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I've read remarks by Representative James Clyburn (D, South Carolina). He said Trump reminds him of Hitler and says he has to remind people that Hitler was elected chancellor by the German people. This old, ignorant trope betrays an ignorance of basic history.

Adolf Hitler was not elected chancellor. He was appointed chancellor by President Hindenburg. Nazis had peaked at about 40% of the vote and had declined. With this apparent weakness in mind, the political establishment decided they could entangle and control Hitler in a coalition government. Hitler was made chancellor by a back room political deal, not an election.

As a matter of fact, the Nazis did not receive a majority of votes until after they had seized control of the press and abolished other parties.

Heck, I knew that before I reached ninth grade. Representative Clyburn still doesn't know that? And his college degree is in history!

George Santayana famously said those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. If you invent your history, however, you can learn whatever you want from it. Because that's what Representative Clyburn is doing.

timon_phocas 9 Mar 21
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1

There are two claims Clyburn's making:

  1. Comparisons between Trump and Hitler. Godwin's law was frequently invoked by Glenn Beck and Huckabee about Obama during his 8 years. They tended to do so in bad faith, simultaneously equating his policies with the more superficial aspects of communism, socialism, and the National Socialists. Also, they noted his populist rhetoric, which was successful in building working class support to the NSDAP.

So are these comparisons with Trump also in bad faith or simplistic? They certainly share the populist messages that tend to garner support from the working class - land reform, employment initiatives, being tough on crime, increasing pensions, improving healthcare delivery (see the NSDAP 25-point programme for the entire list). These similarities exist, but they are not the problematic ones. The problematic similarities between Hitler and Trump lie in their willingness to direct the dissatisfaction of their followers towards a scapegoat out-group. Regardless of whether you think an illegal immigrant is deserving of the rights of a tax-paying, legal immigrant, it is obvious that a campaign to fix illegal immigration should be low priority based on a cost-benefit comparison between it and more pressing issues (the opioid crisis, corruption, a transitioning energy economy).

  1. Hitler was elected chancellor vs. the Nazi party did not receive a majority of votes.
    Firstly, Trump did not receive a majority of votes either. Rather, he won due to the deviations from the popular vote inherent to all representative democracies and idiosyncratic only to the US's AFAIK. Similarly, Hitler did not win a majority of votes, but was eventually appointed due to the Weimar Republic's representative idiosyncracies (repeated elections resulting in no governing coalition in their Parliament leading to high ranking officials recommending perennial screw up Hindenburg to appoint him. In short, he wasn't exactly elected in the purest sense of the word, but neither was Trump and thus this is a point of similarity, not of difference.

Howdy kingtet,

Interesting reply.

National popular vote losses combined with electoral college victories are a fairly common feature of American elections. It is, after all, how we got Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. All were elected with minorities of the popular vote. It did not make them illegitimate or make their administrations similar to Hitler's chancellorship.

The real reason conservatives object to comparisons of Trump with Hitler is that Hitler was a totalitarian monster. Within six months of being appointed chancellor he had abolished freedom of the press and assemby, outlawed opposition parties and begun the deadly work of concentration camps.

Is the New York Times controlled by Trump? Is MSNBC off the air? Are Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi living in the Colorado Supermax? If the answers are no, then Trump is no Hitler.

1

Even so , we are still responsible for the things we give consent to . Knowingly giving place to evil , is evil . People have problems because people want this corruption . They depend on government to rob their neighbors , for their gain .

2

guys i here you all dismissing this person as an idiot and moron. at least a couple of you pointed out it is propaganda.
the masses do not typically study history or the rise of the nazi party or the ability to guard themselves from the propaganda used by that parties literature, i hate to say, if the name and photograph was changed.
the best and the brightest of the third reich were brought to america to continue the works that they had started in germany during the war. not just a rocket scientist and a nuclear physicist.
red white and black flag evil. you evil. you red white and black flag.
both sides use it all the time. you all are using propaganda right now. infactual statements used to feel superior to another tribe by pointing out that he is democratic, college educated man that may be an idiot.
turn the men and women without collegiate educations against the collegiates', turn the women against the men, and turn the red against the blue.

many of us are here to find common ground, not just mudsling and call people associated with one ideology buffoons.
that is not the way to heal the nation. it is not the way to expand consciousness. in fact, you are participating in the system by acting in such ways.

This is prob the best post I've read on the internet in a couple of years now. If more people thought this way we could really bring about a better world.

2

A man hears ... believes ... what he wants to hear and disregards all the rest ...
On the other hand, Clyburn has been a moron for decades ... did you really expect him to show any intelligence at this point?

Your first sentence says it all. Confirmation bias and ignorance are the biggest threats we face at this time IMO.

1

The deal was made in a back room political deal, hmmmm, sounds a lot like hillary to me

1

Either he knows and is sprewing propaganda or he really believes a falsehood

A liar r a moron

2

As someone with a postgrad degree in History, let me assure you that a degree doesn't guarantee intelligence. I would imagine that Clyburn falls under the Foucault philosophy and other quasi marxist theorists. His intellectual dishonesty is blatant.

Nuts ... and here, all these years, I’ve thought he was simply a moron ...

2

God puts man in leadership roles for God's purpose maybe were just sent not to know I say right now maybe when we all meet him one day trust in God

2

Democrats and other Marxists never let history get in the way of their agenda . They aspire to be Stalin , who said , "History is written by those who have hung heroes . "

2

Clyburn is yet another clueless Democrat.

I think Tucker Carlson's reponse to Godwin's Law is an Occam's razor. If you claim that your opponent is a Nazi, you have just reduced him to the lowest possible position in the "human" food chain. Having done so, you have just given license to the need to eliminate your opponent by any means necessary. That is why calling someone a Nazi has gained so much support among Trump detractors, is so dangerous......and the biggest reason it should be condemned.

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