Interesting.

Here is a link to Oliver Willis, where he and others address the ongoing ironyfest that is the Republican rhetoric.  In this particular case, he is referring to Republican and regressiveist Rick Santorum’s comments about how the Democrats are Nazi’s.  Oliver Willis provides, for your chortling pleasure, a quote from Santorum complaining about how horrible it is to make Hitler comparisons, and how such activity is an embarrassment to anyone who engages in it.

Heh.

On an even more interesting note, Star Wars Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith just came out.  In his Star Wars saga, George Lucas parallels the rise of the Adolph Hitler to the role of Chancellor, and later to the role of the ruler of the Third Reich.

Chancellor, and later Emporer Palpatine consolidates power in exactly the same way that Hitler did, and uses many of the same catch-phrases and rhetoric.

The release of the movie has brought about a hue and cry from Republicans complaining about how George Lucas is blatantly anti-Bush, and object to his characterization of Bush in the movie…as Emporer Palpatine’s actions, strategies and rhetoric are so obviously parallels to Bush.

Please, if Lucas had meant for Palpatine to represent Bush Jr. he wouldn’t have made the first movies depicting Palpatine that way nearly THIRTY YEARS before Bush became president.  He would not have called the Storm Troopers “Storm Troopers” (an obvious reference to certain security forces under Hitler…called “Storm Troopers”…this isn’t exactly a code, people)  He would have called them “Homeland Security Agents” or something like that.

Hey, there are certain tried-and-true methods for turning a democracy into a fascist state.  Detailing them is not difficult.  The people who developed them the first time developed them from the principles of Machiavelli, after all…they are an excellent exploitation of the root strategies for gaining and maintaining power…they work and they should be watched for.

Interesting, though, that it is Bush supporters who saw the parallels so clearly, and assumed that they were about Bush.  Very interesting indeed.