[J. L. Chamberlain]

You know, I've seen this canard posted so many times that I'm just tired of it.

The NDSAP WERE rabid social conservatives. So much so that they lurched over the edge into a racial purity mania that led to their destruction. That the Nazi's were economic socialists as well has little to do with their cultural viewpoints.

That said, someone needs to inform Rep. Stark of Godwin's law!

J

[babyface00]

The problem here is with the terms "conservative" and "liberal". The've been morphed beyond their original meanings so much so that they almost mean the opposite of what they originally did.

Conservative used to mean "traditionalist", Liberal used to mean "open-minded". I think a lot of so-called Liberals and Conservatives see themselves in this way. However, from my perspective, Liberal now means "statist or socialist" and, I suppose, from the Liberal perspective Conservative mean something along the lines of "bigot (or worse)".

Plus, you can dilneate between social, political, and economic flavors of these terms.

The Nazi's were surely social traditionalists, but they were definitely statists. I'd say both played equally in their endeavors. For example, without the power of the state, would their radical traditionalism have gotten anywhere? Without that radicalism, would their all-powerful state have done any real damage?

[okie01]

The NDSAP WERE rabid social conservatives. So much so that they lurched over the edge into a racial purity mania...

Excuse me, but "racial purity" is hardly a conservative value.