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Why Calling Conservatives "Nazis" is Such an Inane and Incongruous Remark
CHRONWATCH.COM ^ | NOVEMBER 26, 2004 | JOE MARIANI

Posted on 11/26/2004 6:09:22 PM PST by CHARLITE

Once again, we're being ''treated'' to the same tired old cries of liberal outrage. How dare the stupid people of America not whole-heartedly embrace liberal ideas and policies? Why, they must all be mind-controlled. They must all be... Nazis!

The latest in a long string of Hollywood half-wits to invoke the Nazi meme is Linda Ronstadt, who said of the election, ''Now we've got a new bunch of Hitlers.'' Such diverse personalities as David Hoffman (the legal editor of Pravda), Senator (and former Kleagle in the KKK) Bobby ''Sheets'' Byrd (D-WVa), novelist/priest Andrew Greeley, former Vice-President Al Gore, and multi-billionaire anti-American George Soros (founder of MoveOn.org and other left-wing groups) have all torpedoed their own arguments by invoking Nazi comparisons, as have numerous other politicians, artists, pundits, and garden-variety liberals.

''Nazi'' is a sort of pet insult many liberals use to taunt conservatives without understanding what it really means, the same way a three-year-old will endlessly repeat any four-letter words someone might happen to drop in front of him or her. The more you say, ''Don't say that; it's a bad word'' the more likely you are to hear it.

The Nazi epithet is so over-abused that there's even a rule concerning it on the Internet, called Godwin's Law: As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one. Sooner or later, someone's going to resurrect the Nazis... and whoever does so is generally understood to have lost the argument.

Comparing someone to a Nazi involves far more of an emotional appeal than a factual argument, unless the person is, in fact, a card-carrying Nazi. If you're not actually discussing genocide and brutal world domination, the Nazi comparison is just plain offensive. What confuses most people is its frequent application to pretty much anybody to the ideological right of Lenin.

In fact, the Nazis were actually socialists by nature, not capitalists. In a 1927 speech, Hitler said, ''We are socialists, we are enemies of today's capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are all determined to destroy this system under all conditions.''

The word ''Nazi'' is short for Nationalsozialistische deutsche Arbeiter-Partei, or National Socialist German Workers' Party. Hitler came to power by turning the unemployed, the working class, and the academic elitists against the rather conservative German republic. In fact, once he achieved power, anyone who questioned his policies was branded a ''conservative reactionary'' by the state press.

In a widely distributed 1932 pamphlet, Joseph Goebbels addressed the question of Socialism. ''We are socialists,'' he wrote, ''because we see the social question as a matter of necessity and justice for the very existence of a state for our people, not a question of cheap pity or insulting sentimentality. The worker has a claim to a living standard that corresponds to what he produces.''

The Nazi Party platform contained 25 demands, adopted in 1920 and essentially unaltered at the time Hitler took power. Many of those socialist demands resonate far better with modern-day American liberals than Conservatives. Consider the following examples:

7. We demand that the state be charged first with providing the opportunity for a livelihood and way of life for the citizens.

Does this sound more akin to the liberal belief that the government is responsible for job losses or gains, or the conservative position that jobs are created by private enterprise (though helped or hindered by current economic policies)? Does it sound like a demand for welfare?

11. Abolition of unearned (work and labour) incomes. Breaking of rent-slavery.

This is aimed directly at landlords and large business owners. It hardly seems likely that capitalists and conservatives would insist that no one receive any money unless he personally earn it by doing the actual work themselves.

12. In consideration of the monstrous sacrifice in property and blood that each war demands of the people personal enrichment through a war must be designated as a crime against the people. Therefore we demand the total confiscation of all war profits.

If that doesn't sound like today's standard liberal hate speech against Halliburton, nothing ever will.

13. We demand the nationalization of all (previous) associated industries (trusts).

Nationalization of industries is hardly in line with the conservative aim of privatization of industries. It's liberals, in general, who want to nationalize industries (starting with healthcare).

14. We demand a division of profits of all heavy industries.

Wealth redistribution? Does that sound like a particularly right-wing ideal?

15. We demand an expansion on a large scale of old age welfare.

Republicans and conservatives are accused of wanting to halt Medicare and steal Social Security in every election cycle, so this demand for expansion could hardly be a part of any conservative agenda.

25. For the execution of all of this we demand the formation of a strong central power in the Reich. Unlimited authority of the central parliament over the whole Reich and its organizations in general.

Conservatives, who favor more limited government with lower taxes (in order to restrict its growth), would directly oppose a strong central government with unlimited authority (possibly resisting with guns, which German citizens first had to register, then surrender).

Despite the historical facts, liberals frequently insist on equating conservatives and Republicans to Nazis. This is only done to stir up feelings of hate, of course. If Democrats want to know why they keep losing elections, it's because they allow the left-wing politics of hatred to be their public face. Until the Democrats relegate liberals to the minority fringe where they belong, we will continue to see the country slide towards a one-party system, which would be detrimental to us all.

About the Writer: Joe Mariani is a computer consultant and freelance writer who lives in Pennsylvania. His website is available at: http://guardian.blogdrive.com


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: agendas; conservatives; davidhoffman; georgesoros; georgewbush; hitler; kerrydefeat; leftwing; liberals; moveonorg; namecalling; nazis; policies; republicans; robertbyrd
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To: CHARLITE

The next time some Follywood Fop starts whining about The Blacklist, tell them to whine to someone who cares.


21 posted on 11/26/2004 6:54:25 PM PST by Paul Atreides
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To: CHARLITE

bump


22 posted on 11/26/2004 6:56:21 PM PST by lowbridge
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To: Newshues

>One does have to wonder what kind of fit they would have
>if this was posted there......

Hah! It'd only last about five minutes before deletion, but would cause at least a few brain embolisms...


23 posted on 11/26/2004 6:57:15 PM PST by CavalierX (http://guardian.blogdrive.com - Cavalier's Guardian WatchBlog)
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To: gov_bean_ counter
Not just that. In Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich he states that the Nazi party was a haven for homosexuals, criminals, thugs and hoodlums of all sorts.
24 posted on 11/26/2004 7:03:50 PM PST by nonliberal (Up the feces tributary without a means of locomotion.)
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To: CHARLITE

Only difference between Nazi's and Democraps, is that Nazi's loved their military, and didn't exterminate as many humans as Democraps!


25 posted on 11/26/2004 7:04:31 PM PST by Bommer
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Comment #26 Removed by Moderator

To: CHARLITE

The Nazis were Socialists Just like Rats!


27 posted on 11/26/2004 7:17:47 PM PST by Fast1
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To: Slyfox
Is this Hillary's "Reporting for duty" pic?

Well, then, one of you graphic savvy FR members drop a load of 'duty' on her!!!

28 posted on 11/26/2004 7:32:05 PM PST by SlightOfTongue
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To: ZellsBells

Socialists in their various guises killed more people in the 20th century than all the people killed in all the wars throughout history combined.

Socialism tends towards totalitarianism and mass-murder.


29 posted on 11/26/2004 7:42:56 PM PST by Owl558 (Don't tread on me!)
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To: Owl558

>Socialism tends towards totalitarianism and mass-murder.

That's because it's a totally unnatural condition for human beings, and so has to be enforced.


30 posted on 11/26/2004 7:48:32 PM PST by CavalierX (http://guardian.blogdrive.com - Cavalier's Guardian WatchBlog)
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To: AirForceMom
I still can't believe she was elected senator in my state.

I have been studying the General Election county maps for the last two elections. I found something very interesting:

New York lost four counties to the Republicans from 2000 to 2004.

Illinois lost 9 counties to the Republicans from 2000 to 2004.

Michigan lost 11 counties to the Republicans from 2000 to 2004.

That sure sounds like a trend to me.

31 posted on 11/26/2004 7:49:01 PM PST by Slyfox
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Comment #32 Removed by Moderator

To: ZellsBells

Good points -- Everyone should read Hayek's the road to serfdom where he discusses this in Germany, Russia and Italy.


33 posted on 11/26/2004 7:50:28 PM PST by gogipper
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To: SlightOfTongue
Well, then, one of you graphic savvy FR members drop a load of 'duty' on her!!!

Hillary!! Oh, Hillary!!! Where are you????

34 posted on 11/26/2004 7:51:54 PM PST by Slyfox
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To: Slyfox

I passed the red/blue map by county on to my liberal friend here in NY..............she still hasn't spoken to me. Maybe someday..........


35 posted on 11/26/2004 7:52:25 PM PST by AirForceMom (The purpose of life is to fight maturity)
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Comment #36 Removed by Moderator

To: CHARLITE
Not only are they ignorant when they use the Nazi charge, they show they are childish as well. Any 5 year old can call names, in Ronstadts' case she truly is a 5 year old in maturity terms.
37 posted on 11/26/2004 8:05:09 PM PST by Bullish
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To: ZellsBells

"do you think that Stalin really bought all that garbage, or was it purely about power?"

I'm sure these guys buy into it at some level. Do the San Francisco wackos buy into all the socialist BS? Absolutely. But all politicians, even supremely evil ones, have to live in the real world too. Socialism IS about power and control. The basic permission to institute a totalitarian political structure is found in socialist principles. Capitalist impulses must be controlled along with the more capitalist tendencies of the people. That's my opinion, anyway.


38 posted on 11/26/2004 8:13:56 PM PST by Owl558 (Don't tread on me!)
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To: ZellsBells
Thats the deal isn't it...


Neither Hitler nor Stalin was a "socialist". They USED the true collectivist zealots (socialists / communists)to gain what they wanted. POWER.

Beyond all the functional improbabilities of collectivism the main problem with the collectivist religion is that the zealots ALWAYS give absolute power to those who crave it most. Those who crave it most are the LAST ones that you should want to have it.
39 posted on 11/26/2004 8:15:48 PM PST by myself6 (Nazi = socialist , democrat=socialist , therefore democrat = Nazi)
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Comment #40 Removed by Moderator


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