The Dirty, Nasty Comparison (UPDATE)

Very Long Post

UPDATE at the bottom of the post.

The other day a friend of mine sent me an e-mail that was supposedly written by a Professor of history named David Kaiser. I thought about posting the e-mail on my blog as it was really interesting to read. However, I tend to try and accomplish due-diligence whenever I see something attributed to “whomever”.

BTW: if you send me stuff, I will use it. But be careful, I do research what I receive.

After doing some very basic Yahooing, I found Professor Kaiser. He has a blog titled “History Unfolding”. Almost from the get-go, I realized this guy could not have written the contents of what was contained in the e-mail. The contents of the email where very much against Obama, but Kaiser’s blog content when comparing it to the email was, in his own words “…are in many ways the opposite of my own.” (Source: Snopes) In other words, there is no way Kaiser could have written the email. He is too far left.

So I decided to do a little reading around the site and needless to say, I did not agree with many of the issues he covered and the way he covered them. One article caught my eye. It was title “Right-wingers, then and now”. Even before reading the article I knew he was going to compare the recent resurgence in the conservative movement to the Nazi movement in Germany 80 years ago. I was not disappointed. Well, actually I was disappointed.

Yesterday a friend for whom I have a great deal of respect wrote ma (sic) an email suggesting that today’s Republicans and the early Nazi party have a good deal in common. The remark immediately set me thinking, because I think that at this point, it is a half truth—and it’s very important for anyone with any hope for America to understand both what is true, and what is false, about that analogy. While the Tea Parties may show psychological parallels to early enthusiasts for National Socialism, they are, in many ways, inferior to them—and nowhere more so than among their leadership. Thus, while they may indeed have dreadful consequences for the United States, the consequences, it seems to me, will be of a very different character. (Source: Unfolding History)

In his very first paragraph, he doubly slams the resurgent conservative movement. This first is obvious: He says he agrees with his friend who thinks the Tea Party and early Nazi have much in common. The second slam was a little more subtle. “… they are, in many ways, inferior to them…” How low can anyone go to not only compare the Teat Party to the Nazi, but to go as far as to say the conservative movement is inferior to one of the most diabolical regimes in earth’s history. That is disgusting.

So I wrote him a note, but the comment was rejected because it was too long.  So here is my comment, unedited. But I recommend that you read his post before you continue on.  Also, read the comments, very interesting.

Good Grief people, almost everything said in the article and the comments afterwards read like the talking points of the media and the progressives as they try to belittle and eliminate the this grass roots movement. Have any of you so-called experts actually sat down with somebody who is affiliated with the Tea Party and actually talked to them? I’m not talking about spending five minutes with them, or asking leading questions. I mean spend a day at a rally, listen to what is being spoken up on the dais. An even better question would be; have you just sat around and listen to what the regular folks at a Tea Party rally are saying to each other? Don’t engage, just listen. You might be surprised at what you hear. Maybe the language won’t be as fancy the ruling class in Washington DC or the educated from Harvard, but we do know what we are talking about.

Any historian worth their salt can make any comparison argument and make it sound well learned and researched. A comparison between the Nazi party of Germany and the current left could also be made valid. So here we go. One of the most revered persons in the progressive/liberal mind (I know, they are not necessarily one in the same) is Margaret Sanger. She was very much supportive of culling the human race of people she considered less than desirable (blacks). Hitler was of the same mind (Jews). The only difference was that Hitler had the means to accomplish his insane scheme.

A very key part of the Nazi platform was “socialist”, and they played it very well. While businesses were allowed to remain privately owned, the government dictated what and how much of a widget (tanks) or a thingamabob (Stuka diver bombers) would be produced and also dictate the price the company could charge. Controlling how business is conducted in the USA is a utopian dream of the left. “Right-wingers” as you call them, have absolutely no desire to see the federal government run any business.

As for some of the more invective descriptions of Tea Party folks, here is where it might pay dividends to actually spend a little time with them, rather than getting your information from Anderson Cooper. There is little to no resentment of any class of people, other than the entitlement class. We are tired of people thinking that someone owes them a living (and I’d lay a dollar or two that most are part of that Gen-X crowd you talk about).

I also happen to think it might be more appropriate to link the Tea Party folks with the “Greatest Generation”, rather than 1890. The Greatest Generation was the driving force that helped America reach her full potential. If that is backward think, then so be it. We are witnessing the future and we do not like it one iota. The Greatest Generation got us through the most devastating economic crisis in history, and then fought off two imperialist empires. As an encore, they brought us the greatest economic expansion of all time. All of this was done because they had the heart, desire, and willingness to work hard to make it all happen. That kind of “can-do” spirit is what we are searching for (OK, so I used one of those slogans). It’s out there, but muzzled by tons of government regulations and laws. These regulations have gotten so intrusive and anti-growth that in some locations you have to file an environmental impact statement just to add onto your home.

Moral superiority is not just a function of the Tea Party. Every political party or movement thinks they have a better way to slice the apple. Liberals are the exact same way. How else do you explain the laws they pass that forbid us to use salt in our foods? Or the attempts to take away the right to own a weapon? Or to tell us that we MUST purchase health care insurance. It is because they feel they know better than us country bumpkins out in flyover country. Whenever I hear the term “for the common good” I cringe because that is liberal speak for “I know better than you, so shut up and do what you are told.” There is no question that Barack Obama is a smart and well-educated man; the problem is that he knows it and too often acts like it.

I will give you props for the “hatred of the political establishment.” But to equate that with a desire for anarchy is just stupid (sorry, I know it might be abusive, nothing else came to mind). We don’t want the federal government to go away, we just want it to stick to the original charter granted it by the Constitution. The duties are fairly simple: raise and pay for an Army, defend our borders and interests, negotiate and enforce treaties, and regulate interstate and international commerce. I am sure I have missed a couple, but I do know for certain that the Constitution was not intended for our taxes to pay for a welfare state, cover everyone’s health care needs, dictate what is to be taught in public schools, or run a multi-national company. We want to Federal government to stop intruding into our everyday lives.

Lastly, I really think you are stretching things a bit when you say the Tea Party’s rise was fueled by conspiracy theories. The only one that I can think of, and it really never gained much traction within the Tea Party, is the whole birther issue. Yes, there were and are folks within the Tea Party who believe President Obama was born in Kenya, or Malaysia, or Mars. But the progressive have Van Jones, the communist who thinks 9/11 was an inside job. Oddly enough, that didn’t give rise to the “Bottom Up” Party. And the whole “grassy knoll” conspiracy has adherents throughout the ideological spectrum. To group the large percentage of Tea Partiers with those with some silly beliefs in one conspiracy theory or another is really going out on a limb.

I challenge you and the other readers of your blog (which I do enjoy from time to time), to not dismiss the Tea Party as a bunch of tin-foil hat wearing knuckleheads. Go to a rally; don’t just get your information from Chris Mathews.

UPDATE:
I think this column by Patrice Lewis over at World Net Daily captures a part of what folks in the conservative resurgance are feeling. The entitlement system is way too far out of whack. Far too many people are abusing the system, creating this massive over spending we are under right now.