Santorum compares 2012 election to Hitler/WW II

[Witsec7]

Generally, I really try to keep my nastier thoughts about other people in check, and I try very hard not to wish harm on anyone. But for Santorum? Fuck that. I'd be totally cool with him being struck by lightning or run over by a truck or smashed under a giant rock falling from space.

Thank you for validating what's been going on in my mind since Frothys' recent surge.

[finleeport]

I could never understand the Obama-bashing, particularly from Santorum.

I was excited that we had the first Black President in America, but I have to admit that Obama didn't do too much. The only thing I thank him for is that he's not a fundamentalist Christian like Bush or Reagan.

[pomology]

So, let me get this straight.

Obama: Very mildly centrist president, rather ineffective due to balance of power and other factors, knew some people more left wing than he is

Hitler: Big mad crazy fascist, plunged Europe into war, had millions of people killed, committed acts of genocide on hitherto unknown scale

Yeah, I see the similarities.

They are practically twins.

[Visionoyahweh]

Generally, I really try to keep my nastier thoughts about other people in check, and I try very hard not to wish harm on anyone. But for Santorum? Fuck that. I'd be totally cool with him being struck by lightning or run over by a truck or smashed under a giant rock falling from space.

I just wish that his wife needed a medically necessary abortion and, oh, wait....

Maybe just catching shingles from a Duggar would be enough. Painful, but not necessary debilitating in the long run.

[Austin]

I could never understand the Obama-bashing, particularly from Santorum.

I was excited that we had the first Black President in America, but I have to admit that Obama didn't do too much. The only thing I thank him for is that he's not a fundamentalist Christian like Bush or Reagan.

[Witsec7]

They are practically twins.

Right down to their mustaches.

[finleeport]

I guess those are good reasons.

[Austin]

lol - Finleeport. I certainly have my disappointments, but given the situation, I'm not dwelling on them at this point. I will be happy to list them on November 7th. :D

[CynicMom]

Obama wrote a childrens' book, Letter to my Daughters. He writes of famous Americans and encourages his daughters to emulate them (Martin Luther King JR, George Washington, et). He includes multiple races, genders, and creeds. It ends on a message of universal love and brotherhood.

This is EXACTLY like Mein Kampf.

[pomology]

Obama wrote a childrens' book, Letter to my Daughters. He writes of famous Americans and encourages his daughters to emulate them (Martin Luther King JR, George Washington, et). He includes multiple races, genders, and creeds. It ends on a message of universal love and brotherhood.

This is EXACTLY like Mein Kampf.

Aw man, Obama plagiarizes, too?

;)

[ilovetchotchkes]

Awww its so cute when politicians Godwin themselves....

[countressrascal]

Ricky is a F**KWAD, that sums it up

[TouchMeFall21]

You know, when Santorum was going on about prenatal screenings, and obama wanting mass abortions for the non-elite, I thought to myself, "Is he accusing the president of practicing eugenics? Like, you know, Hitler?"

Apparently, yes?

[desertvixen]

In any other election, I would agree with you. But I dare not underestimate the irrational hatred of President Obama and these haters would probably vote for a fascist to get him out of office (well, a caucasian fascist, anyway).

It felt like the religious right was starting to realize they were getting taken for their votes every election cycle, and that the politicians weren't going to do anything about the issues they cared about, and there was going to be a split.

Then Obama got into office, and now it's all about drawing together and compromising because there is a big scary Democrat under the bed.

(And he's not even that liberal!)

[browngrl]

Nope. Let's be fair here. There are only a few people in history it is reasonable to compare to Hitler. Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot come to mind. Rick Santorum does not.

I was really thinking less of 1930 and onward Hitler and thinking more of the early days of Hitler when he was just a nut in a less than popular party. I certainly don't think of Santorum as someone who is planning a genocide but I think of him as someone who has the potential to be quite dangerous. After all, it is now 2012 and he has us (or at least the men ) discussing if contraception should be allowed. So my worry is that this is all the top of a very slippery slope. I think that Rick Santorum and his coterie of fundamental followers has the potential to be very very dangerous - at least to women.

I hope I am entirely wrong and that my fears are entirely unjustified and silly.

[ilovetchotchkes]

You know, when Santorum was going on about prenatal screenings, and obama wanting mass abortions for the non-elite, I thought to myself, "Is he accusing the president of practicing eugenics? Like, you know, Hitler?"

Apparently, yes?

What I really really really don't understand is that Hitler's agenda was primarily about getting rid of the Jews and creating a master race of blonde, blue eyed Europeans. (That's boiling the holocaust down to like, its simplest).

Obama is bi-racial. His chief of staff until he became Chicago's mayor was a Modern Orthodox Jew. So..... When people make that comparison... it gives me a terrible headache as they must have been sound asleep in history class. And obviously he doesn't want abortions to the non elite, otherwise, his health care plan would not have required insurance companies to NOT see pregnancy as a "pre existing condition". Also unless the CBS website is lying to me, no federal funds are being used for abortions unless in cases of rape, incest or health of the mother...

[FlorenceHamilton]

I was really thinking less of 1930 and onward Hitler and thinking more of the early days of Hitler when he was just a nut in a less than popular party. I certainly don't think of Santorum as someone who is planning a genocide but I think of him as someone who has the potential to be quite dangerous. After all, it is now 2012 and he has us (or at least the men ) discussing if contraception should be allowed. So my worry is that this is all the top of a very slippery slope. I think that Rick Santorum and his coterie of fundamental followers has the potential to be very very dangerous - at least to women.

I hope I am entirely wrong and that my fears are entirely unjustified and silly.

I think about the same things. Let's see...

1.Has a strong belief that certain ethnic groups are trying to blend in but really have a secret agenda to undermine "real" Nationals-check

2. Does not actually fit the ideal National archetype.- check

3. Says outlandish things that rile up his base.-check

4. Is personally hypocritical when it comes to his own life vs the ideals that he espouses.-check

5. He thinks that women should stay home and breed National babies.-check

6. Wants to keep children away from all influence but his ideals. - check

7. Wants to replace critical thinking with group think. - check.

8. He is ready to go to war with the brown people

But then...

1. He is the next in line of a string of disappointments for the radical right wing.

2. He is not an outstanding orator.

3. He has not been to prison to contemplate his evil plan.

Help me here. The list of reasons not to be afraid is way too short.

Actually, I do not think that Santorum is like Hitler. More frightening to me is that so many Americans are actually looking for a Hilter-like character to galvinize their movement. If they ever do find someone to stand at the helm of their platform, we will truly be in danger.

[thoughtful]

As one corollary to Godwin's Law states, when someone plays the "they're just like Nazis/Hitler" card, they are sinking fast in a debate, and haven't a leg to stand on.

Jon Stewart on the subject of comparing people to Nazis:

In 2005 . . .

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-j ... -reference

And in 2011 . . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/2 ... 13579.html

And here's Stephen Colbert (who is back tonight, I am happy to say), on the guillotine comparison:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/1 ... 79905.html

[emmiedahl]

I think about the same things. Let's see...

1.Has a strong belief that certain ethnic groups are trying to blend in but really have a secret agenda to undermine "real" Nationals-check

2. Does not actually fit the ideal National archetype.- check

3. Says outlandish things that rile up his base.-check

4. Is personally hypocritical when it comes to his own life vs the ideals that he espouses.-check

5. He thinks that women should stay home and breed National babies.-check

6. Wants to keep children away from all influence but his ideals. - check

7. Wants to replace critical thinking with group think. - check.

8. He is ready to go to war with the brown people

But then...

1. He is the next in line of a string of disappointments for the radical right wing.

2. He is not an outstanding orator.

3. He has not been to prison to contemplate his evil plan.

Help me here. The list of reasons not to be afraid is way too short.

Actually, I do not think that Santorum is like Hitler. More frightening to me is that so many Americans are actually looking for a Hilter-like character to galvinize their movement. If they ever do find someone to stand at the helm of their platform, we will truly be in danger.

Erm, you're scaring me here.

Perhaps it is unfair to compare them to Nazis, but fascists certainly. If Santorum had his way, I would be kicked out of college and never see a degree. And at the same time, we would lose food stamps, subsidized housing and Medicaid for the children, perhaps even public schools. If this happened to hundreds of thousands of American families, there would be massive consequences. Like, the kind of consequences where children are starving to death. It's not a Holocaust, but pretty damn close.

[JenniferJuniper]

Aside from his off-the-wall position on contraception, this guy has come out against public education.

In his world, you either home skool your kids or you pay to send them to private school. I can see why the Duggars love him, but the guy is certifiably nuts, and I can't see the Republican establishment letting him get the nomination should that foot-in-mouth dip-shit Romney not be able to pull it off. I don’t think they have much of a shot of beating Obama regardless of who they run, but allowing someone like Santorum to be the face of the Republican party as it’s nominee for President of the United States could set them back 20 or 30 years, or maybe even destroy the party entirely.

Then again, John McCain was allowed to make a mockery of the party by nominating Sarah Palin to be a heartbeat away.

[BayLee_10]

Aside from his off-the-wall position on contraception, this guy has come out against public education.

In his world, you either home skool your kids or you pay to send them to private school. I can see why the Duggars love him, but the guy is certifiably nuts, and I can't see the Republican establishment letting him get the nomination should that foot-in-mouth dip-shit Romney not be able to pull it off. I don’t think they have much of a shot of beating Obama regardless of who they run, but allowing someone like Santorum to be the face of the Republican party as it’s nominee for President of the United States could set them back 20 or 30 years, or maybe even destroy the party entirely.

Then again, John McCain was allowed to make a mockery of the party by nominating Sarah Palin to be a heartbeat away.

I'm not a John McCain fan, but I wonder if Sarah Palin was his personal choice. Why in the world would he want to shoot himself in the...er...foot like that?

In a way I have got to admire the extreme right, they have totally stolen the Republican Party. Santorum would be a joke, if only I believed in the intelligence of the American people, but look how popular Sarah Palin was. Now that is scary, too.

[JenniferJuniper]

I'm not a John McCain fan, but I wonder if Sarah Palin was his personal choice. Why in the world would he want to shoot himself in the...er...foot like that?

In a way I have got to admire the extreme right, they have totally stolen the Republican Party. Santorum would be a joke, if only I believed in the intelligence of the American people, but look how popular Sarah Palin was. Now that is scary, too.

She may not have been someone he came up with on his own, but I suspect he agreed to her. He looked so old and tired compared with Obama, I'm sure he agreed she'd add some "color" to the ticket. And did she ever. The unbelievable thing is that she was completely unvetted. They had no idea what they were getting in her, and we so easily could have ended up with a very scary situation.

The Republican party has allowed itself to be hijacked by the fringe extremists. Until they figure out how to marginalize the nuts - and that won't be easy - they are going to have serious credibility problems at the national level.

"One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is, I think, the dangers of contraception in this country. Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that’s okay, contraception is okay. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be." Frothy Santorum

[JesusFightClub]

I can sort of get this one. I don't think they have automatically stolen the Republican Party. It is a question of mobilisation.

I don't know if it's different in the US, but I think Santorum's vote is the equivalent of stacking meetings. A stacked meeting is the reflection of dedication, not necessarily a belief commonly held. So maybe his "come and vote for me!" campaign is the best and most organised, rather than most Republicans agree with him?

You might say it differently, so "stacking meetings" is where a meeting is held and there will be an important vote or maybe an important point to get across. You want all your guys there and hope the other side will slope off before the vote or just not turn up because they don't realise you are going to stack.

This is common political practice and not stealing, so I think other elements of the Republicans, if they do not like Santorum, should outstack and organise. It can take a bit of persuasion, especially amongst people who think it's their duty to show up every few years, vote for the party candidate and that's it. But for all parties, it depends how you want your political path as a party to go and who you want shaping it.

[JenniferJuniper]

I can sort of get this one. I don't think they have automatically stolen the Republican Party. It is a question of mobilisation.

I don't know if it's different in the US, but I think Santorum's vote is the equivalent of stacking meetings. A stacked meeting is the reflection of dedication, not necessarily a belief commonly held. So maybe his "come and vote for me!" campaign is the best and most organised, rather than most Republicans agree with him?

You might say it differently, so "stacking meetings" is where a meeting is held and there will be an important vote or maybe an important point to get across. You want all your guys there and hope the other side will slope off before the vote or just not turn up because they don't realise you are going to stack.

This is common political practice and not stealing, so I think other elements of the Republicans, if they do not like Santorum, should outstack and organise. It can take a bit of persuasion, especially amongst people who think it's their duty to show up every few years, vote for the party candidate and that's it. But for all parties, it depends how you want your political path as a party to go and who you want shaping it.

Santorum does not have a well-organized campaign. Part of it's money, of course, but aside from Iowa, he really didn't have a ground game ready to go. He’s benefiting from a far more complex situation.

Currently, there are three parts to the Republican party. The Establishment people, the well-to-do who are focused primarily on keeping taxes low for themselves and the corporations they hold stock in. The Libertarians, represented by Ron Paul, and the Fruit Cakes, represented by people like Santorum, Bachmann, etc.

This is really about Romney. In the olden days, he'd be the heir apparent, but the older, white, Tea Party and ultra-religious folks simply cannot stand him, they don't trust him (MASSACHUSETTS!) and they've been desperately trying to find an alternative.

Perry was the first one. But he turned out to be too stupid even for them to consider seriously.

Then it was Cain. Oops. Turns out he was philandering serial sexual harasser who really wasn't taking his own candidacy seriously. But he had a good time while the idiocy lasted.

Then it was Gingrich. Uh oh. They forgot he is one of the sleaziest, most despicable people on the planet.

Romney and Gingrich seemed to be the only alternatives for a little while. (The Establishment people and the Fruit Cakes don't consider Paul a Republican.) And then someone noticed the nerdy guy in the corner wearing the sweater vest.

It's a game of musical chairs and Santorum appears - at least for now - to have landed on the last chair. But he's not very bright. woefully unprepared for frontrunner status, and doesn't have the right people around him to whip him into shape. The establishment will do all they can to prop Romney up, but even though he's the best of the lot, he's still a weak candidate and Obama will mop the floor with him.

What to do? I think a brokered convention is a real possibility. I'd love Santorum to be the candidate - we'd have such fun - but I can't see the powers-that-be allowing it.

I keep hearing the name Jeb Bush come up... :violence-bomb:

[Swamptribe]

Godwins Law. Sanatorium looses.

It's funny, the rest of my family are uber conservative Republicans. We recently had a conversation, none of them like any of the Republicans running. We discussed Jeb Bush. He's probably the only guy who could pull the Republican party out of the mess it's created for itself, but is too damn smart to jump into the middle of this freakin' mess.