Every time the phrase Nazi is thrown at a republican in politics they feign outrage or they cannot understand why they are being called Nazis. Yesterday Bill O'Reilly gave us the textbook example. In a tirade he lambasted the new, interesting, and wildly expanding Air America Radio as traitors and said they should be chained up and arrested. The last time I checked that was a play right out of the Nazi handbook.
In Nazi Germany, those that did not agree with Hitler were branded traitors, "chained up and taken away" just as Bill O'Reilly has suggested be done about a majority of Americans who oppose the policies of George Bush. In fact, it is not just O'Reilly who has exposed himself as a fascist pig. The entire conservative party has followed Hitler's script to the letter. This is not to say that they have "achieved" all Hitler did, but in Hitler's early stages there are striking similarities.
Hitler railed against jews to win an election, just like the GOP railed against gays and "terrorists" (i.e., brown skinned Americans). Just as Hitler tried to squelch dissent, so does O'Reilly and people like James Sensenbrenner who would not allow the Democrats a hearing on Bush's lies that led to war. Not to mention Hirtler invaded Poland, a pre-emptive war of agression based on a lie about Poland's supposed weapons of mass destruction.
So, it is not hard to see the parallels between the early rise of Hitler and the path the GOP is taking. After Hitler's coup he placed the military at the doors of the unions and arrested the union leaders. The GOP as everyone knows is no friend of the union or the working American and it is not hard to see where this is going. Fortunately, a plurality of Americans call themselves a Democrat (36%) while only 28% call themselves republican. As demographics change, this desparity will increase with immigration and a burgeoning Latino population. So the future of the GOP is not bright. That being said, it is helpful when loudmouths like O'Reilly show America exactly why GOP and Nazi have become synonymous.