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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Neither a Groper nor a Hitler be

Quite an endorsement from Melania Trump. His daughter assures us he's not a groper  and now it takes his wife to assure us, he's not Hitler.

When you need your wife and daughter to assure us you're neither a groper or Hitler sorts, at some point we've clearly jumped the shark.

Here was when Ivanka announced her daddy is not a groper.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trump-no-groper-ivanka-223316

Now, here's his wife assuring us, he's not Hitler.

“He’s not Hitler,” Melania Trump said earlier this month in defense of her husband.

"It’s a disclaimer not typically offered about the presidential nominee of a modern political party. But white nationalists and neo-Nazis have embraced Donald Trumpsending robocalls on his behalf, calling him their “Glorious Leader” on hate websites, and sending threatening messages to Jewish journalists covering him — and the presumptive Republican standard-bearer has repeatedly declined opportunities to denounce them."

"Trump stalled before disavowing the endorsement of David Duke, a former KKK leader, and missed a deadline to take white nationalist honcho William Johnson off his delegate list. “I don’t have a message to the fans,” Trump said when CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked if he had anything to say to his supporters who sent Holocaust-themed memes and offered overnight casket delivery and homicide cleanup services to Julia Ioffe, a HuffPost Highline contributor who wrote a GQ profile of Melania."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-neo-nazis-jews_us_5747397be4b0dacf7ad4480e?mowcc0c7ynwmi

My premise is that he is Hitler 2.0. I will refer to him as that going forward. That's the best nickname for him as it advertises the true risks.

Some will say, no, he's not Hitler, maybe Mussolini, maybe only Putin. Look, if by exaggerating and saying he's Hitler we can avoid President Putin, then that's some hyerbole I'm willing to engage in.

http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-election-to-end-all-elections.html

If you want to argue with me that he's not Hitler then I have to assume you are more sanguine about taking a President Trump off the table than I am.

On the other hand, Trump's first wife-Ivanka's mother, Ivana Trump-revealed that Trump keeps a copy of Hitler's speeches locked safe and tight in a cabinet by his bed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trumps-ex-wife-once-said-he-kept-a-book-of-hitlers-speeches-by-his-bed-2015-8

None of this sounds like Hitler to me:

"Trump still hasn’t spoken out against his anti-Semitic supporters, who also threatened New York Times reporter Jonathan Weisman, called for the death of conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro and his children, and told conservative writer Bethany Mandel she deserved “the oven.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-neo-nazis-jews_us_5747397be4b0dacf7ad4480e?mowcc0c7ynwmi

Maybe the Neo Nazis can say to Trump what Reagan said to the Religious Right in 1980: 'You can't endorse me, but I endorse you.'

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/21/w-scott-lamb-this-day-in-us-history-reagans-endors/?page=all

6 comments:

  1. My only concern with saying he's Hitler is that it might normalize Hitler. In other words, if over used, Hitler comparisons start to become common place. The Tea Party crazies are already guilty of this to such an extent perhaps the damage has already been done. Every time I saw a right wing crazy comparing Obama to Hitler I'd email the ADL and ask them why they didn't call them out (if they weren't already). I agree with you that with Trump it's a lot more apt comparison. But when the ADL did call out those making unjustified Hitler or Nazi comparisons they explained why they thought it was important to call them out. They even riled a few right wing Jews with their Nazi comparison complaints. I thought it was a good rational they used. They went after left and right wingers both. Why not email them and see their opinion? I'd be curious to see what they'd say in the case of Trump (assuming they write you back). If anybody is concerned with "never again" it's going to be the ADL.

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  2. My rationale is that the in Trump's case it's apt. If the ADL comes out and criticizes it that would be notable.

    The advantage of calling him Hitler is that it underscores the real threat. Saying he's not such a nice guy doesn't quite do it.

    To me people should be extremely concerned that this guy is so close the WH.

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  3. Basically calling him Hitler creates a very visceral image in people's mind. Making a more qualified criticism might make them feel that this is just another election.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe, but it could make people just tune it out. Even if it is an apt comparison in many ways (both Sumner and Erick Erickson have made the comparison), think of all the times Hitler comparisons have been made until now. There's even an internet law about it: Godwin's Law and the related Reductio ad Hitlerum. Although in reference to Trump, Godwin himself wrote this:
      https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/12/14/sure-call-trump-a-nazi-just-make-sure-you-know-what-youre-talking-about/.

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    2. There's always a danger people may tune out any argument you make.

      The question is would calling him Hitler make be more likely to be tuned out or saying just a less than swell fellow with certain bad tendencies but he's not Hitler?

      Calling him HItler is an easy thing to conceptualize. Being to nuanced in this case might be easier to tune out.

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  4. Rubin has more good advice for Hillary today:
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/05/27/clinton-needs-to-keep-one-image-in-mind/

    ReplyDelete