Why does the media in America not understand Nazism?
Fox News is trying to give Nazism a good name?
One must marvel at the audacity of the media. Representative Steve Cohen (Democrat) stated that the Republicans were comparing the Obama health-care plan to The Big Lie, referring to A 1951 propaganda film illustrating political methodology of Hitler and Russia. The Big Lie was a 1951 anti-communist propaganda film produced by the US Army. It begins with the quote by Adolf Hitler: "The great masses will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one."
Fox News and commentators seem to live in a delusional world of their own making. They seem to associate Nazism with being rude on a blog or standing for ones own views and principles. They seem to be confusing freedom of speech and the American Republican Democracy with fascism. Odd, but apparently true. The Democrats have not said anything about killing, murdering, or torturing millions of people for ideological reasons and yet the Fox News commentators, and even the Fox News CEO Richard Ailes, insists they are Nazis.
This sort of revisionist history is abhorrent to the reasoning mind, and completely evades the real and biting reality of Nazi Germany. The idea that these people consider themselves in the 'NEWS business' is equally absurd. It is wholly irresponsible to the Fox News audience as they are not delivering relevant truth but rather agenda based bias. It is an affront to the truth and the people that were victim of the Holocaust and suffering in the concentration camps.
Keep in mind that Cohen's usage of his reference is describing the repetitive talking points the right wing media and politicians have rhetorically employed to spread disinformation on the Obama Health-care plan.
Here Jon Stewart illustrates the direct contradictions hypocrisy of those on Fox News who were apparently surprised, astonished, or taken aback by Cohen's remarks.
The Daily Show - 24-Hour Nazi Party People
January 18, 2011
Rep. Steve Cohen (D) Tennessee speaking on the floor of the House: "They say it's a government takeover of health-care, a big lie. Just like Goebbels. You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually people believe it. ... the Germans said enough about the Jews, and the people believed it, and you had the Holocaust.
January 20, 2011
Richard Socarides, a democratic strategist, stated on Megyn Kelly's Fox News Program: "If we want to get into who's heating this, and who's over heating this, I mean you know, every night on the very network that we're on right now the leading commentators on this network use this kind of language, so let's you and I get together right now and say that there...
Megyn Kelly on Fox News interrupts: "It's just not true."
Richard replies: "Well that is true I mean listen, people can be the judge of it maybe you and I don't watch it as much...
Megyn Kelly: "I don't know if you sit and watch our programing every night, but I watch it every day, and your wrong."
The question we must ask at this point: is Megyn Kelly right, or wrong, about her claim that Fox News does not use such rhetoric, inference, or references to Nazism in its programs? And if it did happen, would the news anchor protest, as they protest against such reference when a democrat uses such reference. But even beyond that, context is key. How are these references being used, and is it fair when considered in context?
Fact Checking: Around the time of Megyn's Comment
January (19?), 2011
Fox News Commentator (no date listed): "He compared the GOP health law claims to Nazi Lies."
January 19, 2011
Bill O'Reilly on Fox News: "It is accusing the other side of being Nazis. I mean that's pretty strong."
Note to Bill O'Reilly: But on Dec. 8, 2005 you called the far left in this country Nazis; and on Feb. 28, 2008 you indirectly/directly called Arianna Huffington a Nazi.
January 19, 2011
Carl Rove on Fox News: "Congressman Cohen should be ashamed of himself."
January 20, 2011
Bill O Reilly on Fox News: "The rhetoric is absolutely over the top."
January 20, 201
Fox News commentator: "He compared the GOP health law claims to Nazi Lies."
January 20, 2011
Sean Hannity on Fox News: "If Republicans ever made such a comparison well you know the media would be all over it.
The right wing media are somewhat taken aback that a democratic representative would use such a characterization. They seem to indicate that it is somehow wrong to use such inferences or references. Of course if it is wrong to use such references, then it stands to reason that they themselves would never use such references. Congressman Cohen used his comparison because the right wing was claiming the Obama health-care plan would kill people, which is quite the opposite of health-care, hence the big lie reference. The right wing, in comparison, uses Nazi references like they are handing out candy it seems, but usually referring to things that have little to nothing to do with Nazism. In this sense, one can easily conclude they are using the term irresponsibly and inconsiderately and certainly inappropriately.
Fact Checking: Before Megyn's Comment
December 8, 2005
Bill O'Reilly on Fox News: "The far left in this country, the zealots, I mean these are zealots, are Nazis.
September 26, 2007
Tammy Bruce on Fox News: "You have a media gestapo in Media Matters, and then you have a political gestapo in moveon.org"
February 27, 2008
Bill O'Reilly on Fox News: "I don't see any difference between Huffington and the Nazi's.
Response: "I still don't think she is a Nazi."
"I didn't say she was a Nazi, I just said there's no difference between what the two do."
Note to Bill O'Reilly. Saying there is no difference between Huffington and Nazi's is in fact implying, via the use of 'words', thereby 'saying' through inference and implication, that she is a Nazi.
February 28, 2008
Bill O'Reilly on Fox News: "If you look back at what happened in Germany, you can not escape the similarities between what Hitler and his cutthroats did back then and the hate filled blogs, what they are doing now.
March 5, 2010
Glenn Beck on Fox News: "There is an Obama supporter. He's got this book and this video out that are propaganda pieces, and I'm telling you they would make Joseph Goebbels proud."
March 31, 2010
Megyn Kelly on Fox News: "Bernie, did you watch it, What did ya think?
Bernie Goldberg on Fox News: "Well, true believers always make me a little nervous. I am not calling these people Nazis, I wanna make that clear, but they are not behaving like liberals, they are behaving like Brown Shirted thugs (a reference to Hitlers Sturmabteilung aka. Stormtroopers).
Megyn stated on January 20th, 2011, effectively, that Fox News does not use such 'language' id est Nazi rhetoric, inference, or reference, on Fox News, even though it was done on her own show, with her present. The fact remains, many on Fox News do in deed use and employ such language in their rhetoric.
August 12, 2010
Glenn Beck on Fox News: "America is repeating the mistakes of the Weimar Republic."
November 18, 2010
Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox News: "They are, of course, Nazis. They have a kind of Nazi attitude. They are the left wing of Nazism"
Source: nation.foxnews.com
Fox News CEO Roger Ailes New York, Sep. 29, 2006. (Photo: Jim Cooper / AP Photo)
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