“Disgusting” Nazi Analogies
I know I’m probably in the minority here, but the Bush Campaign does have a point in this email I received the other day :
On Friday night, John Kerry’s campaign denounced our use of these ads, and called that use “disgusting.”The Kerry campaign says, “The use of Adolf Hitler by any campaign, politician or party is simply wrong.”
We agree. These ads, like much of the hate-filled, angry rhetoric of Kerry’s coalition of the Wild-eyed, are disgusting.
Where was John Kerry’s disgust when he hired Zack Exley – the man responsible for encouraging the production of these ads as part of a MoveOn contest – to run the Kerry campaign’s internet operation? Where was John Kerry’s sense of outrage when Al Gore, just yesterday afternoon, compared the Bush Administration to the Nazis saying, “The Administration works closely with a network of ‘rapid response’ digital Brown Shirts who work to pressure reporters and their editors for ‘undermining support for our troops.’” Where was John Kerry’s anger when Al Gore in May spoke of “Bush’s Gulag”? Why has John Kerry not denounced billionaire and Democrat Party donor George Soros for comparing the Bush Administration to Nazis. Soros stated, “When I hear Bush say, ‘You’re either with us or against us,’ it reminds me of the Germans. It conjures up memories of Nazi slogans on the walls, Der Feind Hort mit (‘The enemy is listening’).” Why has Kerry not spoken out against filmmaker Michael Moore who last October compared the Patriot Act to Mein Kampf. “The Patriot Act is the first step. ‘Mein Kampf’ – ‘Mein Kampf’ was written long before Hitler came to power.” We created this web video to show the depths to which these Kerry supporters will sink to win in November.
Now I disagree with that last sentence (obviously) and I think most of the attacks in their list are either unfair (the MoveOn stuff) or against points that are arguably true. I agree with both sides however that Nazi analogies are disgusting and uncalled for. It all reminds me of this classic Tom Tomorrow strip :
But there are two additional reasons why the Nazi analogies are bad ideas :
Let’s get a little perspective here, people. There are hundreds of reasons why Bush is an awful, awful president that don’t make us look like jackasses.
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Bush and Kerry don’t have control on everyone who supports them nor do they want it. The surrogates say the stuff they can’t. I think everyone should stop the fake indignity and take the gloves off. Let’s have a real free-for-all and enjoy it.
Comment by Becky — June 28, 2004 @ 10:59 am
I’m sorry, but that’s just a silly idea. A free-for-all? You would have this election pander to the worst instincts in all of us, never rising above anything more than name calling and finger-pointing? You would rather campaigns try even harder to avoid appealing to your intellect? Not me. I don’t want to choose my President based on the person who has the worst caricature.
Comment by E-Rock — June 28, 2004 @ 11:36 am
There’s a huge difference between saying “Bush is a Nazi” and saying something to the effect of “some of the changes in American society since 9/11 are disturbingly similar to things that happened in Germany during the Nazi rise to power in the 30s.” People like Limbaugh are going to tar both statements with the same brush: “The liberals are calling us Nazis.”
Even small steps in the general direction of fascism need to be recognized, pointed out, and challenged. Nazi Germany didn’t get that way overnight. Nazi Germany didn’t get that way because the German people are more prone to evil deeds than we are. It does us no good to remember the lessons of Nazi Germany if we aren’t willing to speak up until the day we start shoving Muslims into gas chambers. On that day I really don’t want us to have to say, “oh, by the way, didn’t want to make a big deal out of it before? …but we’re Nazis now.” Especially since on that day Rush will just say “don’t be ridiculous! The Nazis killed MILLIONS!”
Comment by Hamilton Lovecraft — June 28, 2004 @ 3:56 pm
The nazi and propaganda only fits the right because the bush administration is a fascist govt trying to push propaganda to the masses. I find it funny that they try to pin their own weaknesses on the left
Comment by SeaTurtle — June 28, 2004 @ 7:32 pm
No soup for you!
Comment by Mark Spittle — June 28, 2004 @ 8:16 pm
What’s most interesting about this post is that based on what I know, all of the Nazi analogies listed can be disputed (which does not, of course, defeat the argument that all Nazi analogies are bad).
As for the MoveOn campaign, nowhere did MoveOn or Zack Exley encourage Hitler-Bush comparisons. Sure, the submitted commericals themselves were stupid, but blaming them on Zack is like blaming The Talent Show for any comments made in this section.
I happen to think the “Digital Brownshirts” comparison was, for the most part, true. Follow an RNC spin-point some time and watch it get pushed from the fringe to the middle by people who should not have any power with the media but do simply through force of will.
Bush’s Gulag – Let’s just wait and see how long Guantanamo exists. Given what we know about the conditions there, “Gulag” might be accurate. The sentiment – lock up those who might be dangerous and throw away the key – is certainly the same.
Patriot Act = Mein Kampf, but Kampf was written before Hitler came to power. A bit of bad news: The Patriot Act’s first draft was written in the early 1990’s, I believe in 1992. A librarian at my college dug up that info.
Soros – that was just a stupid comment.
I have to agree that the use of/comparison to Nazi images is counterproductive except to energize one’s hardcore supporters, regardless of the aptness of the analogy. Comparison to fascism are a little different. Go search the archives of Orcinus (dneiwert.blogspot.com) for some good comparisons between the US now and Germany in the 1930s.
But I still maintain most of the listed analogies were eerily apt.
Comment by Legendary Grace — June 28, 2004 @ 9:56 pm
Am I to understand that if Kerry were to be elected, you would draw a parallel between Mein Kampf and Kerry’s book, A Call to Service, simply because it would have been written before his Presidency? Would it be eerily apt? The point is that you could strive to compare anything the administration did to things done in Nazi Germany, and if you tried hard enough you could find a connection, but that would neither make the analogy apt, appropriate, nor helpful.
Comment by E-Rock — June 29, 2004 @ 7:16 am
But John Kerry didn’t put a “Bush Supporters/Hitler” video on his official website.
Bush did put a “Kerry Supporters/Hitler” video on his website.
I thought Bush was supposed to be raising the level of discourse.
Comment by Uncle Mike — June 29, 2004 @ 9:00 am
what’s in a word? The comparison of the Bush regime with the Hitler regime is a valid one. Ministry of Propaganda. Fake reasons for going to war. Fake enemies of the state. Gestapo to keep people afraid—I’ll admit that Ashcroft spent more time on whores in New Orleans than he did on terrorists, but there are a lot more whores than there are terrorists. It’s like the War Minister who said there were more targets in Iraq than in Afghanistan, even if Iraq didn’t do anything to us.
maybe “Nazi” is a demagogic word, but no one really knows what it means anyway beyond “fascist,” so why make an issue of it? If the Bushitters don’t want to be compared with Hitler’s Germany, then let them stop ACTING like Hitler’s Germans in the Nationalsozialist party.
They can start by restoring our democracy.
Comment by Sam Snedegar — July 3, 2004 @ 1:48 am