When Adolf Hitler was building up the Nazi movement in the 1920s, leading up to his taking power in the 1930s, he deliberately sought to activate people who did not normally pay much attention to politics.
Such people were a valuable addition to his political base, since they were particularly susceptible to Hitler's rhetoric and had far less basis for questioning his assumptions or his conclusions.
"Useful idiots" was the term supposedly coined by V.I. Lenin to describe similarly unthinking supporters of his dictatorship in the Soviet Union.
Put differently, a democracy needs informed citizens if it is to thrive, or ultimately even survive.
In our times, American democracy is being dismantled, piece by piece, before our very eyes by the current administration in Washington, and few people seem to be concerned about it.
The president's poll numbers are going down because increasing numbers of people disagree with particular policies of his, but the damage being done to the fundamental structure of this nation goes far beyond particular counterproductive policies.
Obama's poll numbers are going down slightly, which is typical of most first term presidents.
If you look at Barack Obama's approval numbers so far, they are about the same as Ronald Reagan's approval rating at the same time in his presidency.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
It's amazing how many Conservatives will bring up Hitler & the Nazis, when there is a democrat in office... but they never seemed to get the connection between Hitler and George W Bush's torture campaign.
(Torture... a Republican Value!)
Wasn't it Hitler who invaded several countries and replaced their leaders with a Regime Change??? Kind of like George Worst Bush's Oil invasion of Iraq and his Regime Change!
Again, Hitler invading is wayyyyy different than Bush invading.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
I am against torture for terrorists when we have a better way of dealing with them. Summary execution with a bullet in the brain stem. However, I will take torturing them (roasting them alive in pig fat would be my preferred method) since you traitorous democraps (motherless whores) who hate this nation with all your heart, insist on giving them better trials and better lawyers than our military servicemen get. Yes, again- democraps are motherless whores and a traitorous lot of creatures. I have found out how low their souls really are. people who back them with all their might, groups like the sundry unions, radical groups and other civil saboteurs and such, are one step away from being as traitorous and America-hating. And they know it too.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
It's amazing how many Conservatives will bring up Hitler & the Nazis, when there is a democrat in office... but they never seemed to get the connection between Hitler and George W Bush's torture campaign.
(Torture... a Republican Value!)
Wasn't it Hitler who invaded several countries and replaced their leaders with a Regime Change??? Kind of like George Worst Bush's Oil invasion of Iraq and his Regime Change!
Again, Hitler invading is wayyyyy different than Bush invading.
ahhhh.....now you are beginning to see the light........they are ALL the same.....both dems and reps!! Get it now?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I love how this comes up now, but were any of you posting this when the Patriot Act was passed?
I don't think I was posting then.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Same ole Conservative double standard... When the Republicans do it... it's called Patriotism! When the Democrats do the exact same thing... it's called Treason!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
I think many who post here went along with the Patriot Act because the government said it would help keep the country safe. I never really liked any government agency snooping into our phone conversations, Internet messages, or articles and books we read even though I have nothing to hide. Both parties have taken advantage of the trusting citizens and abused their power.
But when the government sets up a fund to pay out people affected by the BP accident it's not protecting American people? It's this or jump through BP's hoops or go to court which is expensive and time consuming.
BP should be held responsible but not by the President but by Congress who should investigate any neglect on BP's part and come to an amount of money to assess them for damages. This is not Cuba we have laws and rules and in the presidents job description it says nothing about the president forcing a private company to pay anything. This president oversteps his authority when he does things like this.
Congress can't even debate the issue of raising the cap because of filibustering. Sorry, if the reps refuse to move on this then I'm glad someone is protecting the people.
Yeah...If King Obama has to usurp the Constitution and unilaterally shake down a business to save the business the cost of litigation caused by that pesky congress so be it. Rule of law doesn't apply to multinational corporations. Czars is the new America. King Obama is judge, jury, and executioner. All Hail the King!
The battlefield detainees held at Gitmo is a big point of contention among the liberal crowd. They want to grant our sworn enemies the same rights guaranteed to American citizens under the Constitution. But now the same rule of law the want to extend to the terrorists, gets tossed out the window in the name of "protecting the people" over an oil spill. Wow!
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