Republicans and WWII and why didn't we use that against them?

[Michael_Bush]

When the Republicans started painting critics of the war as traitors and disloyal Americans, why didn't Dems attack them with quotes from their opposition to arming for WWII and their constant sniping during it?

Or even get really nasty and point out how many of them, like dear old Prescot, did business with them?

Or even better, mention that liberals volunteered to go fight fascism before the war, in the Abraham Lincoln brigades.

As an aside, I searched to know avail to find out the political leanings of those who were "volunteered" for the flying tigers and those who actually DID volunteer to fight in England, either through Canada or direct?

Kinda funny us whimpy liberals being the only ones to actually get up off our buts to actually go and fight fascism.

[Minnesota_Lib]

1. Fun Facts: The leading WWII appeasers in the U.S.

• Influential right-wing industrialists and financers such as Irenee du Pont, Prescott Bush and the virulently anti-semitic Henry Ford not only fought publicly to keep America from joining the war against Germany, they actually helped finance Hitler’s war machine..

• The conservative press--led by Henry Luce (who applauded Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia)--worked to influence public opinion in favor of isolationism.

• American hero and right-winger Charles Lindbergh admired the "virility" and "dictatorial direction" of Nazi Germany so much so that he used his substantial influence as a vocal Nazi propagandist.

• The Senate--led by Republican Gerald P. Nye--was determined to remain isolated from the European conflict. Nye and his colleagues spearheaded the Neutrality Act of 1935.

• William Dudley Pelley mobilized like-minded right-wing conservatives into a pro-Nazi legion he called the Silver Shirts and which others referred to as the "Christian American Patriots". By July 1938, he had mailed out 3.5 tons of pro-Nazi, anti-semitic propaganda. After the U.S. joined the war, Pelley was jailed for sedition.

• The godfather of right-wing hate radio/media wackos, Father Charles Coughlin used his radio show and magazine to stir-up anti-semitic, pro-Nazi sentiment in the U.S.

[tritsofme]

2. They got Ike to run for President in 1952 as a Republican

and that immunized them I suppose.

[fed-up]

3. Some more American Nazi Supporters

I just finished reading "Seduced by Hitler" and learned many things that were not taught years ago when I went to high school. Just did a google on American Nazi Supporters and here are a few sites for those that want to see how companies and individuals helped Hitler. Read the entire article which is well documented.

http://www.rationalrevolution.net/war/american_supporters_of_the_europ.htm

...Some of the primary and more famous Americans and companies that were involved with the fascist regimes of Europe are: William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Kennedy (JFK’s father), Charles Lindbergh, John Rockefeller, Andrew Mellon (head of Alcoa, banker, and Secretary of Treasury), DuPont, General Motors, Standard Oil (now Exxon), Ford, ITT, Allen Dulles (later head of the CIA), Prescott Bush, National City Bank, and General Electric....

I.G. Farben, a German company, was the largest chemical manufacturing enterprise in the world during the early part of the 20th century.  As such the company had many holdings in a variety of countries, including America.  The American holdings of I.G. Farben included Bayer Co., General Aniline Works, Agfa Ansco, and Winthrop Chemical Company...

American banks and businesses continued to support the fascist regimes of Europe legally up until the day Germany declared war on America and the activities were stopped under the Trading with the Enemy Act.  Despite this, some companies and individuals still maintained a business relationship with the Third Reich.  Ford and GM supplied European fascists with trucks and equipment as well as investing money in I.G. Farben plants.  Standard Oil supplied the fascists with fuel. US Steel and Alcoa supplied them with critically needed metals.  American banks gave them billion's of dollars worth of loans...

...William Randolph Hearst is known as one of the largest media moguls of all time.  During the 1930s he worked with the Nazi party to help promote a positive image of the Nazi party in American media.  He also received loans from Italian fascists bankers during this time.  The actions of Hearst were an important element in shaping American sentiment about not getting involved in the political situation in Europe as many Americans were led to believe that there was nothing terribly wrong going on in Europe, and even after the war started some Americans continued to support the Nazi regime based on the propaganda that they had been exposed to through Hearst media sources....

[Michael_Bush]

4. I picked this up from the HATE DU section....

This poor soul is so clueless that he thinks Democrats kept Republicans from fighting the Nazis! That is exactly the sort of thing we should have corrected and thrown in the face of Republicans. Even the editors here at DU didn't point that out to the guy!






A Lesson In Getting It Wrong
From: "Leo -------" [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 21:21:25 -0600
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Move

People like you need to move out of the country. The reason that Sept. 11th happened in the first place was because the Clinton era gave birth to the era of "do nothing and nothing will happen to you". This also happened before WWII when many like yourselves criticized those in the government who were suspicious of Hitler and gave him many more years to have free reign. Leftwing tree huggers have been putting this country into the toilet for years. You could have a video tape in your hands right now that has Usama and Saddam talking about their plans in detail and you would still find things to criticize. If you really think that the Iraq situation is a "republican" thing and that doing nothing to Saddam is the best advice then I can only assume that this site is run by 12 year olds. You have wanted Bush to fail since day one, it wouldn't matter what he did, you would complain because that is what Democrats do.

-Leo

DU RESPONDS: You got us, Leo. Great Republican leaders like Orrin Hatch and Trent Lott really wanted us to crack down on terrorism, but that rotten Bill Clinton was too busy doing nothing. You know what else, I heard the other day that Clinton's mighty penis caused the Space Shuttle disaster (pass that along to your buddies if you have any).

[rniel]

5. I have a vision of Bartcop's pink tutoo democrats

dancing around. That basically describes why. They are gutless.

[bvar22]

6. Democrats WIN wars.

Republicans LOSE wars.

In 4 years, the Democrats WON WWII against 2 WORLD POWERS simultaneously!
The Democrats liberated Western Europe.
The Democrats liberated the Entire Pacific.
In just 4 years.


The Republicans presided over the DEFEAT in Korea.

Thr Republicans presided over the DEFEAT in Viet Nam.

The Republicans have been in Afghanistan for almost 4 years.
Osama is still FREE.
Taliban is STILL a deadly organization.
Al-Qaeda is LARGER and MORE DEADLY.
The US controls one city (mostly) Kabul.

The Republicans have been in Iraq for over 2 years, and don't even control the Green Zone or the road to the airport.

Iraq and Afghnanistan were 3rd rate powers WITHOUT a Navy OR Air Force.

Face it guys....The Republicans LOSE Wars.
The Democrats WIN wars!!!
Case Closed.

[LittleClarkie]

7. I think the RW pundits have co-oped WWII for themselves

they're forever bringing it up and comparing it to the Iraq conflict, saying we would never have won then if we acted like we do now. I get so sick of that comparison from Rush and all. Iraq is NOT WWII!

But I do like a good history lesson here and there. Carry on.

[Minnesota_Lib]

8. Fun Facts II: Leading European Appeasers

UNITED KINGDOM:

STANLEY BALDWIN--Conservative Party, British P.M 1935 to 1937: set the policy of appeasement that Chamberlain later followed; did nothing about German rearmament; did nothing when Hitler invaded the Rhineland; was sympathetic to the fascists in the Spanish Civil War in 1936 – he persuaded 27 countries to sign a Non-Intervention Pact and then stood by and watched as Hitler and Mussolini ignored it and sent military support to Franco; openly said that he would not go to war with Hitler and Mussolini. Allowed his appointed secretary, the right-wing, pro-fascist Lord Halifax not only to consort with the Nazis but to then to also propagandize his pro-Nazi message to the British public.

NEVILLE CHAMERLAIN--Conservative Party, British P.M. 1938-1940: supported the fascist Franco; sympathized with Nazi Germany; historically considered the major European force for appeasement; assisted the French right-wing, led by Henri-Philippe Petain and the French right-wing press, in the ouster of their leftist, antifascist, pro-intervention P.M. Leon Blum; signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler and Mussolini; appointed the infamous pro-Nazi, right-winger Lord Halifax to the vitally important office of Foreign Secretary, a move that allowed Hallifax a wider and more respected stage from which to propagandize for the Nazis.

LORD HALIFAX--British War Secretary and leader of the House of Lords 1935-38, Foreign Secretary, 1938-40: influential right-wing, anti-semitic, pro-fascist fan of Hitler; “He (Halifax) told me he liked all the Nazi leaders, even Goebbels, and he was much impressed, interested and amused by the visit. He thinks the regime absolutely fantastic."—Halifax confidant Henry Cannon; Halifax became the leading British advocate for appeasement after that 1937 meeting with Hitler.


FRANCE:

EDOUARD DALADIER--Radical Party (left of center moderate): French P.M. 1933, 1934, 1938-1940: Initially supported Spanish antifascists but under pressure from right-wing members of his government and conservative British P.M. Baldwin began to advocate a policy of neutrality; returned to power after leftist P.M. Leon Blum, who advocated ending France’s non-interventionist policy, was forced out of office by a coalition led by France’s pro-fascist, right-wing press and politicians such as Henri-Philippe Petain, and aided by the behind-the-scenes support of conservative British P.M. Neville Chamberlain and the British Foreign Office headed by right-wing, pro-Nazi Lord Halifax; adopted a policy of full appeasement when he joined Chamberlain in signing the Munich Agreement with Hitler and Mussolini.

HENRI-PHILIPPE PETAIN—Assisted by the U.K.'s Conservative P.M., Neville Chamberlain, and France's right-wing press, Petain was a leader of the movement to bring down left-wing, anti-fascist P.M. Blum. After Germany overran France, Petain was rewarded by the Nazis by being named P.M of the newly formed right-wing Vichy government. After the war, Petain was found guilty of treason and died in prison in 1951.


SPAIN:

A bunch of international liberals were there fighting the fascists and giving up their lives in the name of freedom while the right-wingers stayed safely at their respective homes and vocally and financially supported Franco. Nuff said.
___________________________



Funny how the right uses WWII "appeasement" as a talking point against ant-Iraqi war liberals/moderates/conservatives. I guess they neither know the definition of the word nor the history of WWII. ;)


Edit: love highlighting the words "conservative" and "right-wing" in bold. :)

[PurityOfEssence]

9. The HUAC term was "premature anti-fascist"

Let's be serious: the real enemy was communism, and if the Nazis and Japanese hadn't gotten greedy, we'd have been just fine with them.

As for Prescott and our other home-grown thugs, once the Axis got whipped, we protected most sympathizers both here and abroad, because their involvement with fascism was pure business greed at the altar of private property and unrestrained personal wealth. Crushing unions is always a major part of this, as is an unfavorable tax code and lack of regulatory oversight.

People who fought for the forces of progress (whether misguided or not) were the enemy of the people, and those who fought to crush the weak and help the strong were patriots. It's simple, and it's very consistent.