The Rise of the Bush Brownshirts (Dressed in Blue)

Never Again!

Let's get this out of the way right now. Bush is NOT Hitler. In fact...he is more of a talking puppet, action doll figure doing the bidding of others than a charismatic leader with his own agenda. But nonetheless...he IS the public face and the leader of this generation's Brownshirts. Bush doesn't directly organize or order his Brownshirts to do his bidding. They get their 'marching orders' from his divisive speeches before 'adoring' hand-picked audiences...declaring that you're either 'with him or against him'.

Democrats must stop being squeamish about comparing 1930s Germany to Bush's America in 2005. It's not an insult to the Jewish people or the many other victims of that time in history. We should all remember the heartfelt words: Never Again! Those who bring up the holocaust as a means to chill the conversation about the similarities between Hitler's Germany and Bush's America are in fact enabling the return of fascism.

We would do well to honor the memory of those who suffered horrible injustices in Hitler's Germany by demanding 'NEVER AGAIN' instead of saying it 'could never happen here'.

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Published on Thursday, September 2, 2004 by CommonDreams.org

Brownshirts Dressed in Blue?

by Stephen M. Osborn

 
I have observed the Republican fascist takeover of our government with great trepidation, as I am a student of history. The parallels with the Germany of the 30's are frightening. The Weimar Republic was under attack and the economy was failing. They could have balanced the budget, but chose not (or were not allowed) to tax the wealthy Junkers, the owners of most of the agriculture and heavy industry of Germany. Instead, the burden fell on the middle classes.

Hitler had written his plan for Germany and the World in Mein Kampf and there was little of freedom in it. The Nazis had a small minority in the Reichstag, but there was a large organization of thugs known as the SA, or Brownshirts. These stormtroopers protected Hitler’s rallies by driving off or beating up on the opposition. They destroyed polling booths and drove off opposition party voters at the polls, stole ballot boxes, and generally brutalized any opposition. Hitler made a pact with the army Officer Corps and the Junkers, that the army would be rebuilt and supplied. They would be given free rein. The Junkers would not be taxed or their profits reduced by the Nazi government. They poured huge amounts into the Nazi coffers, which was used to fuel a propaganda machine unmatched until today. The Nazis finally won and took power. Hitler quickly suborned the Reichstag into a rubber stamp congress for his programs. He used a phony terrorist act (The SS set fire to the Riechstag Building and blamed it on the communists) to clamp down on the people, for their own security of course.

“Restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of freedom of expression of opinion, including freedom of the press; on the rights of assembly and association; and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications; and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permitted beyond the legal limit otherwise prescribed.” No, that is not a quote from the PATRIOT ACT, it is taken from a decree “for the Protection of the People and the State” issued on 28 February 1933, the day after the Reichstag fire, suspending the seven sections of the Weimar constitution which guaranteed individual and civil liberties. It was described as a “defensive measure against Communist acts of violence endangering the state.”

Once the Nazis had consolidated their power, newspapers or radio stations expressing opposition were either shut down, or the Brownshirts destroyed their presses and offices. As the newspapers were suppressed, they were “bought” by Nazi propagandists. Soon, all that one heard or read in Germany was the Nazi’s “fair and balanced” viewpoint. Soon, it was death or a concentration camp for those who disagreed or even listened to another viewpoint. Labor unions quickly came under fire and were abolished. The various churches who tried to protest were silenced or outlawed. Pensions were erased and labor laws were abolished. New ones were substituted which left the workers with no right but to do what they were told. Then came the book burnings and an attempt to erase anything that did not agree with the Nazi view of the world.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0902-08.htm

There is little doubt in my mind of the fascist tendencies of the Bush regime.

While I am careful in my comparisons between Bush and Hitler, what the radical Republicans are doing is fascism.

Indeed, that theme is the basis for my web site: www.earthside.com

Progressive, Democrats, Greens, liberals -- let us not be squeamish calling th Bushites what they are: FASCISTS.

Hitler wanted to create an empire which would last for a thousand years.

Bush expects the world to end in fire, ANY DAY NOW!

I don't believe he was ever "saved" I don't believe he believes most of the bullshit that comes out of his mouth. Religion = Politics for Shrub. So, I disagree with your argument - Bu$h does not believe in the rapture, but he DOES want an empire that lasts a thousand years - too bad both Bu$h and Hitler believed psychotically that they were immune to the lessons of history and that THEY would be the exception to the rule. We all know where these delusions of grandeur lead.

All empires fall due the corrosive hubristic nature of Empire, it is just a matter of time. America is no exception (as much as Freepers believe God has blessed America as a special nation), just makes me wonder who will be the ones to defeat the Evil Empire? Russia? China? Millions of hungry poor revolutionary American citizens? Give it another 5-7-10 years, we're not that far off from the hungry masses here in the US...

...FReepers and their ilk are part of Bush's Brownshirts and play an important role by relentlessly attacking his 'enemies'. Hitler's Brownshirts would attend his rallies and speeches...literally beating up anyone who vocalized their disagreement with his policies. You can be assured that the New Brownshirts will be doing the same thing if our country is attacked again and martial law becomes reality.

but your answer is better

...but Hitler comes up more often because of the similarities between how he and the Bush Neocons took nations with Constitutional 'freedoms and civil liberties' and transformed them into virtual dicatorships and corporate states.

More than anything else...it was the Brownshirts that intimidated any and all opposition into silence. It's a sad thing to have to admit...but after 9-11 Bush was able to use law enforcement and the Media as his Brownshirts...using a state of emergency, Patriot Act and a 'time of war' on terrorism as an excuse.

Agree with much that you have written. You are not the first to make the connections between the similarities of the events of the 1920's and 1930's with those of past years.

Thom Hartmann's essay "When Democracy Failed - 2005: The Warnings of History" is a good start. It is chilling when one lives the events in today's world and see how closely the events stack up with those events in the 1920's and 1930's. The use of the historical parallels between Hitler and the shrub are limited though.

I agree strongly with what much of what Thom Hartmann wrote. I add though, the people in power today have the mistakes made by the Nazis to teach them which mistakes not to make. The people in power now have learned from the mistakes made by the Nazis and will not make the same mistakes.

The threats to world peace and freedom from the shrub's government are real. The historical parallels of when Rome moved from a Republic to an Empire are also very chilling.

Remember when one draws one's sword against one's Prince, throw away the scabbard.

Link to article:

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0222-22.htm


Bush Lied, People Died, Media Cheered

...as we endure the next four years of the most corrupt, oppressive government this nation has ever seen.

All the ingredients for fascism are now appearing in America. Unlike Germany...we won't see 'concentration camps' or anything like them. Such things are unnecessary when those who control our government ALREADY own the media and have their own Brownshirts to keep the opposition in line by making them appear as the enemy of the state.

with concentration camps. No camps? No fascism. End of story.

drug offenders, might qualify as concentration camps. Remember, the German camps were not just for Jews -- the included all 'enemies of the state', including labor organizers, communists and socialists, gays, and common criminals. There are more people in US prisons now than there were in Germany in 1938.

You want to see classic concentration camps? Just wait till the next major terror attack. There will be massive round-ups, and a military response which could include nuking Tehran. The citizen reaction here would fill those camps in weeks.

...of many Americans that we have a larger, non-violent prison population than the countries we generally associate with oppressive, totalitarian governments.

I won't presume to know what will happen after the next 'major terror attack'. But it's clear that all the necessary 'laws' are in place to take this country to the next step. They won't necessarily call it such...but it will be martial law.

The unprecedented Bush Government Secrecy tends to bring about speculation and 'conspiracy theories'. But that's not unusual in a country where we're suppose to have a government of, by and for the people.

First, one usually has to file through the judicial system and be convicted of a crime prior to being put in a prison. To have gotten into a concentration camp one had to be born a particular way, be of particular parents, or disagree with the government.

Second, unless imprisoned for life, or sentenced to death, most people leave U.S. prisons in the upright position and with, at least, a modicum of meat on their bones.

Comparing our prison system to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany is not only overly dramatic, it demeans the horror the men, women and children who made it into those camps were subjected to.

My brother spent 5 1/4 years in prison for attempting to sell a cop a minuscule amount of cocaine. The prosecutor wanted him to get 43 years! I worked in a jail and have seen murderers sentenced to less time. Was it unfair? Hell, yes. Was he and his entire family stripped, starved, forced into hard-labor and then gassed to death? Obviously not. I'm still here to tell the story. He was released over 10 years ago has a wife, family and a great job. He fishes, rides his motorcycle, etc. He's not in a mass grave.

No. There is no comparing Nazi Concentration camps to the American prison system.

majority of prisoners served relatively short terms, and were released, under strict surveillance by the Gestapo, back into the population. A great many, once released, were able to then escape the country. The system was originally more like the soviet Gulag. Don't confuse the concentration camps with the death camps. The death camps weren't organized until after the Wanasee conference in '42. I wouldn't ever suggest that the US is running death camps, but concentration camps? What do you think Gitmo is?

They have simply utilized an alternative means of pacifying people.

I don't think we should be at all shy in revealing what they're doing.

...is that if they reject the similarties if they can't make a direct comparison.

Bush wouldn't have been so successful if the American Media hadn't been converted to an instrument of the GOP and the state. Many Americans don't even know that people who attend Bush rallies have to sign 'loyalty oaths'. They're unaware that dissent of any kind isn't allowed at Bush speeches or rallies and even the mildest of protests at such events can get you arrested and dragged off to the jail like a common criminal.

The Bush Regime has it much easier than many of history's other fascists. Investigative journalism is extinct and congress has become his personal rubber stamp on issues of national security and terrorism.

As I read on here yesterday, people are being arrested for peacefully protesting the emperor. To me, that is the next step. Some are fearful of protesting, because they don't know what will happen if they do. It is a travesty. If they can do that, who knows when they will begin jailing these same people. Maybe calling them terrorists, and holding them indefinitely is next. It probably depends on the public reaction, and if it's not reported in the corporate media, there won't be a public reaction.

I am terrified of what is happening to my country.

absolutely chilling

That has been a favorite book of mine for many years. I strongly recommend that folks read "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis.

Because not only can it happen here ... it is happening here!

...but those who can't or won't see that democracy is being replaced with 'something else' usually aren't interested in history OR reading. They get their news in soundbites and snippets. The problem with this is obvious: the devil is always in the details.

It's not necessarily laziness or disinterest, it's that people need to work 8, 10, 12 hours a day, do the shopping, look after kids, take care of any chores around the house, grab a TV dinner or whatever the spouse cooks up and still get as much sleep as possible before they get up and do it again. You can't expect people to spend the free hour they might be lucky to get each day to searching for news articles on the Internet. Even if they do, they probably wouldn't get farther than cnn.com or maybe news.google.com

Hell, I search this stuff out and try to learn what I can, but there aren't enough hours in a day, and quite frankly it gets overwhelming. Finding The Truth could be a full time job - too bad the investigative journalists who used to get paid to do it no longer exist.

& all she could say was that it was liberal crap & how unpatriotic I was to compare our democracy to fascism. ~~sigh The koolaid truly blinds you to the truth, doesn't it?

Nominated for greatest page.


The 14 Characteristics of Fascism:

http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/britt_23_2.htm

...to sit down with you and go over the 14 characteristics one by one. But make sure to be armed with facts and information to support the conclusions.

Then ask your Mom to define democracy.

be so defensive?

Denial

See if you can get her to specifically deal with each point as Q suggested

Tell her you want an actual reasoned discussion on this.

Ask her to describe fascism first as a starting point

If she can't or if she is wrong - bring a dictionary with you

the similarities... maybe she'll get it. NEVER SURRENDER!

and to keep it there until she grows a few more braincells. SHE is the unpatriotic one.

Sorry, I know its your mom, but sometimes your mother can be your own worst enemy.

They were...by definition...Bush's Brownshirts. Bush even called to congratulate them after their successful intimidation and bullying of public servants doing their jobs and following the 'rule of law'.

There are many examples of Brownshirts in today's society. From Limbaugh to Coulter to Fox News...their job is to distort the truth and demonize the opposition. This is why they have carefully phrased their propaganda to make it appear that Bush and the United States are one in the same. That is...opposing Bush is equated with anti-Americanism.

them and our Media wore them through the election..Russert, Snuffy, Schiefer, Blitzer, Kudlow.

I just noticed Kudlow has removed his, this morning on MTP Mitch McConnell is guest and flag pin is gone, Russert (flag pin gone).

Remember how Kerry adoped the "Flag Pin" wearing through the debates...just to shove it to them?

Symbolism was important to the Nazi's....Symbolism has been used extensively in word and dress by the Bush Crime Syndicate now running the country

Notice the "blue tie" thing. Bush kept wearing that blue tie in the debates, campaigning and now for his SS town meetings. Look for "blue tie." How many men would buy the same shiny light blue tie if it was left up to them. How many Repugs to you see on the talk circuit wearing the "blue tie." How many Talking Head Pundits wear it?

The Symbolism ties right into "Cult" or "Club" where one wants to make themselves known to others by wearing a symbol...it's a code.

I'm going to be looking to see who else has shed the "Flag Pin" in the last week or so. Shedding the pin may mean they are now trying to to blend in with Dems...so as not to look overtly partisan on the SS Debate. They have to win SS Privitazation...they have to. So they shed the pins. But, I could be wrong ...it may mean they are up to something else. But, for now I'm on "Flag Pin Watch."

...is a way for Brownshirts to recognize and support each other. It IS a code. It's a code meaning that everyone is willing to participate in the same lies and deceptions for the 'greater good' and for their glorious leader.

I think it would be helpful to document, in their own words, what it was like to live during the rise of the Nazi Party. I would venture to guess that you would find striking simularities between those Germans & bush supporters and the naysayers that beleive that we are experiencing nothing more than a temporary shift to the right. The Germans were not stupid or immoral people but yet they were fooled so badly, just as so many Americans are today.

Thanks for a great post. Nominated.

Were Free'. A few years after WWII, Jewish German-American reporter Mayer lived in a small town in Germany and over time came to know, and recorded, the stories of ten former Nazis. How they came to join the party, what they believed about Hitler and his racist theories, how they justified the new order against the ordinary Christian beliefs they were raised with.

The bottom line is, it can happen anywhere. There was no particular, bizarre pathology to the German people that made them susceptible. They were just small, confused, often scared people who accepted it when they were told they needed a leader to protect them from the Communist threat.

Mayer being a journalist, rather than a political scientist, it is written in a very accessible manner. A good read.

"How dare you compare us to Fascists, Are you calling us Nazis?...you have alot of nerve doing so" BOO HOO HOO HOO "Now lets have hissy fit over this and make a big deal over the slight mention of Hilter or the word fascist, and don't forget folks Byrd is noting more than a Klan goon, Kennedy is a fat drunk, and Bill Clinton is a pervert, and totally ignore anything our party is doing to cause harm to the country. Oh yeah almost forgot, 9/11, 9/11, 9/11, and those towers were knocked down by Bin Laden,but who cares about him, when we got Saddam." Sorry I got off track a little bit towards the end but I think it was good way to end it, and yes, I know I'm a sarcastic bitch, and I'm going to hell...

...which is why they love to bring up this self-righteous whining whenever the truth about their true intentions is discussed in public.

But America is suffering from the same type of denial that Germans experienced in 1930s Germany. Most of them KNEW what was happening...but either out of fear or helplessness...they couldn't do anything about it.

First...look behind the "symbols" and what's there?

while reviewing the European media's coverage of the 2000 coup.

The price is steep at $55, but hell, if the Fargo, ND library had a copy...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0312238312/103-4410280-4545451?_encoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

They can't clamp down openly, no yet. If we avoid another LIHOP until 2006, then we should be able to reverse our losses and push these guys into the prison system where they belong.

From the very beginning...the Bush Brownshirts have removed or arrested anyone even holding up a small anti-Bush sign...at open rallies. This is the fascist's tactic of manufacturing consent and making it appear that everyone loves Bush. See..no protests here!

Bush and his cronies will NEVER go to prison. Never. The system of checks and balances and the rule of law are dysfunctional. They've been able to rig elections, use 9-11 for political gain, out CIA agents, character assassination the opposition and start illegal wars...all without a whimper from the free press or justice department.