Russian invasion of Ukraine "has shown the Red Army to be inept," he worries that Vladimir Putin might resort to using some form of nuclear weapons as a last resort.

"This is a large army that was unable to take two cities that were a four hour drive away," he says on the podcast, worrying that the vaunted Red Army's failures could push a frustrated Putin into more dangerous actions, including the use of nuclear weapons.

Listen to the interview: