Rand Paul Compared Obama's Rise To Power To Hitler's In 2009

[onehandle]

Soon-to-be-Kentucky Senator Rand Paul once appeared to express anxiety that the state of affairs in America was opening a path for President Obama to grow into a Hitler-like leader who would snatch up civil liberties in the name of security.

Speaking in 2009 in an interview that was released by conservative radio show host and 9/11 truther Alex Jones last week, Paul drew parallels between the rise of Obama and that of Adolf Hitler.

Here's the crux of Paul's argument, from ThinkProgress:

"I think times of crisis is when we have to worry the most about things. You know, Rahm Emanuel, who's chief adviser to President Obama, said 'let no good crisis go past without allowing government to grow, these are our chances for government to grow stronger and for more security at the expense of liberty.' And it's happened before. When you have severe crisis, that's when sometimes strong leaders arise. You had the money destroyed in Germany in 1923 and out of that chaos came Hitler who promised that these awful people were the ones doing this to you and we need to round them up and put them in camps. And the liberties just went out the window. But people actually democratically voted in a Hitler. And I worry about that again in our country. If the money is destroyed in our country, could we get a time where a strong leader comes forward and says 'we just need security, I'll make you safe but just give me your liberty.'"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/23/rand-paul-obama-hitler_n_787184.html

[hobbit709]

1. What are these idiots on?

It would be a closer parallel to say it happened in 2001.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. More "projection" I imagine

Republicans are great at making Democrats the "villians" and themselves the saints and patriots. A few more helpful "revisions" and most people will forget that George W. Bush was POTUS from 2001-2009 and that he and the Republicans rushed the Patriot Act through Congress (making secret late-night revisions in the law) in the wake of 9/11, began using Gitmo to indefinitely detain terror suspects (including American citizens), illegally invaded another country (Iraq) on the basis of misleading, cherry-picked, or outright false *evidence*, approved harsh interrogation techniques (aka torture) for terror suspects and the rendering of terror suspects to countries with woeful human rights records for their own brand of "interrogation". Those kind of actions are IMHO the marks of a totalitarian or "Hitlerian" regime.
Of course, Rand Paul, despite his idiotic comments, actually does realize this and that Obama is anything but a tyrant but it, of course, plays well politically to help stir people up against President Obama. These people truly have no shame. :puke:

[JoePhilly]

19. "Projection" ... that was my immediate first thought as well ...

The Tea Party is far more like the Nazi party.

Fierce Nationalism. A desire to "cleanse" the "scary others". And a mandate from God.

[olegramps]

20. What is truly frighting is the citizens elect them.

[Turbineguy]

2. Don't you mean he said that in

2001?

[rug]

3. He would know.

[lunatica]

6. +1

One picture is worth a thousand words

[mediaman007]

7. I was going to comment about the lack of "Brownshirts" in Obama's entourage.

But you beat me to it.

[marmar]

4. Pure Projection.

nt

[Botany]

5. alex jones?

'nuff said.

[OHdem10]

9. It takes one to know one. It he is going to throw Hitler around

I can respond in a rational way. First of all Hitler
espoused Right Wing Ideolgy. It there is to be a Hitle\
in this country he will rise from the Right. At the
present, the Right Wingers and Tea Baggers with their
agressive, intimidating force remind one of the takeover
in Germany. Germany was on its knees financially which
made it open and ready for takeover. The Right pushed
their ideology and Hitler arose. Rand Paul should not
throw strones. He and his quasi Libertarianism certainly
moved through Kentucky with a Bang. No one would have
thought a Libertarian could do so well prior to this.

Never forget Hitler joined forces with Business. Rand
Paul is pushing Free Market Priciples--this is why I
call him a quasi Libertarian.

Never Forget Civics 101. In order to preserve our Democracy
we must understand the Ideologies to which each party
is in danger.

Republicanism(Conservatism) taken to its logical Conclusion
equals Fascism taken to extreme-- Nazism.

Democrat(Liberalism) taken to it logical Conclusion equals
Communism--taken to extreme-- Stalinism.

Libertarianism ----Anarchy.

It is up to each individual to guard against losing our Democracy.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

10. The man is a complete idiot. How did he get through medical school?

[craigmatic]

11. What smart politician doesn't run against the status quo if the economy is bad?

Clinton did the samething in'92. It's not like Obama used the Jews as a scapegoat or started wars as a means of boosting the economy.

[OHdem10]

12. If this was not serious, you would have to laugh. Hitler would

turn over in his grave at the idea of a Black Man
being called Hitler.

[tabbycat31]

13. Sigh

It will be a long six years with this idiot. PLEASE let a sex scandal bring him down. Stupid stupid Aqua Buddha ad.... Kentucky had a clear choice this election and they made the wrong one.

[rasputin1952]

14. Anyone who would listen to Rand Paul about anything is seriously deluded...

in a nutshell, the man is friggin' crazy...:eyes:

[Blue_Tires]

15. Paul's a racist...What else would anyone expect??

[Rosa Luxemburg]

16. Paul is 'round the bend' (the Raving Loony Party)

[jbnow]

17. Nice Rahm "quote". Was he sitting in secret meeting? Have it tapped? Make up

the words, hear them as a voice in his head when he thought about Rahm and Obama.

How does

"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste," Rahm Emanuel, Mr. Obama's new chief of staff, told a Wall Street Journal conference of top corporate chief executives this week.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122721278056345271.html
go to this nut saying

You know, Rahm Emanuel, who's chief adviser to President Obama, said 'let no good crisis go past without allowing government to grow, these are our chances for government to grow stronger and for more security at the expense of liberty.'

Rahm did mention energy jobs, health care, education and regulatory reforms as examples but the WSJ writer (and conference) agreed. Those things are growing government, true. He also said it encouraged bipartisanship because the problems are so big parties will both bring best ideas. (He is no prophet)
But somehow I am missing the part where Rahm said they should go for "more security at the expense of liberty".

Strange that he took Rahm's infamous quote, so often used against Obama by republicans and made it into this new strange thing. Does he believe it himself (and why)?

[DailyGrind51]

18. Obama is more like the Weimar Republic with the Teabaggers being Rohm's S.A.!

[NoPasaran]

21. An historical fairytale that badly needs to be retired

The notion that the German hyperinflation of 1923 was responsible for the rise of Hitler is an historical fairytale that badly needs to be retired. True, in November of that year Hitler's Nazis tried to seize power in Bavaria (the "Beer Hall Putsch") but that attempt failed and Hitler was imprisoned. By the end of 1923 the German government introduced a new currency that was relatively stable. Germany for the remainder of the decade may not have been the most prosperous place on the planet, but the days of citizens carting their grocery money in wheelbarrows was over.

Hitler's rise to power in 1933 has a lot more to do with the effects of the economic crisis brought on by the global depression of the Thirties, combined with elements in German society who never accepted the legitimacy of the Weimer Republic, than with the hyper-inflationary period a decade earlier.