Obama is just following the standard pattern. One reason for the rapid rise of the National Socialists in the 1930s was their co-opting of key industrialists through a combination of threats and favoritism.

BobN ought to know. The "N" stands for Nazi.

Does Mr. N think that the Koch brothers and their cabal back the Democrats? He's twice the fool I thought he was if he does. Funny how he never has found a word about their activities or has expressed concern for the Supreme Court decision granting corporations the same free speech and spending privileges as a flesh and blood human being. Nope, doesn't seem to concern Mr. N at all.
OldTimeLefty

Oh my! Lefty called me a Nazi!

I think this means he automatically loses the debate.

This is what Leftists say when they have nothing to say.

Perhaps he is just trying to cover up for the historical fact that the American Progressive movement, the German National Socialists, the Italian Fascists, and the Russian Communists all share a common intellectual heritage and formed a mutual admiration society until well into the 1930s.

It's a shameful thing to live with, and I understand why Lefty and his friends would want to put up a brave front.

Godwin's Law in 1 step!

Seriously, which warning number is OTL on? Calling someone a Nazi is a really quick way to devolve discussion into plain name calling and basically shut down any discussion.

not because Google bigwig Marisa Mayer just hosted a $30,000-a-head, $1.8 million fundraiser for President Obama.

Justin

Is Google trying to turn Horse Boy into a donkey?

Patrick

Justin has better things to do than ban his more interesting commentors. BobN's comment was suggesting that President Obama is on course to be a Hitler all because of a post about Google's breach of privacy. Any comment on that?

Patrick,
Your sensibilities do not appear so refined when BobN claims an historical tie among such diverse and contradictory factions as the American Progressive movement, German National Socialists, Italian Fascists and Russian Communists.

You should be asking the poor fellow to show us the historical tie that binds these groups. You should also ask der vunderkind to explain why Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” blamed Germany’s chief woes on the parliament of the Weimar Republic, the Jews, Social Democrats, and Marxists if he was in bed with them. Yet BobN (see historical ties above) says that Hitler embraced Socialists and Marxists alike. This is pure nonsense and if he doesn't know any better he'd be better off being silent. Hitler knew that Nazism needed paranoia to survive and he was willing to blame outside groups to keep the German people in an angry frenzy.... It doesn’t take much to substitute immigrant for Jew. Nazis need a target group, an “us” versus “them” split to keep the kettle boiling, to keep alive an attitude that we’re okay it’s those people who are the problem. They cheat, lie, steal and take away from us. Why, if they’d only go back where they came from, we’d all be prosperous and happy. Racial stereotyping and immigrant bashing are the first building blocks of a Fascist state.

Another BobN nonsense line is, and I quote, “Obama is just following the standard pattern. One reason for the rapid rise of the National Socialists in the 1930s was their co-opting of key industrialists through a combination of threats and favoritism.”

Interesting take - on one hand we hear that Obama is bad for business and yet Bobby Boy sees him snuggling up to “key industrialists”. Could it be that poor Bobby thinks that Obama is twins? Or is it that Obama’s industrialist friends are bad and the industrialists who have spent millions to defeat him are “good”? Pure fairy tale stuff.

As to the 1930's maybe a look at The Spanish Civil War would provide BobN with a much needed dose of reality.

The Spanish Civil War broke out in July, 1936, after a group of conservative military tried to overthrow the progressive government of the Popular Front, elected in February of the same year. Expecting an easy coup, the military rebels were surprised to encounter massive popular resistance, especially in the large urban centers. In a matter of days, the country was split in half, with one zone controlled by the government (known as Republicans, Loyalists, or Reds), and the other by the rebels (also referred to as Nationalists, Fascists, or Whites). Three years of bloody fighting followed. General Franco quickly emerged as the Nationalist commander in chief. The main leaders on the Republican side were President Azaña and Prime Ministers Largo Caballero and Negrín. The war ended with a Nationalist victory on April 1, 1939. During the war Nazis practiced dive bombing techniques on the Basque town of Guernica. Hitler's air force was employed by Franco to defeat the progressive republicans.

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), almost forty thousand men and women from fifty-two countries, including 2,800 Americans, traveled to Spain to join the International Brigades to help fight fascism. The U.S. volunteers served in various units (medical, combat and transportation) and came to be known collectively as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. For more information

IWW
OldTimeLefty

Could it be, OTL, that you really don't see the problem with this?

... on one hand we hear that Obama is bad for business and yet Bobby Boy sees him snuggling up to "key industrialists". Could it be that poor Bobby thinks that Obama is twins? Or is it that Obama's industrialist friends are bad and the industrialists who have spent millions to defeat him are "good"? Pure fairy tale stuff.

In typical leftist fashion, you assume that somebody must be "good" and somebody must be "bad." The conservative view is that nobody is ultimately either, but people with varying proclivity to act out of self-interest. What is "bad" is the cozying up of government with industrialists, particularly "key industrialists," in such a way as to help them skirt rules of economic competition.

Could it be, Justin, that you really don't see the problem with this?

You confused me with BobN when you wrote that I “ assume that somebody must be 'good' and somebody must be 'bad.'" The admonition is better directed at BobN. Read a bit more carefully, please.

Be that as it may, here is my response to the rest of your riposte.

Equality between labor and capital does not exist because where wealth is produced by the intervention of capital paying wages to labor, the growth of the population outstrips the growth of production, which results in the supply of labor necessarily surpassing the demand and leading to a relative sinking of the level of wages. Production thus constituted is pushed in the hands of mega-stock companies which, owing to the merging of their capital, are more powerful than the isolated capitalists whom we refer to as “Small Business”. The small and medium-sized businesses cannot produce at the same price as the big capitalists - my immigrant grand parents owned and operated a small grocery store for more than 30 years - now such enterprises have been swallowed up by corporations like 7-11; they’d have no chance today. Once independent gas stations have been squeezed out and are now run by major oil companies. The individual is sacrificed upon the corporate altar. Capitalist monopoly can accomplish this result only by forcing out small or medium-sized business people. It will always be true that such a system precludes brotherhood and equality. It goes without saying that it precludes economic equality. Can it be that you really don’t see this?
OldTimeLefty

Aw, this was a really nice post. In idea I would like to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and by no means seem to get something done.