Are Obama-Hitler Comparisons Okay?

Are Nazi and Hitler comparisons -- and invoking Holocaust imagery -- ever acceptable in political discourse? Of course I think the answer is no, period. And we've always made clear that such comparisons are not okay for anyone, on either side of the aisle.

But these days the G.O.P. base has gone all-in when it comes to Hitler references and calling our president a Nazi. At times it seems funny on the surface, with the de facto leader of the insane birthers movement on the Colbert Report comparing the Obama Administration to Nazi Germany -- and of course Rush Limbaugh has long since gotten in on the act.

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But it's not funny; it's profoundly troubling, and it takes us several steps beyond just a coarsening of our political discourse. At these too-well-organized "mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore" town hall meetings around the country this August, more and more of these disturbing Nazi comparisons are cropping up -- and they all seem to be coming from the heart of the Republican base. And it has to stop.

I strive to stick to my principles on this one, and my organization calls out folks on both sides of the aisle who engage in inappropriate Holocaust comparisons and Nazi rhetoric. But the shoe is clearly on the Republican foot right now, and it has been for quite some time. So my final question is this: when is the Republican Party going to formally say "enough is enough" with the wildly disturbing Nazi invective being hurled by its base?

I asked this question on Politico's Arena this afternoon.

Follow David A. Harris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NJDC

Comments

[krfauman]

Wow, these people are ridiculous, but I wish I could preach this to someone other than the choir!!!! Hitler preached hate and destruction. He murdered not just 6 million jews, but a total of 11 million people in the Holocaust. He masterminded the building of gas chambers and mass graves. He preached violence and murder. He hated and hated and hated, and he destroyed millions of lives. How on earth can anyone compare Barack Obama just because he is a) charmismatic, b) a moving speaker, c) calling the nation to service much in the way that JFK, FDR, and some of the other great leaders of the last century did. These people need to get over themselves and stop insulting every truly educated person in this country, every Jewish person whose family members didn't survive the Holocaust, and the millions of people who voted for a bright, enthusiastic, charismatic, young leader...who has the fight AGAINST genocide on his "agenda."

How can we make them hear it??

[cartoonmayhem]

I'm getting very queasy at the level of hysteria that is being whipped up by Rush Limbaugh & Co. We're already seen one man shot dead, Dr, Tiller, after months of goading and relentless hammering home the issue. Who's next?

These flash mobs will turn ugly. Do they even know what they are fighting against? How many flash mobbers are under insured, if even insured at all? How many of them are one bad day from declaring bankruptcy themselves? Do they honestly think Big pharma and Big Insurance care about them and will take care of their needs?

Since moving to Canada, I see the U.S. spiralling downwards into a broken people. The day I got my health card is the day I stopped worrying if we would ever lose our house due to a catastrophic illness.We moved specifically because of the health care issue. All our credit cards were maxed out because I had several back surgeries done and the co-pays all added up to $50,000. Our private health insurance started out at $250 per month and skyrocketed to $1295 a month in six years.

These flash mobbers are easily manipulated and or paid off. The U.S. is not a democracy. It is not free market capitalism. It is an oligarchy run by a few large corporations at the expense of the rest of us.

[donnabella]

no, the comparison is not ok. limbaugh is teetering on the edge of sedition by instilling fear and racial hatred of Obama through his radio program.

[milo9]

They're deploying the Nazi invective in an effort to neuter its potency and muddy the water in already muddy minds. They hope to inoculate, with confusion, the rank and file to their self-realization that they, themselves are acting like...Nazis.

[BlackDemfromNH]

This video is so funny because Orly Taitz is so clueless that we're all laughing at how ridiculous she is!

[laylahb]

Thanks for reaching out to Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican member on Capitol Hill, regarding Limbaugh and his rantings. Unfortunately, Eric is on an Aipac trip to Israel, and is too busy denigrating American policy on Israel to get back to you.

On the use of certain symbols and names that are being used by talk show hosts and town-hall protesters, CNN just read a statement from ADL (I think) on their use.

[davism97]

What's ironic is that the radical right wing (aka these day: GOP) actually DOES share many traits with the Nazis.

[bronceye]

Obama is like Hitler insofar as he sits in the same office that bush once sat in. They are scraping the bottom of the barrel now. What will they use for defamation for the next 3 1/2 yrs.?

[babaann]

I don't get it. There is no comparison.

[hackerblaster]

You didn't watch the whole thing then.

[hrholmes]

This is why I am a member of the Colbert Nation! lmao

[hrholmes]

I have always felt and observed for years that Nazi likeness was the epitome of the Bush - Cheney administration. Gitmo, rendition, torture, Iraq, Afghanistan etc etc. They are more than just parallels.

[Chiron090]

Exactly, Hitler was frequently a Bush admin. comparison used in progressive demonstrations, but the parallels actually fit. I mean, they used illegal surveillance methods in order to round up hoards of brown people with Arabic sounding names and a Muslim faith and locked them up in offshore detention centers for indefinite periods where they were subjected to torture. If that isn't an apt comparison to the beginnings of Hitler's evil program I don't know what is. Obama on the other hand is being called Hitler for attempting to give ALL Americans health insurance. Yes, Obama is sooooo evil. What a monster.

[Prudens]

People have equal rights of expression or they dont. There were some who did openly compare Bush to Hitler. Their method of protest was not stifled. If it is acceptable (in a legal sense) to do this to Bush, it is acceptable to perform this kind of political protest in relation to any politician. Whether you agree with it or not is not relevant. I dont think Bush or Obama were/are anything close to Hitler. Before people start shouting about Bush, I just suggest you read a few books about the enormity of Hitlers excesses.

That being said, the point is equal right of protest. What goes for one goes for all. This is a principle that transcends political affiliation. We should all staunchly defend the right to protest. It is in everyones best interest, Democrat, Republican, Independent and all others. I dont have to agree with the protest, but everyone having equal right to protest is what matters. You either want equal rights for all, or rights for none. Taking the right to equally protest from one group simply opens the door for someone to do it to you next.

[PathofTotality]

The only time someone should be compared to Hitler is if they are doing what he did. Beyond that, it's never OK regardless of political views. I have yet to see any of our Presidents act like Hitler in any way, shape or form.

I few these instances as frustration due to ignorance and proding from people who should know better.

[bobduck]

Well said.

[labman57]

The problem with using a rational, cogent argument against those who want to label Obama as a fascist is that these people are not interested in hearing a rational, cogent argument.

They use the term "fascist" or "socialist" because they know these are loaded, emotion-evoking words that will stir up a passionate fear and hatred among the flock. They assume that most of their listeners and constituents do not have more than a rudimentary understanding of what these labels actually mean. And they would prefer to keep it that way.

The terms "fascist" and "Nazi" get thrown around far too loosely by people at both ends of the political spectrum, and it insults the memory of those that had to live through (or died because of) the policies of a truly fascist regime.

[Prudens]

Your post is well received labman.

I agree with you on the word "fascist". It is a word used by commentators on both sides of the political isle as a tool to evoke emotion, not deliberate thought. Depending on how you interpret (based on historical context or intent) the word fascist, it could be rationalized to describe Bush or Obama. Not true fascists but that is another topic. That being the case, what is the point? I agree, anyone who too quickly invokes facist, nazi, marx, hitler, aryan or terms along that vein are generally looking to distract, not communicate.

[Sassie]

Deceptacons (Repugs) will discredit information rather then use facts because they know if it comes down to facts they would come up empty handed. One of the favorites used by Repugs is good ole' fear mongering. The message will have a very negative overtone with no hope in sight, i.e. Euthanasia for Seniors. (Give me a break!) You are all in for it now! Terror! Fear! Murder! The insurance companies don't care if they scare you with the left wingers or the right wingers, as long as they scare you. The deceptacon will not offer any hope or solutions, they will make it seem like reality is set in stone. If that doesn't work, some of them become so desperate, they resort to death threats. They will also state that anyone who disagrees with what they are talking about are wrong, and they may even call other people disinformation agents or fear mongerers for disagreeing with them. Everything that is portrayed of them - they try to reverse and accuse the other side of doing. Calling the President a Nazi or Hitler, or even resort calling the Health Care Bill Supporters "Brown Shirts." How ironic! If you know anything about Bush(es) background, you would know that his grandfather was heavily involved in support and funding of the Nazis and Third Reich. While GWB was president, he and his cabal followed a script right out of the Third Reich playbook.

[SlimPickins79]

George Orwell wrote in 1944:
The word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else... almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. – George Orwell, What is Fascism?. 1944.
Richard Griffiths argued in 2005 that the term fascism is the "most misused, and over-used word of our times".

[AGarcia]

Thanks, nice post.