Second verse, same as the first

John Avlon has a great article on the Obama-as-Hitler and Bush-as-Hitler hysterics that have been so prevalent the last few years.

This may come as a shock to some but neither claim is appropriate.  And getting more pissy about one over the other, based solely on your political allegiance, is no better.  

Says John:

I condemn both Bush-as-Hitler and Obama-as-Hitler comparisons in my book and subsequent speeches. Liberals frequently object to my invocation of Bush Derangement Syndrome, just as conservatives bristle at my detailing of Obama Derangement Syndrome. Centrists are used to liberals calling them conservative and conservatives calling them liberal. This impulse is designed to discredit independents and reinforces the left/right divide.

But what's most striking to me is the way committed partisans miss the broader moral equivalency behind these two syndromes: If you only object to the president of your party being compared to Hitler, then you're part of the problem.  (my bold for emphasis)

Avlon on Reason TV

 This ten minute discussion between John Avlon and Nick Gillespie is worth the watch. John does a decent job in his delivery, though a little rushed. I was certainly confused when he described Wingnuts as "people who are always trying to unite us rather than divide us" Luckily we know he meant the opposite.

Where he did well, of course, was explaining how independents relate to libertarianism as they tend to be Fiscally Conservative and Socially Liberal. He correctly notes that both fringes get this wrong and seem unable to grasp the mix, instead claiming that independent vote boons represent some kind of referrendum for their ideology. (see: liberals taking Obama's victory as a liberal mandate; conservatives taking Brown's victory as a mandate against health care reform) The truth is, on the whole, independents are deficit hawks; they don't want either party spending recklessly, demonstrated by the struggle incumbents go through trying to hold office.

At one point Gillespie asks him where in the scheme the Tea Party movement fits, which Avlon rightly explains as a group of grassroot deficit hawk populists who are sadly experiencing Obama Derangement Syndrome. All due to the shift in genesis of political talking points coming from the media, rather than the politicians.

I agree with John in hoping we eventually get to the point where the focus of government is more than just establishing and maintaining power by pandering to extremes and vilifying ideological opponents

Video below the jump.

Extremism comes in more than 2 flavors

via Sullivan, James Joyner begs:

Can we please stop with the political name-calling whenever one of these nuts goes off?
Look, we’re a big country.  There are over 300 million of us.  Almost everyone holds a position or two that’s way off the charts and a whole lot of people believe in 9/11 Trutherism, black helicopters, and all the rest.  Less than a handful of those people are out trying to kill people.    However stupid or loathesome a political view may be, the fact that some nut also holds it adds nothing to the counter-argument.

Since Andrew didn't comment, I'll take it up.  Talk about a misguided vendetta on this guy's part.  And talk about some misguided commentary coming from the MSM and blogosphere.  Few things in my mind are worse than staunch ideologues from either side who demand that "government stay out of their Medicare" or preach that George Bush lied for oil, but Truthers and/or JFK conspiracy theorists give them a run for the money. 

John Avlon does well to break it down:

Any reflexive media attempts to tie the shooter to the Tea Party movement should be regarded as totally unfounded. He appears to have been more focused on his hatred of former Vice President Dick Cheney than President Barack Obama. Bedell seems to be less connected to right-wing politics than what I call “fright wing” politics—the murky ground beyond left and right where conspiracy theories reside. 

 ...and then goes on to point our a scary trend:

Earlier this week, the invaluable Southern Poverty Law Center released a new report that detailed the dramatic increase in militia and so-called Patriot groups over the first year of the Obama administration. Among its findings was the establishment of 363 new Patriot groups last year alone. “Militias—the paramilitary arm of the Patriot movement—were a major part of the increase, growing from 42 militias in 2008 to 127 in 2009,” the center found.

As more information comes in, it appears that Bedell is the latest self-styled suicidal warrior for the extreme anti-government movement that has exploded since President Obama’s inauguration. It is a reminder of the real costs that come with the paranoid conspiracy theories that are peddled on the edges of the Internet and sometimes encouraged by hyper-partisan media outlets.

Hate is a cheap and easy recruiting tool—but hate ultimately leads to violence.

This can't possibly end well.