Providing Skip Press With Helpful WICKEDpedia Links

Skip Press’ new piece is so heavy on teh Godwin it’s difficult to know where to begin, so I’m just going to rip on this one, completely stupid assertion:

Let’s review. The totalitarian National Socialists, a radical left-wing group headed by elected leader Adolf Hitler

This one bugs me more than the other false assertions in this piece, perhaps because my father recently forwarded this subtly retarded “history lesson” video, which basically tries to recast the political spectrum as “government vs. no government” instead of “left vs. right” in order to blame every atrocity ever committed by a government on the left.

But anyway, Hitler.  Anyone with even a passing familiarity re: Hitler’s rise to power knows how stupid the “radical left-wing” assertion is.  Since I am too lazy to type shit out from Hitler: A Portrait in Tyranny (which everyone should read), I’ll just give ol’ Skip some light Wikipedia reading for Sunday evening.

First off, the “democratically elected” bit.  Hitler lost the 1932 presidential election to Hindenburg, and, in fact, the Nazis lost 34 seats in that election.  And Hitler was only made Chancellor thanks to inability of the leftist parties (mainly the Communists and the Social Democrats, more on them in a minute) to present a united front, and the backroom dealings of Franz von Papen, who convinced Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor in order to remain Vice-Chancellor.  Papen viewed Hitler as a dumb street thug whom he could easily manipulate politically, a placeholder, a rube, a flavor-of-the-month.  Hitler rose to power through a complicated confluence of political events, but never won more than 36% of the vote in a fair election.  

Now, was he a leftist?  You would have to be high to think so.  Or, as is more likely in the case of Skip Press, define “leftist” as simply “a bad person.”  It’s common knowledge that Hitler’s rise in popularity in the late-20s and early-30s had much to do with his canny anti-Communist rhetoric.

The key moment, where Hitler went from Papen-installed Chancellor to full-out dictator was the Enabling Act of 1933, which Hitler was able to push through by blaming the Reichstag Fire on the Communists.

The Social Democrats, Germany’s center-left party, were the only ones to vote against the Enabling Act, thanks to the courage of Otto Wels.

On the day of the vote, Nazi storm troopers gathered in a show of force around the opera house chanting, “Full powers – or else! We want the bill – or fire and murder!!” They also stood inside in the hallways, and even lined the aisles where the vote would take place.

However, one man arose amid the overwhelming might. Otto Wells, leader of the Social Democrats stood up and spoke quietly to Hitler.

“We German Social Democrats pledge ourselves solemnly in this historic hour to the principles of humanity and justice, of freedom and socialism. No enabling act can give you power to destroy ideas which are eternal and indestructible.”