Thursday, April 24, 2008

Nazis? What Nazis?

I'm reading Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism right now, and I found this little tidbit just rich, rich, rich in irony.

U.S. Congressional candidate Tony Zirkle is facing criticism from one of
his primary opponents, and a host of people on the Internet, for speaking at an
event over the weekend that celebrated Adolf Hitler’s birthday.

Zirkle confirmed to The News-Dispatch on Monday he spoke Sunday in
Chicago at a meeting of the Nationalist Socialist Workers Party, whose symbol is
a swastika.

When asked if he was a Nazi or sympathized with Nazis or white
supremacists, Zirkle replied he didn’t know enough about the group to either
favor it or oppose it. “This is just a great opportunity for me to witness,” he
said, referring to his message and his Christian belief.

He also told WIMS radio in Michigan City that he didn’t believe the
event he attended included people necessarily of the Nazi mindset, pointing out
the name isn’t Nazi, but Nationalist Socialist Workers Party.


Why ironic, you ask? Well, Goldberg's thesis is that modern day progressives are part of a fascist tradition that goes back to the Progressive Era. I agree with that completely, but I've detected a bit of a blind spot when it comes to modern conservatives. And right on time, poof! Here we have a conservative who can go to a meeting of the Nationalist Socialist Workers Party, and get all warm and fuzzy with them never realizing (?) that they are a bunch of Neo-Nazis. Does that indicate perhaps a proximity of feeling and ideology between him and his hosts? I'm gonna say it does.

It's an extreme example, but having argued with numerous conservatives online, I've noticed a strain of reasoning that has a great deal in common with how progressives, both old and new, argue--and by extension, given Goldberg's thesis, shows a definite fascist streak.

And what sort of moron can make a career in politics without knowing that the Nazis were the Nationalist Socialist Workers Party? Perhaps he can find work at the Post Office. They have uniforms...

(H/T Instapundit)

UPDATE: He's not just a moron, he's a racist moron. LGF has a photo of him making his speech standing at a table in a room festooned with swastikas in front of a big painting of Hitler. I was so stunned, I couldn't believe it was really him. I thought maybe it was just a generic photo of a Nazi meeting. Nope. I found the group's website in the original article linked by LGF, and I was able to find video of his speech. I watched just enough to see that he was speaking to them as someone "concerned about the white race" and concerned about Jewish sexual exploitation of white women. This should be a career ending move. If the Republican party doesn't kick him out on his ear, I will burn my registration card and go register as an Independent.

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