Romney, Hitler & Energy

"Gosh, Hitler, during the second world war, I guess, because he was concerned about losing his oil, liquefied coal—that technology's still there. Why don't we develop those sources? I think government has a role to do that, by the way."

- Mitt Romney, in a video posted May 15, 2012, on Buzzfeed. See also Brian Merchant's post on Treehugger,

Well . . .

As Brian said, 

Obviously, Romney isn't pro-Hitler. But what right-minded politician seeking office in the 21st century ever considers it a good idea to let fly a statement endorsing Hitler's ideas? It's f@$&ing Hitler!

There is simply no other politician I can think of that would ever dream of voluntarily and publicly casting Hitler's ideas in a positive light, apropos of nothing. 'Well, nation, Hitler had some good ideas' is perhaps the single least effective rhetorical framing device in the world.

Actually, there may be two: David Duke, a perennial GOP Presidential candidate - expelled from Germany in November, 2011 (Question More / wikipedia). And Pat Buchanan, the "Pundit" who used to talk about the American auto industry and drive himself around in his Mercedes? He also also lost a GOP Presidential primary run in the 1980's and went on to become one of President Reagan's advisers.

Duke was a Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan. His slogan could have been "All the way with the KKK," altho he would have needed a Madison Ave "Creative" to come up with it and even the ones that are not Jews think like Jews. Buchanan persuaded Reagan that "We must mourn the Nazi SS victims of World War II." Those guys are Nazis. 

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is probably not a Nazi. After all, some of Romney's best friends are Jews: men like Shelly Adelson and Bibi Neranyahu, and the boys from Wall Street. These are real humanitarians, the best friends money can buy. Unlike, say, Todd Akin or Sarah Palin, Romney probably doesn't even believe Jews have horns.

And remember: Romney's a Morman. The members of The Church of the Latter Day Saints love Jews. LOVE JEWS - especially the light-skinned ones. They Baptize Jews after they die - at least the light skinned ones. It's wonderful, in a creepy sort of way. But it's kind of nice; they're saying "We like you, we want you with us in heaven." That's better than offering Jews Mel Ginson's choice:  "Baptism or Hell." Or Torquemada's choice: "Baptism or die," or the choice favored by Romney's dead energy maven, Hitler: "die or die."

But in his defense, Romney is only suggesting we adopt one of Hitler's bad ideas, and one on energy policy, "Burn Baby Burn," not his domestic policy, "Burn Baby Jews." And it makes sense that the Repulican'ts would look to the Nazis for energy policy. German-American Republicans in the 1930's like Lindbergh were Nazis. German-American Republican'ts today, like Karl Rove, Donald Trump, and Newt Gingrich use Nazi propaganda tactics when talking about their opponents (Newt Gingrich: Language A Key Mechanism of Control). Goebbels would be proud.

But bad politics aside, Coal Liquification is also bad policy. We should be moving off fossil fuels. Pioneered in Nazi Germany because we cut off their oil supply, and further developed in Apartheid South Africa because of the embargo on that regime, coal liquification is simply a technology that furthers "Burn, Baby, Burn." Pursuing it will lead to "Rise, Oceans, Rise," "Swim, Baby, Swim," and "Drown, Baby, Drown."

And  quoting Hitler on the campaign trail, illegal in Germany, is like telling senior citizens about the beauty of turning Medicare into a voucher program - it's "Stupid, Baby, Stupid."