Mike Godwin’s contribution to the analysis of political rhetoric states that:
Godwin’s law (or Godwin’s rule of Nazi analogies) is an Internet adage asserting that “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1″—that is, if an online discussion (regardless of topic or scope) goes on long enough, sooner or later someone will compare someone or something to Adolf Hitler or National Socialism.
Promulgated by American attorney and author Mike Godwin in 1990, Godwin’s Law originally referred specifically to Usenet newsgroup discussions.[4] It is now applied to any threaded online discussion, such as Internet forums, chat rooms, and blog comment threads, as well as to speeches, articles, and other rhetoric.
Perhaps Godwin didn’t intend the corollary that has arisen since his original statement: The first to invoke a Hitler / Nazi comparison loses the exchange. Nevertheless, it is so. Political combat often relies on analogy and allusion, but in the American political context, figures and movements sufficiently similar to Hitler and National Socialism to deserve such a comparison are vanishingly rare. Thus, to make such a comparison brands one as a hysteric. Exceptions are few.
But when a Leftist’s campaign is in shambles and time is running short, Godwin and his Law be damned:
We have known for some time that Trump is Hitler — because everyone Democrats oppose is Hitler, as confirmed by Not the Bee. When they were running against the Moonbat Messiah, this included even liberal RINOs John McCain and Mitt Romney.
The Democrats likened George W. Bush to Hitler, too. Remember?
As Dave Blount says in the above, the Babylon Bee is “losing its lead” over actual events:
A 3-month-old @TheBabylonBee prophecy fulfilled! pic.twitter.com/2vMfP1EEwt
— Kyle Mann (@The_Kyle_Mann) October 24, 2024
I sympathize with them. It’s hard to be a parodist in our political climate.
UPDATE: This Washington Examiner article sums up the Democrats’ “XXX is Hitler” addiction. It goes back at least sixty years… and who knows what a little more research might uncover?
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Asparagus is Hitler! So are Brussel Sprouts, squash and kale.
Try your Brussel Sprouts with a little garlic and grated Parmesan. You might find that they are more like Mussolini. Kale, however, is more like Pol Pot.
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We halve and roast our brussels sprouts, with a drizzle of truffle oil.
I have often been called a Nazi, and although it is unfair, I don’t let it bother me. I don’t let it bother me for one simple reason. No one has *ever* had a sexual fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal. — P.J. O’Rourke