FLAIT

I don't watch Glenn Beck, obviously, so I didn't know that he tries so hard to compare Democrats, liberals and liberalism to the Nazis until I saw this Lewis Black bit on the Daily Show. But I'm not surprised, because of course Mr. Beck would accuse the left of being Nazis. He has to to ensure that the same accusation isn't made against Republicans, conservatives and conservatism.

As I pointed out, conservatives and Republicans have to defend their propaganda and "argument" at all costs, regardless of what the truth and the facts are. So they not only play nasty partisan politics to divert attention from themselves and their disastrous record, but they also accuse the left of whatever it is they've done to distract attention from their hypocritical actions (July insert: a couple of good examples, courtesy of Jon Stewart are here). In this case, Beck is accusing the left of "being like the Nazis."

For instance, Obama's "like Hitler" and the Democrats are "like Nazis" because they passed a health care bill that was market-based, handed more customers to the "free market" and was very similar to what Republican Gov. Mitt Romney instituted in Massachusetts. But it was conservatives who intimidated, insulted, threatened and smashed windows after the bill was passed, and Republicans who passed a "papers please" law in Arizona (which, ironically, Mr. Beck opposes).

Um, isn't that what the Nazis did?

The right conveniently forgets that it was George Bush and his Treasury Secretary that asked demanded Congress to bail out Wall Street, which is now used to label Obama and the Democrats as Socialists. Meanwhile, Alaskan oil companies not only hand out rebate checks to state residents, but Gov. Sarah Palin raised taxes on the oil companies so residents can receive more money on top of the rebate.

Um, isn't that what Socialism is...twice?

Beck isn't the only one spouting the Democrats = Nazis comparison. Newt Gingrich is too. Of course he is. But wait, it goes even Fuhrer...ah, I mean further.

Brad Goehring - no, really, that's his name - a Republican running for Congress said:

If I could issue hunting permits, I would officially declare today opening day for liberals. The season would extend through November 2 and have no limits on how many taken as we desperately need to 'thin' the herd."

Um, that's exactly what the Nazis did to the Jews.

Conservatives and Republicans are such hypocrites - also here , here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here - that when they accuse liberals and Democrats of doing x, y, or z, it's really an indictment of themselves. I'm serious. They're the bullies, they're the thugs, they're the political terrorists and they're the ones who are comparable to the Nazis. But by accusing the left of being Nazis, it 1) hands talking points to their moronic base, 2) keeps them in their perpetual state of incensed rage at liberals and Democrats (which is what Hitler did when he got Germans to despise the Jews), all of which, 3) diverts attention from Republicans, and 4) most important, insulates the right from being compared to the Nazis themselves.

It's like criminal suspects, defendants and their lawyers who distract and divert attention from themselves and their clients by accusing someone else of the crime. It's the old "the best defense is a good offense" approach and the right has been at it for decades. And their pros. What proof? When has the right ever been on the defensive? When has the left not been on the defensive?

Want more proof? Just watch a conservative's/Republican's reaction when they're accused of, well, anything. They're incredulous and go ballistic. And their response is an overwhelming counter attack. It has to be since they can't argue the facts.

If that's not enough, there's the right's biggest and longest running myth of all: the conveniently labeled "liberal media."

What the right has cleverly figured out, is that when you're constantly on the attack like they are, and can bully Democrats into submission, there aren't too many accusations coming your way because you're doing all the accusing (and shouting). So they can get away with doing x, y, or z by accusing the other side of doing x, y and z. And since the right has the biggest and most powerful propaganda machine in the world, a compliant media, and a brainwashed base that has lost the ability to think for themselves (assuming they had the ability begin with), they have gotten away with it, and then some (if only governed as effectively).

The right has to do this because if they didn't, someone would notice that they're "just like Hitler" and accuse them of having scary similarities with the Nazis.

So the more Republicans and conservatives blame the left, and the harder they try to divert attention from the right, the more guilty they are of whatever it is they're accusing Democrats and liberals of doing, or being.

So thanks to Mr. Beck and Mr. Gingrich for proving that, and for proving me right, unfortunately. Because that means the Republican Party and the massive right-wing movement is a cult masquerading as a political party that has much in common with the Nazis.

Note: The right will try and deflect my Republican = Nazi comparison by saying that I'm guilty of doing exactly what I'm accusing the right of doing, and therefore, proves the Democrats = Nazi comparison. But there's a big difference.

Since the right's only priorities are nasty, partisan politics, they have to accuse the left of something (that they're guilty of themselves). Because regardless of what the truth and the facts are, the right has to blame, has to insult and has to accuse, constantly, to distract their base and keep them in a perpetual state of incensed rage at liberals and Democrats.

I don't bother with such childish nonsense. Unlike the right, when I make an accusation, it's 1) true and 2) I prove it by using facts, logic and intelligent thought.

June insert: Sarah Palin and Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, with an assist from conservative columnist Thomas Sowell, compare Obama to Hitler.

July insert: The right-wing tea party compares the (conservative leaning) Obama to Hitler and Stalin on a billboard (which was taken down. This wasn't the first time this comparison was made by this crowd.).

Also notice the line at the bottom of the billboard: "Radical leaders prey on the fearful and naive."

If anyone uses "fear" to "prey" on the "naive," it's the Republican "Party." Fear of terrorists, fear of Democrats, fear of liberals, fear of the media, fear of government, fear of the government taking your guns away, fear of taxes (July insert: here), fear of Muslims and Islam (October insert: here and here. Both links are strongly recommend), (July insert: fear of blacks)...fear, fear and more fear. And every word of it is gobbled up by their mindless and gullible base.

So the billboard's correct. Radical leaders do prey on the fearful and naive. If they didn't, there wouldn't be a Tea Party and Republican Party!

Again, when the right accuses the left of anything, it's an indictment of themselves.

This isn't about hypocrisy anymore. We're way beyond that. This is a powerful cult gone mad. Scary, isn't it?

July insert:

In a post on Americablog, Gaius Publius, via a segment by Rachel Maddow, highlighted an accusation made by Laura Ingram that had been used by the left, on the right. So it's an example of the right taking an accusation from the left and using it themselves, against the left.

The post links to a March 25 Daily Kos diary by Billmon where he makes exactly the point I'm making here. In fact, he uses the same words:

Others, such as Daily Kos’s Jed Lewison, have already noted the Rovian philosophy behind (Republican Eric) Cantor’s press conference -- i.e. "the best defense is a good offense." But what’s going on here is actually a good deal more subtle (as in, KGB-style subtle) than that.

The specific disinformation technique in play is one I call "mirror image"...It consists of charging the opposing side...with doing exactly what you yourself have been accused of doing, typically with a hell of a lot more justification. (Bold mine.)

Billmon proves his point with a statement made by Republican Rep. Eric Cantor in which he extrapolated the circumstances of a bullet hole - a downward angled bullet hole in a window in a building in which his campaign consultants have offices - as a personal threat:

DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen and DNC Chairman Tim Kaine in particular are dangerously fanning the flames by suggesting that these incidents be used as a political weapon. Security threats against members of Congress is not a partisan issue, and they should never be treated that way. To use such threats as political weapons is reprehensible. I'm not naive enough to think that letters, statements, or press releases will prevent anyone disturbed enough to commit violence from acting. But I do know that such letters, statements and press releases can very easily fan the flames by ratcheting up the rhetoric. Some will only inflame these situations to dangerous levels.

Billmon does a very good job making Cantor look like a hypocrite. And his post is a must read. But I'd like to take on Cantor myself because he did an excellent job describing, not the left, but the GOP and the conservative, right-wing, tea party movement!

It all started with health care when the right came up with the phrase "death panels" in the hopes that the brainwashed conservative base would believe it (and what do you know? They did!). Then there were combative town hall meetings, jokes about lynching Democrats, and a Democrat was hung in effigy. Then there was Joe Wilson's defiant "you lie!" outburst during President Obama's speech to Congress, and prior to the health care vote itself, Rep. John Lewis and other members of the Black Caucus had to run the gauntlet of hate, harassment and racial slurs. But that was nothing compared to what happened after the vote. A conservative blogger called for vandalism (unapologetically). The followers of this cult not only obeyed the order, but threw in some death threats for good measure. When Democrats called for Republican leaders to make a public appearance denouncing the vandalism and threats, not one came forward.

For Mr. Cantor to accuse Democrats of "dangerously fanning the flames," using "threats as political weapons," "ratcheting up the rhetoric" and saying "Security threats against members of Congress is not a partisan issue" - when he and his sick, pernicious "party" incites, orchestrates and relishes that mob mentality - then he either has a serious mental condition or is one of the leaders of this cult (probably both).

Again, when the right accuses the left of anything, it's an indictment of themselves.

Billmon also writes:

The goal is to confront the public with two sides hurling identical charges at each other...to convince them that it's just another partisan mudfight...

That's exactly how George Bush was able to side-step accountability for failing to even try to prevent the 9/11 attacks. It worked so well, they did it again after Katrina.

July insert: Tennessee Republican Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who's running for governor, accuses Islam of being a cult. Hmmm...

August insert: Republicans attack Obama for the same thing Bush did.

September insert: New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie attended a Meg Whitman rally in California. And after a heckler spoke out, Christie said:

Hey, listen. You know what. You want to yell, yell at me. Its people who raise their voices and yell and scream like you who are dividing this country. We’re here to bring this country together. (Bold mine for its blatant hypocrisy.)

Again, when Republicans accuse...Oh, the hell with it. How much more proof do you need?

November insert: Roger Ailes says NPR "are, of course, Nazis."

November insert:

In a lunatic rant that only his mindless and gullible viewers would believe, Glenn Beck accuses billionaire George Soros of doing exactly what the GOP, Fox "News" and (let's also include) conservative talk radio does: "control the airwaves...take advantage of an existing crisis, wait for an election...stage massive demonstrations and accuse opponents of voter fraud through radio and TV stations that you control..." (billionaire Rupert Murdoch is of course behind the conservative media empire including Fox "News").

Jon Stewart explains, very comically, here.

Again, when the right accuses the left of, whatever, it's an indictment of themselves. And the harder the accusation - using an entire show, with props, as Beck did, for instance - the more they're doing it.

Thanks again, Glenn, for proving me right, again.

November insert: After having conniption fits over made up "death panels" in the Democrat's health care legislation, Arizona's Republican legislature and Republican governor instituted their own death panels. Seriously.

Couldn't prove my point any better.

January, 2011 insert: Turns out I was proven more right then I wanted to. Two people have died from these "death panels."

I guess it's okay when Republicans institute them.

January, 2011 insert: I wasn't aware of this. Eric Alterman:

Eric Boehlert of Media Matters describes one particular incident Beck precipitated during the summer of 2010. For more than a year prior, Beck had focused on the allegedly nefarious activities of a small, progressive foundation called the Tides Center. In 30 separate broadcasts, Beck portrayed the center, which provides administrative services such as payroll, benefits, and insurance to myriad small and startup organizations fighting for social change, as “a central player in a larger, nefarious cabal of Marxist/socialist/Nazi Obama-loving outlets determined to destroy democracy in America,” in Boehlert’s words.

Tides, Beck informed his audience, was staffed by “thugs” and “bullies” committed to “the nasty of the nastiest,” such as indoctrinating schoolchildren and undoubtedly creating a “mass organization to seize power.” (Bold mine.)

Again, when someone on the right accuses the left of anything, it's A) all made up, and B) an indictment of their own actions.

Thanks again, Glenn, for proving me right, again.

January, 2011 insert: Bill O'Reilly defends his accusations that the Huffington Post and progressives are Nazis, here.

Great, keep defending it, Bill. Because the more you do, and the harder you do it, the more it proves me right.

July, 2011 insert: Glenn Beck proves me right again, here.

December, 2011 insert: Republican Rep. Allen West compares the Democratic Party to the Nazis because of their "incredible propaganda machine."

Perhaps he should take a look at the Republican "Party's" incredible propaganda machine.

February, 2012 insert:

Conservative blowhard Andrew Breitbart accused the Occupy Wall Street protestors of being "rapists." It's not true, obviously. But if anyone's a rapist, it's Republicans. No, really, they are!

February, 2012 insert:

Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum compares Obama to the rise of Hitler.

Again, how much proof do you need?

April, 2012 insert:

You know all those accusations from the right about voter fraud on the left? Well, as usual, they're not true (October, 2012 insert: here and here). But if anyone's guilty of voter fraud it's by - you got it - tea partiers and Republicans.

May, 2012 insert: More Republican voter fraud is here.

August, 2012 insert: More Republican voter fraud is here.

October, 2012 insert: More Republican voter fraud is here with a follow-up here.

July, 2012 insert:

Michele Bachmann (R-Not-From-This-Planet) has accused Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison and Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin of being associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. They're not. But if anyone has links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and does their bidding for them, it's - you got it - Michele Bachmann. No really, she does!

Again, whenever Republicans accuse Democrats of anything it's 1) a lie and 2) an indictment of themselves.

June, 2018 insert:

More proof that the Republican "Party" has much in common with the Nazis, is here.