[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

In that in a parliamentary system the leader is never directly elected by the people, Rush is right. But the NSDAP had been getting bigger and bigger election results prior to taking over. Then his party (he) was elected in the same way the government of the old USSR was elected -- by being the only party participating in the elections

There's something in the article by Rush that reminds of an old (60's) movie entitled "Wild In The Streets" -- where these bunch of hippies (can logically be compared to Nazi's for the sake of comparative purposes) get the US Congress all hopped-up drunk and the Congress passes laws they wouldn't have ordinarily passed had they been sober. (Does anyone else remember that part of the movie?)

In the same way, Hitler and his party was conniving in the way they used Hindenburg to achieve their purposes (a means to an end -- getting ahold of power).

This also smacks of the way BJ Clinton did his infamous "triangulating" thing to put himself "above the forray" make himself to be more "holier-than-thou" to suit his political purposes.

[antiRepublicrat]

Hitler also had his national tragedy, the burning of the Reichstag, to gather the people behind him in a nationalistic frenzy to rid the country of those who did or might do evil. The following Enabling Act gave him the power he needed to take complete power.

People should remember that chain of events when looking at 9/11 and the subsequent legislation also passed quickly in a nationalistic fervor.