My Mother Asked Me How She Should Respond To "Nazi Appeaser!" Accusations

[Mister Ed]

My poor ol' Mom e-mailed me in distress after a recent social gathering in her neighborhood:

"Fox News parrots drive me nuts", she wrote. "I'm not smart enough to articulate an effective response when they say 'well, you are one of the people who would have thought it was ok not to go into war with the Nazis.' I can't stand it...and I'm getting a little scared that the Republicans will somehow pull it off in November".

So I dashed off this reply:

Mom,

Well, alright. If you really want my advice about how to deal with dittoheads parroting the current official Bushevik talking points ("people opposed to the Iraq War would have probably wanted to appease the Nazis!"), then here it is:

Tell 'em that the Nazis invaded and occupied other countries on fabricated pretexts, just as Bush has done. Tell 'em the Nazis lied to their own people about the reasons for going to war, just as Bush has done.

Tell 'em that the Nazis disregarded and overturned the laws of their own nation, just as Bush has done. Tell 'em the Nazis gained and held power by using fear to rally and unify the people, just as Bush has done. By characterizing all who opposed them as unpatriotic, or traitors - just as Bush has done. By inciting hatred against leftists and homosexuals, just as Bush has done.

Tell 'em the Nazis came to power through corrupt arrangements with corporate cronies, just has Bush has done. And by invoking the themes of religious virtue, just as Bush has done. Tell 'em the Nazis threw out all standards of humaneness in the name of national security, just as Bush is doing.

Tell 'em that you, as an innocent toddler in the 1930's, were powerless to change what was happening across the ocean - but, by God, you will not acquiesce to the same thing here and now, in your own beloved country. Ask them why they are appeasing, nay, supporting it here in the USA.

Their reaction will be emotional: "What?! Are you calling our president a Nazi?!". Speak calmly and soothingly: "Of course not. There are tremendous differences between George Bush and the Nazis. But what's got me worried are the similarities". Then walk them through the similarities again.

Just between you and me, Mom (this is too much for them to wrap their little heads around), I believe that I can guess the real reason Rove's talking points focus on fascism lately. He, Cheney, Grover Norquist and others understand fully that they are instituting fascism in the U.S. They would never use the "f" word, of course, because it has unsavory connotations. But a fascist state is what they're building, and they're well aware of it. To preempt any accusations to that effect, they've been flinging the label at anyone else they can. Those who oppose their war are characterized as would-be appeasers of fascism, when in fact they're opposing fascism. Islamic terrorists are called "fascists", when they're anything but. The terrorists are utterly evil, but they're not working to bring about fascist government. They want a theocracy.

And Mom, you damn well oughta be afraid of what might happen between now and November. These Machiavellians are not going to just lose an election, shrug their shoulders, and say, "Oh well. Guess the people have spoken".