Kerby Anderson

Liberals have been engaged in Nazi name-calling for more than a half-century. It has been a way to vilify and marginalize Republican candidates and their conservative supporters. Harry Truman claimed his 1948 Republican opponent, Thomas Dewey, was a “front man” for fascists. During the 1964 presidential campaign, the governor of California suggested Republican candidate Barry Goldwater had “the stench of fascism.” Two years later Ronald Reagan replaced him as governor and was called a Nazi so many times (first as governor and then as president) that it would be hard to get an accurate count. And it will be hard to count all the times George W. Bush and Donald Trump have been given the Nazi label. The purpose of calling candidates and supporters Nazis was to intimidate them and back them off of their agenda. But times have changed. Donald Trump and many of his supporters don’t seem to care what you call them. Moreover, many other politicians have been called Nazis for so long, that it hardly has any meaning or impact. This turn of events has put Nazi name-callers in a difficult situation. Is this all just rhetorical hyperbole, or do they really mean what they say? If it is the former, then they really are just name-calling and don’t really believe the president, other candidates, and their supporters are equivalent to the Nazi regime. But they may really believe that what is happening in America is similar to what was happening in Germany in the 1930s. If that is the case, they will feel a moral obligation to take violent action against Trump, Trump’s cabinet, and Trump supporters. The recent speeches and actions by members of Congress and liberal political leaders indicate that they aren’t just name-calling. They really do seem to believe they are fighting evil incarnate. That’s why the conflict is increasing.