The Bush Administration and Godwin's Law

[RickSp]

The Bush Administration and Godwin's Law

Yesterday the Associated Press ran a story headlined “The new G.O.P. buzzword: Fascism.” According to the story, President Bush and G.O.P. strategists said the use of the word “fascism” is “an attempt to more clearly identify the ideology that motivates many organized terrorist groups, representing a shift in emphasis from the general to the specific.” The story quoted G.O.P. pollster Ed Goeas as saying, “I think it's an appropriate definition of the war that we're in. I think it's effective in that it definitively defines the enemy in a way that we can't because they're not in uniforms.” Forgive me if I don't get it just right, but what I think Goeas is saying is: “We have no real idea what fascism is; hell, we're too lazy even to look it up on Wikipedia. But we've used up the word ‘evil’ and we need new red meat. Let's roll!” On the Internet, there is a dictum known as “Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies,” coined in 1990 by a man named Mike Godwin. This law holds that “as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.” Anyone who has spent time on political discussion boards can see that it's true; in any charged debate (abortion, Iraq, Israel, foreign policy), it's only a matter of time before someone compares his opponent to Hitler. It's commonly understood that once Godwin's Law is invoked, a conversation is dead—and that any person who invokes Nazis almost definitely has failed to make his point. It's what philosopher Leo Strauss, the great inspiration to neoconservatives like Rumsfeld, called Reductio ad Hitlerum—the absurd smearing of any opposing line of thought as “Hitleresque.” He may not have been contributing to an online bulletin board, but Rumsfeld's invocation of Nazis and the G.O.P.'s sudden interest in fascism seem to be a perfect illustration of how deep this war's supporters must dig in order to justify a deadly folly.

[Chaossaber314]

And just as many opponents of the Bush administration compare them to Hitler and the Nazi's... daily. I don't think I've gotten through a Poly-Sci class without at least one reference.

At the base of your point, I agree with you. The invocation of Facism and Nazism in order to demonize an opposing side just shows a frantic grasp at the crumbling edge of the cliff of the argument. However, to pretend the Bush administration is the only ones or are predominantly doing this, is just idiotic.

EDIT: And I say "Your point" as to reference the article and the discussion held within. Not toward you in particular since you haven't actually posted your personal opinion on this yet.

[Horab]

Heh, this is why there is a thing called "Godwin's Law".

People in politics are always accusing their opponents of being just like Hitler. I have heard the following list of people being directly compared to Hitler:

George Bush, both 1 and 2, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, Trent Lott, Robert Byrd, Jesse Jackson, Pat Buchanan, and so on and so on.

This needs to stop, it's getting old.

[RickSp]

The Bush administration's adoption of the word "fascist" and the charges of appeasement sugggest to me both a desperation in their policy and the bankruptcy of their ideas. Bush comparing a guerilla war in Baghdad to the landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy is almost surreal.

It does seem clear to me that the Bush administration will attempt to start a new war in Iran to cover the failure in Iraq. They seem to share the worst qualities of both high stakes gamblers and lemmings.

[grandpa]

Quote by: RickSp The Bush administration's adoption of the word "fascist" and the charges of appeasement sugggest to me both a desperation in their policy and the bankruptcy of their ideas. Bush comparing a guerilla war in Baghdad to the landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy is almost surreal.

If Bush was interested in ending fascism, he'd reverse his own tendencies.

Grandpa h.