Hitler Fatigue
Friends of mine who are of a certain age–hence, in their prime–who were active Usenet denizens in the early 1990s, are familiar with Godwin's Law from being there in the flame wars. In essence: the longer a Usenet discussion lasts, the probability of a comparison to Hitler approaches one.
It is generally understood by all, except the one who makes the unfortunate comparison, that doing so ends the "discussion" and loses the argument for the one who mentioned Hitler.
And so there is heightened buzz surrounding reports of the woman at a healthcare townhall meeting silly enough to ask Barney Frank, of all people, "Why are you supporting this nazi policy?" while holding a photo of President Obama with a little Hitler-esque toothbrush mustache added. (Her words were, of course, recorded for her later humiliation.)
Godwin's Law encapsulates the idea, quite evidently, that Hitler and Nazism are the ultimate examples of evil, the absolute worst that human beings are capable of, the evil that trumps all evil.
As a simple corollary it follows therefore that once the Hitler comparison is made there is no place left to go, no room left on the escalating scale of fright-mongering rhetoric. The peak has been reached and the argument is over. One can try to continue but what we might call "Hitler fatigue" is certain to set in, the comparisons lose all force and there is no substitute. (One can try, naturally, to make a comparison to Stalin, Edi Amin, Pol Pot, and Saddam Hussein combined, but it just doesn't carry the load that Hitler can single handedly.)
Does this mean that hysterical conservatism has lost the argument? Have they finally conceded that they've "lost their country" and a new, liberal, multicultural nation that accepts and nurtures all its citizens might emerge?
One can only hope. Certainly the strident rhetoric from the conservative swamp has escalated continually for the past several years. The needle on the meter long ago entered the red-line zone thanks to the efforts of certain radio personalities, pundits, and "writers". Now it sounds like the needle is just about pinned at the "Hitler" reading.
I'll be interested in seeing whether the denizens of the swamp pull back from this Hitler precipice to give themselves a bit of room still to yell and protest, or whether they plunge headlong over into the abyss. I admit that it would be nice to hear their voices recede as they fall into the bottomless chasm.