Sunday, August 09, 2009

Rachel Maddow Nazism is not a metaphor.





The danger of the Nazi metaphor is that it justifies the use of violence to stop such an inherent evil.

Maddow points out that the right wing are now routinely using this metaphor regarding Obama. Here she talks to Franklin Schaeffer about this dangerous tactic.

Maddow: Do you think that calling the president a Nazi, calling the president Hitler, is an implicit call for politically-motivated violence?

Schaeffer: Yes I do. In fact, this rings a big bell with me, because my dad, who was a right-wing evangelical leader, wrote a book called A Christian Manifesto -- it sold over a million copies. And in that book he compared anyone who was pro-abortion to the Nazi Germans, and he said that using violence or force to overthrow Nazi Germany would have been appropriate for Christians, including the assassination of Hitler. He compared the Supreme Court's actions on abortion to that. And that has been a note that has been following the right wing movement that my father and I helped start in an evangelical context all the way.

So what's really being said here is two messages. There is the message to the predominantly white, middle-aged crowds of people screaming at these meetings, trying to shut them down, but there's also a coded message to what I would call the loony tunes -- the fruit loops on the side. It's really like playing Russian Roulette -- you put a cartridge in the chamber, you spin, and once in awhile it goes off.

And we saw that happen with Dr. Tiller, we've seen it happen numerous times with the violence against political leaders, whether it's Martin Luther King or whoever it might be. We have a history of being a well-armed, violent country. And so really, I think that these calls are incredibly irresponsible.

The good news is that it shows a desperation. The far right knows they have lost, they've lost the hearts and minds of most American people, for instance, who want health care. But they also know that they have a large group of people who are not well-informed, who listen to only their own sources, who buy the lies -- for instance, all this nonsense about euthanasia being mandatory, and all the rest of it. And these people can be energized to go out and do really dreadful things.

And we've seen it in front of abortion clinics, I'm afraid we're going to see it with some of our political leaders. And the Glenn Becks of this world literally are responsible for unleashing what I regard as an anti-democratic, anti-American movement in this country. It is trying to shut down legitimate debate, and replace it with straight-out intimidation.
Schaeffer is spot on regarding how angry these people are about the election result and the fact that they appear willing to do anything to stop the entire process rather than accept their defeat.

And they are being willed on by the Beck's of this world.

And, as Schaeffer points out, if violence occurs, the Beck's of this world will hold up their hands and proclaim their innocence. But they are playing with fire, telling a largely unintelligent, angry, audience to "go for broke".

And, as Schaeffer also states, this is B.S., they know exactly who it is that they are dealing with. And yet they are provoking them and inciting them to God knows what.

2 comments:

CJ said...

I understand that if you're watching Rachel Maddow you might not get the real news, so let me enlighten you:

According to Gallup, more Americans identify themselves as conservative now. That hardly backs up the conclusion that conservatives have 'lost the hearts and minds' of anyone one but people who watch shows like Rachel Maddow. Here are the stats:


In 2009, 40% percent of respondents in Gallup surveys that have interviewed more than 160,000 Americans have said that they are either “conservative” (31%) or “very conservative” (9%). That is the highest percentage in any year since 2004.

Only 21% have told Gallup they are liberal, including 16% who say they are “liberal” and 5% who say they are “very liberal.”

Thirty-five percent of Americans say they are moderate.

And here are a few more stats for you to consider:

Fox News Channel continued its cable news dominance in July not only beating CNN and MSNBC combined, but showing the most growth in the younger demo. In A25-54 viewers, FNC is up 48% in total day, and up 70% in primetime, compared to July '08.

FNC had 9 of the top 10 shows in cable news in Total Viewers and ranks as the third most-watched basic cable channel behind USA and TNT.

Cable news' #1 show for 104 consecutive months, "The O'Reilly Factor", is up 37% over July '08. "Glenn Beck Program" is up the most, up 120% over last year's 5pmET show. "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" is up 60% and "Hannity" is up 41%.

So you tell me - who has lost the hearts and minds of Americans, really?

Thanks for dropping by my blog. It's always fun to hear from the open and tolerant left.

cjh

Kel said...

According to Gallup, more Americans identify themselves as conservative now.

That's because the term "conservative" can be read in so many different ways. There are many matters on which I would think I was conservative. However, when you change that word to Republican one gets an entirely different reading, with fewer people identifying themselves as Republican than has been the case for the last thirty years.

So you tell me - who has lost the hearts and minds of Americans, really?

The last election answered that question rather definitively.

Thanks for dropping by my blog.

I'm not aware that I ever have.