Whats the stupidest thing you've ever heard from a wingnut?

[DireStrike]

I just heard this in an argument, and it's not the first time:

"The Nazis were socialists."

I guess that's why framing works so well with republicans. They don't understand anything beyond a name.

Later, I said that the U.S. economy was stagnant. So he told me our GDP. :eyes: He also claimed to be a democrat, said that liberals make the democrats look bad, and that if the US ever lost power it would be because of the liberals in the country.:dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

[Skidmore]

1. * is a godly man or moral man or is like me.

[slackmaster]

2. A RW guy in Northern CA told me "Cats are FILTHY animals!"

He believed that cats smothered human infants to death.

A short time later the man took a giant dump right in the middle of a hiking trail in a national forest. It was about 100 feet away from a river, 50 feet in front of two stunned female hikers. He didn't even do anything to cleanse himself.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

3. "The US government is founded on the Bible"

Actually, the Founding Fathers, Washington included were mostly apathetic or downright hostile to organized religion. And if the government is founded upon the Bible, why do they hate it so much? Do they hate the Bible, then?

[UdoKier]

4. "I'm voting for Bush because he's a good Christian."

That's the topper. Like you can tell. The man could be an atheist, or a Satanist, for all they know, but they just believe that crap because he says it.


That's beside the point that even if one were a "good Christian" it would not make someone a good president. Carter was a much more devout Christian than Bush, and was a very ineffective president.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

12. My favorite is

"Bush is a god fearing man."

Like acheiving a state where one lives in fear is something to be asspired too?

[UdoKier]

23. One who fears God...

would not be so rash and in a hurry to commit mass murder and loot another country.

I don't even think he believes in God, actually.

[Dr Ron]

5. Not the stupidist argument

On some levels there is an argument there. Their name was National Socialists. Both Socialists and Nazis supported an increased government presense in the economy.

Of course there are also many differences. I'm not saying they are right on this, just that I've heard many far weaker arguments. Such as when they call Democrats Socialists without realizing that the Bush Republicans are far closer to Nazis than Democrats are to Socialists.

[DireStrike]

10. That's true, but only because they pick-and-choose definitions of

socialist.

[bunkerbuster1]

27. The Nazis were "Socialists" like the German Democratic Republic

was "Democratic."

[Dr Ron]

29. Not a good argument

but we have a different standard here. There is enough to the argument so that, while poor, I wouldn't labe it the worst argument I've ever heard from the right.

[bunkerbuster1]

35. Not the worst, agreed. I'm just sick of hearing that the Nazis

were somehow "left wing," which is how the wingnuts frame their arguments these days.

[Dr Ron]

73. Left wing and right wing both poor ways to describe ideologies

Things are just far too complicated, and there are far too many viewpoints to fit nicely on a linear left to right spectrum.

I've seen some conservative blogs basically define things so that everything good is right wing and everything bad is left wing. By their definitions, yes Nazis are left wing, but it doesn't mean much.

[Itchinjim]

6. Yesterday a co-worker said to me that...

He knew that Brit Hume was lying about FDR and SS but didn't care. And that one way to solve the SS "mess" was to let more people die.
Fucking moran.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

31. Why doesn't that prick start with himself? Or his mother?

Here's a gun.
My deepest sympathy for you for your having to share oxygen with that turd.

[bryant69]

7. My favorite - "The Civil War had nothing to do with Slavery"

Crazy.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[jackster]

25. yeah, this civil war thing always drives me crazy...

even my left leaning family members (all southern born and bred) continually mouth THAT line!

[wellst0nev0ter]

84. How About "White Men Are Oppressed In This Country"

here

[Freedom_from_Chains]

8. "The Nazis were socialists."

Nazi is short for "National Socialist German Workers
Party," so that would seem to indicate they were a socialist party.

Why do you think the nazi's were not socialists?

[DireStrike]

11. Um... because they acted nothing like their name? -nt-

[Freedom_from_Chains]

15. Um...such as?

Can you be a little more specific?

[DireStrike]

26. Why don't you tell me some socialist/labor things they did?

Then I'll counter.

[tom_paine]

19. Ever hear of False Advertising?

And yes, at the Extreme Authoritarianism, Leftists regimes like Stalin's and Rightist regimes like Hitler's were quite similar in spite of coming from opposite rationales.

"We shall protect free enterprise as the sole order."
--Adolf Hitler

Hitler hatred of Communists, Socialists and Leftists in general is well documented. In fact, Communists and Socialists were among the first to go off to the Camps.

Hitler was financed by Wealthy German industrialists, primarily Fritz Thyseen, a Right-Wing German.

Yep, that sounds like how a Communist would raise monies and surely the natural alliance between Wealthy Industrialists and Socialists is, well documented. :puke:

Mussolini was a Right-Wing facsist. He called himself that and his followers were called Fascisti.

For a staunch Right-Winger such as Mussolini to ally with a Leftist Communist/Socialist would have been anathema.

There's more, with plenty of links to back up these facts. Read a history book.

Nazis were Socialists like Freepers believe in either Freedom or the Old American Republic.

False advertising, it goes on today in political circles same as it did in Nazi germany, and for the same reasons.

To convince the weak-minded to believe Party Lies.

[Liberal Veteran]

21. Because names don't really mean a lot.

They were fascists and totalitarianists, not socialists.

North Korea is official called The Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea, but that doesn't mean they are a democracy.

[denverbill]

24. Why do you think they were socialists?

Name one damned thing they did that was socialist? Did they nationalize any industries? No. Did they seize the assets of wealthy industrialists? No. Did they embark on any great new government programs? No.

The Nazis were supported actively by the wealthy establishment and corporations in Germany. I challenge you to find one difference between Hitler's economic policy and Bush's.

[aaronnyc]

48. You are reading too much into the label

The roots of the National Socialist Party did have many socialist tendencies on domestic policy. The Nazi Party was formed before Hitler became involved. In the early years there were some nationalistic socialist - as the name would suggest- in the party, however once Hitler took control of the it the socialistic aspects was phased out.

Hitler had very little interest in domestic policy, one way or the other; however, if anything he certainly supported free-market capitalism. The notion of Communism and Socialism he actually hated, although I'm not really sure why.

[RaleighNCDUer]

62. 'Socialist' is more than just a name. It is a set of ideals and

principles for organizing an economic system. Nazi 'socialism' was not socialistic -- it was fascistic. The state controlled the economy, yes, but the industrialists and corporations controlled the state. Without the backing of the wealthiest class, the Nazi's would have dwindled into well deserved obscurity.

Socialism is organizing the state's resources to benefit the people. Nazism, like all other fascists states, organized the state's resources to benefit the too 1% of the people.

[w4rma]

75. They hated the labor movement. You can't be socialist and oppose labor (nt

[tom_paine]

"Hitler was a Leftist"

Almost beyond the pale, it's so Orwellian, so Soviet...so NAZI in it's bold and blatant revision of history.

But I have no doubt there are MANY others even worse out there and Fox News could convince the Imperial Sturmtruppen that 1 + 1 = 3 (because 1 + 1 = 2 is a liberal answer created by Pagan Enemies of the State, of course).

If you think I am exaggerating for dramatic effect, I once thought I was.

Now, I am not so sure Fox couldn't get the number answering 1 + 1 =3 to a given poll up to 40% if they tried.

[Ganja Ninja]

9. I find the current BS about liberating ME countries to be

about the dumbest thing I've heard in a while. It's completely out of left field. When did this become a national priority?

[liberal N proud]

13. He's not as stupid as he looks!

I got that from a repuke when I posted the pic of bu$h looking through the field glasses with the lens caps on.
It was a hit and run comment and I did not get a chance to respond after LMAO
I thought, that would not take much because he looks dumber than dirt. And I don't mean to insult dirt.

[denverbill]

14. Ask him to name one thing the Nazis did that was Socialist?

About the only thing I can think of was they built an interstate highway system.

Other than that, they were free market capitalists. Today's Republicans would LOVE their platform. They abolished all unions, jailed communists, liberals, and educators, and vastly increased military spending. Germany's wealthy (excluding the Jews, of course) did quite well during the war, since Hitler left all defense companies in private hands, and provided them with cheap slave labor.

[On the Road]

30. I Have Heard that the Nazis Introduced a Lot of Social Programs

and that one reason they were popular was because of their domestic agenda. I think it was in Chomsky. I can't confirm one way or another.

However, the Nazis were virulently anti-communist and just and strongly pro-large business.

[denverbill]

72. Not that I'm aware of.

Other than a few public works projects like the autobahns, I'm not aware of anything they did that could be considered remotely socialist. 99% of Germany's social programs existed before Hitler came to power, and he really didn't do much to them, other than installing his cronies to head them.

Hitler did make average Germans feel better about the economy. He inherited a dismal economy, and through a combination of public works projects, doctoring employment statistics, jailing people, and military conscription, unemployment dropped dramatically.

Here's a pretty good summary:

But was this true or did the Nazi propaganda machine move into overdrive to persuade the nation and Europe that she had achieved something that other European nations had not during the time of economic depression?

A number of policies were introduced which caused the unemployment figures to drop.

Women were no longer included in the statistics so any women who remained out of work under the Nazi’s rule did not exist as far as the statistics were concerned.

The unemployed were given a very simple choice: do whatever work is given to you by the government or be classed as "work-shy" and put in a concentration camp.

Jews lost their citizenship in 1935 and as a result were not included in unemployment figures even though many lost their employment at the start of Hitler’s time in power.

Many young men were taken off of the unemployment figure when conscription was brought in (1935) and men had to do their time in the army etc. By 1939, the army was 1.4 million strong. To equip these men with weapons etc., factories were built and this took even more off of the unemployment figure.

With these measures in place the unemployment figure had to fall drastically and many saw the Nazi figures as nothing more than a book-keeping trick. However, many would have been too scared to speak out against the Nazis or pass negative comments on the published figures - such was the fear of the Gestapo.

However, there is no doubt that work was created. The Nazis introduced public work schemes for men who worked in the National Labour Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst or RAD). Their work would have included digging ditches on farms to assist irrigation, building the new autobahns, planting new forests etc. The men of the RAD wore a military style uniform, lived in camps near to where they were working and received only what we would term pocket money. However, compared to the lack of success of the Weimar government and the chronic misery of 1931 to 1932, these men felt that at least the Nazi government was making the effort to improve their lot.

To ‘protect’ those in work, the German Labour Front was set up. This was lead by Robert Ley. The GLF took the role of trade unions which had been banned. To an extent, the GLF did this. Ley ordered that workers could not be sacked on the spot but he also ordered that a worker could not leave his job without the government’s permission. Only government labour exchanges could arrange for a new job if someone did leave his employment.

However, the GLF increased the number of hours worked from 60 to 72 per week (including overtime) by 1939. Strikes were outlawed. The average factory worker was earning 10 times more than those on dole money and few complained – though to do so was fraught with potential difficulties.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/nazis_and_the_german_economy.htm

Banned labor unions.
Outlawed strikes.
Increased the hours worked per week.
Banned workers from leaving their jobs.
Doctored labor statistics.

Now, does that sound 'left-wing' to you, or does it sound like Bush's wet dream? There isn't a right-winger in America that love to implement exactly the same things.

[On the Road]

81. Glad to Have the Clarification

I was just posting something I had read. (Actually, I think Chomsky's comment was that many French social programs had been initiated during the Nazi occupation.)

Not saying it's true. Especially glad to have the background on labor policies. It makes it much easier to argue that the Nazis were right-wing rather than a mixed breed.

Also, here's something from the Wikipedia:

Nazi economic practice concerned itself with immediate domestic issues and separately with ideological conceptions of international economics.

Domestic economic policy was narrowly concerned with three major goals:

Elimination of unemployment
Elimination of hyperinflation
Expansion of production of consumer goods to improve middle- and lower-class living standards.

All of these policy goals were intended to address the perceived shortcomings of the Weimar Republic and to solidify domestic support for the party. In this, the party was very successful. Between 1933 and 1936 the German GNP increased by an average annual rate of 9.5 percent, and the rate for industry alone rose by 17.2 percent.

Sounds like how I always heard Nazis depicted: as an authoritarian, nationalistic, pro-business government.

[RaleighNCDUer]

63. Eisenhower also built a national highway system.

That makes him a socialist?

[denverbill]

78. Well, right-wingers, then and now, would probably say so.

Then again, right-wingers think banning children from working in coal mines is socialist too, so....

[thinking is sexy]

16. Not all that stupid but certainly inane

I've got a neocon friend who spent the whole of last september/october telling me reasons not to vote for Kerry. She'd come up with one, present it to me, and I'd knock it down immediately. Then she'd come back with another, after more "research." Her last argument was the best, I paraphrase:

It is required that two secret service agents protect each of the president's homes at all times, whether he is in the house or not. Kerry has five homes! Can you imagine the budgetary strain?!

My response was to laugh quite heartily. Then I asked her how much Bush planned to spend on unjust wars for false reasons, and could I receive a check for the difference between Kerry's multi-house security and Bush's misuse of tax payers' money?
-------------
She was a bit dodgy politically speaking anyway ... last I heard she decided to become a Democrat when she was denied financial aid. You have to laugh or your head will explode.

[woodsprite]

17. They voted for * because they like Laura better than Teresa. n/t

[bunkerbuster1]

18. "If they raise the miminum wage, a burger at McDonalds will cost

three bucks."

Heard that yesterday.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

32. Answer: "Don't eat that crap."n/t

[bunkerbuster1]

37. Funny you should mention that, because

...another co worker said essentially the same thing: "Swell! It'd be great if McD's food became unaffordable!"

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

44. Oooooo I have an even BETTER one on that subject.

But I can only send it by PM. :evilgrin:

[bunkerbuster1]

45. Do send.

Do tell.

[DireStrike]

47. I want one too!

Because I'm a sicko! :evilgrin:

[RaleighNCDUer]

64. I thought they already did. n/t

[BuyingThyme]

20. Bush has protected us from the terrorists.

[walldude]

22. A guy I work with

claimed that the PNAC doesn't really exist. "It's all just a liberal scam to make the Republicans look bad. Soros probably paid someone to build their website and make all those fake documents"..

[jackster]

28. have you heard RWs say that Bush is too liberal for them?

THAT ranks up there for me!

[Dr Ron]

34. Different interpretations to that

Most likely, they are looking at Bush from the perspective of a traditional conservative. Bush certianly does not fit that mode. The mistake they make is to think that someone who is not a traditional conservative is a liberal. That comes from the oversimplification of a straight line in ideology between conservative and liberal. In reality there are a varity of views, so someone could differ from tradtional conservativism but not be liberal.

Part of this could come from falling for Republican definitions of liberal. They might define liberal as being for big government. Bush is for big government. The real difference isn't really between supportes of big vs. small government, but different ideas as to the role of government.

Or if they think Bush is too liberal, they could really be far right. As bad as Bush is, there are people even further to the right.

[DireStrike]

36. That's true.

Again, the problem here is assumed definitions. If people could only mind-meld...

[Liberal Veteran]

33. A Rwingnut told me Jesus said...

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."

After I stopped laughing, I pointed out that not only did Jesus NOT say that, but that it's not even from the bible, it's a Chinese proverb.

He got all red in the face and said "Well, he should have!"

[megatherium]

38. if you make a fire, you can keep a man warm for a day.

But if you set him on fire, you can keep him warm for the rest of his life.

I don't think Jesus said that either.

[newportdadde]

39. Has to be in regards to Iraq-> "Better to fight them over there then here.

[7th_Sephiroth]

40. thank god bush was here for 9/11

if it were gore, we'd all be reading the Koran right now

[bunkerbuster1]

46. "if Gore were President, after 9/11,

he'd invite Bin Laden to the White House for tea."

It's hard to pick a "stupidest" wingnut line, there are so many I've heard.

[LibertyLover]

66. A variant that I've heard from a woman wingnut

"If Gore had been president on 9/11 I would be wearing a burka now."

[Riding this Donkey]

41. "Atleast President Bush tells the truth" I kid you not!

:puke:

[rniel]

65. I think that's' the winner!

n/m

[kcass1954]

42. "I trust * on the war. He's in a better position to know the truth."

This from my sister, kool-aid drinking sheeple.

What she refuses to acknowledge is that while he may know more of the details (or maybe not), he's either not forthcoming with the information or downright lying about it to us. She still supports his efforts. "Oh I wish we didn't have to have the war, but I think he knows what's best."

I've got my own saying: In my 50 years, every time a man said "Oh you can trust me" and I did, one way or another, either literally or figuratively, I got fucked!

[hatrack]

43. "Wasn't that where Greenpeace sank that French ship?"

In reference to the Rainbow Warrior murder/sabotage.

I shit you not.

[beyurslf]

49. "I don't care what you say.... I still like GW."

In response to any one of a number of things they know they are wrong about.

[HughBeaumont]

50. Geez, you got a couple of days?

But BY FAR, at the inaugural parade .. .

Repig woman: "Yew are in the mah-noritee!"
Us: "Not with the world, hate to break it to you."
Repig woman: "Who CARES about the rest of the world?!?!"

It'd be funny if it weren't so sad . . . that this mentality now rules the country.

[Ian David]

51. There are more trees in America now than when Colombus discovered it

Rush Limbaugh said it.

And I think (but I'm not sure) Penn and Teller said it on an episode of Bullshit.

[rniel]

67. There could be a shred of truth there actually

I don't know if that is actually true but I do know when there's noone to supress wildfires lots of forests get thinned out pretty easily. Then when the forest fires were stopped by us mosts forests grew larger. But at the same time they were being harvested pretty heavily too so I'm not sure how it has balanced out.

[MisterP]

83. well, whaddya expect from some Cato Institute freaks?

:D

[UdoKier]

52. "I vote republiccan because I believe in fiscal discipline."

LMFAO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! LMFAO! LOL! ROTFLMAO!!!!!!

[HughBeaumont]

58. Your signature could be your retort to that.

I can't believe the debt is that damned high. What a bunch of non-thinking dicks these people are.

[bvar22]

68. ...and smaller government!!!

[w4rma]

77. Didn't that big number in your signature begin with a "6" not all that

long ago?

[DelawareValleyDem]

53. That Bush understands working people

and that Clinton was responsible for redefining the word 'bigot' during his administration.

[callous taoboy]

54. Re: The '04 election: "The people have spoken."

[zippy890]

55. "Poor Bush, he gets blamed for everything"

WELL NO WONDER!!!!!!!!!!!!

[StopAnnCoulter]

56. Craziness

Anything Ann Coulter has ever said

[ComerPerro]

57. "Condi Rice is too smart to be black anyway"

Said by a conservative I know about the "racial draft" episode of Chapelle's show, where Condi Rice and Colin powell were given away to the whites by black people.

And he said this while knowing that my girlfriend is black...

[LibDemAlways]

59. After listing a variety of chimp outrages,

I had a wingnut come back at me with, "Well, believe what you want, but you have to admit that you were glad * was our President on 9/11."

I laughed out loud and proceeded to tell the jerk that the idiot sat in a classroom reading a kid's book about a goat after being told of the attack. His lame response, "That's what anyone would have done. He didn't want to scare those kids."

There is nothing the chimp could say or do that would make any difference to these idiots. He could go berserk during a news conference and murder somebody, and the whores and wingnuts would find a way to excuse it.

[TOOLZ]

60. Kerry just attacks the opponent, Bush really cares about doing good

[Ariana Celeste]

61. "Muslims are taking over the world,

they have the ME and they are spreading through Europe- if we don't stop them now they will kill all of the Christians in America."
- My religious wingnut fundie Uncle (Who, by the way, is an Evangelist preacher. Even has a card. x( )

[skypilot]

69. "The liberals are always saying....

...that we went to war for the oil. Well, then why are oil prices still so high?"

[uhhuh]

91. I love that one

I always answer that the chimp wanted the oil for his oil buddies, not for you.

They always assume that he does stuff to help them out.

What do they expect? Do they want the "nanny state" to just start handing out oil like some sort of "entitlement program"?

If you want cheap oil, go drill for it! What are you, some sort of "socialist"?

[kcwayne]

70. We ought to invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them

to Christianity. Mann Coulter bloviating on what Jesus would do.

I could go on and on and on, but who has the time or interest to wallow in slime?

[LostInAnomie]

71. After the Tsunami my wingnut co-worker said:

"Why should we help them? What did they do for us after 9/11?"

I was too shocked to even respond.

[CrispyQ]

74. Heard this from a religious zealot:

"Since 95% of the people believe in God it's logical to assume that God exists."

:wtf:

[KansDem]

76. I was once told that I read "too much".....

I got into a debate with a fundie over the stolen elections. She said that stolen elections had occurred ever since the time of George Washington...

I countered with the statement, "Well, then, they all need to be investigated, so let's start with the last election," and I began to cite facts and evidence, much of what I learned here on DU...

She came back with "I don't want to debate this with you...you read too much..." And she was serious!!!

[bloom]

79. "the "unsaved" are dead already"

implying that they could be killed and it wouldn't be killing.

[katinmn]

80. It's the body language not the words that get me.

Some people look fearful or uncomfortable when I say anything critical of *. It's like they are committing a sin by listening to someone speak against the government.

I guess the Nazis have a lot of people intimidataed.

[Memekiller]

82. Picture says a thousand words

[stpalm]

85. "bias" liberal media?

HAHAHAHAHAH!!! That is so stupid! That can't be real... can it?

[Memekiller]

86. Oh, it's real, all right...

Just took a picture of it myself.

[stpalm]

90. that is so sad...

those people are so deluded they can't see that the media is controlled by corporate interests. We really need a liberal media right now, but I'll be damned if I can find one.

and they can't use proper grammar

[havocmom]

87. "* won election in 04 by largest margine ever!" Sheesh, the guy is a cop

I would hope he really knows his insistance that * had the biggest landslide in history is some sort of radio host delusion... This guy carries a badge :eyes: Call 911 in case of emergency? NOT if that is an example of their mind set!

[bozeman]

88. I get pissed when they try and pretend they supported civil rights

during the sixties. They pretend that most Dixiecrat Dems didn't flee the Democratic party to become Republicans. They pretend that it wasn't Democrats who pushed hard for the civil rights reforms of the sixties. They pretend that it wasn't liberals who marched in the streets. It's pathetic.

[VOX]

93. Isn't this the sad truth?

I've heard them do this, and it's infuriating.

And, BTW, welcome to DU, bozeman! :toast:

[Johonny]

89. My current Favorite

Current republican rhetoric on global warming. Where they are now focusing the discussion on mitigating the effects of global warming instead of mitigating the causes. This is somehow suppose to be cheaper? This is like arguing that it’s cheaper to cure lung cancer than to stop smoking…

Right in line with that is the line we can’t afford to spend 500 million to support environmental reform. For a Republican: if you give a company say 10 million this is good because they’ll use it to create more business. However giving say 10 million on the environment some how doesn’t help the economy. Either spending money stimulates the economy or it doesn’t.

[VOX]

92. " * won more counties, more square miles, than Gore/Kerry blah blah blah."

Yeah, I didn't know we were counting jackrabbits and cactus. :grr:

[Nigel_Tufnel]

94. i asked my "christian" republican neighbor

who votes thug because "her parents always did," what jesus would think about sexually assaulting iraqi prisoners and their children.

she said "they'd do the same thing if they attacked us over here."

kind of hard to beat that!