Which Political Party Is Behaving Like Hitler Did?
Posted: Sunday, March 28, 2010
by Dan Bimrose
Liberal Fix
Everyone has seen the Tea Party signs bearing Obama's picture with the unmistakable Hitler mustache. Many people have observed the recent Harris Poll which states that 38% of Republicans believe that Obama is doing many of the things that Hitler did.
I must admit I have never been able to make the connection. The crowds that appear at Tea Party rallies appear to be far more Aryan than the crowds at Obama rallies. In fact most of the crowd appears to be a melting pot or mix of ethnicities. I wonder which ethnicity Obama is planning on cleansing.
What exactly is it that they feel he is doing that is Hitler like? As they say "curiosity killed the cat" or more aptly curiosity sent me to Google. I had to do a little research on this topic. I found an excellent website at historyplace.com. It detailed the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.
What I found was very interesting. It even seemed to me that there were a few things that struck me as, how do I say it, Tea Party/Conservative/Right Wing/Republicanish.
I would like to share with you some quotes from this educational site and let you be the judge.
"Germany was in the grip of the Great Depression with a population suffering from poverty, misery, and uncertainty, amid increasing political instability." -- This is in fact pretty similar to today's environment.
"Constant political squabbling among the numerous political parties in the Reichstag resulted in ineffective government." -- That seems like a pretty current statement as well.
"In his speeches, Hitler offered the Germans what they needed most, encouragement. He gave them heaps of vague promises while avoiding the details. He used simple catchphrases, repeated over and over." -- Hmmm, who does this sound like?
"They had no intention of cooperating with the democratic government, knowing it was to their advantage to let things get worse in Germany, thus increasing the appeal of Hitler to an ever more miserable people." -- I do not feel the need to illustrate the comparison here.
"On November 21, Hitler saw Hindenburg again and tried a different approach. He read a prepared statement claiming that parliamentary government had failed and that only the Nazis could be counted on to stop the spread of Communism." -- To make this paragraph current just change the word communism to socialism.
"Meanwhile, a group of the country's most influential industrialists, bankers, and business leaders sent a petition to Hindenburg asking him to appoint Hitler as chancellor. They believed Hitler would be good for business." -- I do not think any of today's bankers and business leaders are going to be writing anyone in support of Obama. Big business loves the good ole GOP.
"Adding to the problem, there were now over a hundred elected Nazis in the Reichstag. Under the leadership of Hermann Gring, they regularly disrupted proceedings with vulgar, rowdy behavior to help undermine democracy in Germany." -- I read this and heard "you lie" and "baby killer".
In conclusion, no I do not think that the Tea Party movement is inspired by the movement of the Nazi Party in Germany even though some comparisons can be made. I am not going to show up at a Democratic rally with a sign featuring Sarah Palin with a Hitler mustache as amusing as this might be.
I choose to engage in calm, rational debate on policy issues. I abhor catch phrases meant to incite fear and anger. I hope that the tools of the Democratic party continue to be sound ideas concerning their policy and not rhetoric. I believe that the American people are smart enough to make a decision for themselves when presented with facts. At least I hope the independent voters in this country are smart enough.
We are not all conspiracy theorists eager to jump on a bandwagon and believe everything that comes out of one man or one woman's mouth. If someone tells me one lie that person loses credibility on everything else that they say.
The Republican Party has a mystifying obsession with playing to their base which will never ever vote for a Democrat. They fail to understand that in order to win a national election you must reach the independent voters. A large block of these independent voters are desperately seeking sound solutions and will never ever be reached by appealing to their emotions or inciting anger and fear.
All of the above quotes are from one of the following three pages.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/elect.htm
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/collapse.htm
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/runs.htm
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Interesting view -- if you were to read Hitler's "enabling act" of the 1930s side by side with the "patriot act" You could easily believe the same person wrote both.Please log in to respond to this comment.Hey Terry, I will look into this. Thanks for commenting.Please log in to respond to this comment.
Good article Dan. Keep your eye on the rise of Christian militias. With the rise of the Christian right came the demise of the U.S.Please log in to respond to this comment.
Five StarsDan, it is obvious there were some very sore losers in the last Presidential Election who intend on overcompensating, no matter how ridiculous the assertions, for the criticisms heaped on Bush. There has never been a flagrant disrespect for the democratic process or the Constitution as there was during the Bush years. We are still paying for it. - GPlease log in to respond to this comment.
Very nicely stated. Good job, sir.Please log in to respond to this comment.
Yes, enjoying reading it, and I agree that the comparison of the current American President and Hitler is not only hugely incorrect, it also demonstrates little or now knowledge of history.The only tea party that I can think of is the one in Alice In Wonderland, which is fantasy, its also a mad hatters tea party and, as some suggest, the writer was on something a little stronger than tea. Now there I can see some similarities with the respective tea party members.Please log in to respond to this comment.
I enjoyed reading this a lot, thanks! Some of the criticisms being leveled at Obama boggle the mind with their twisted and irrational "reasoning".Please log in to respond to this comment.
I resonate totally with your article. I have had the same thoughts myself. Any party that sets out to create division endangers the stability of the nation and indeed of civilization. The Tea Party is such a party.Please log in to respond to this comment.
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