Obstruction

I guess none of us can think of a period in the history of our country when one of its major political parties embarked on a campaign of complete obstruction of the functions of Congress, as we are seeing today from the Republican party.  It is always instructive to look at historical parallels to current events, so lacking similar conduct in United States history, it is of interest to look for examples of this sort of behavior in other countries, and to think about where such behavior eventually led.  Here is one parallel I've found, from around 1924:

"Hitler was still letting it be known that he opposed the activities of the Volkischer Block in the forthcoming Reichstag elections...soon after the election, he told Kurt Ludecke that policy would have to change, and that 'we shall have to hold our noses and enter the Reichstag...' But participation should not be "positive cooperation", as was unfortunately carried out by the Volkisch parliamentarists with very little success, but only through the fiercest opposition and obstruction, through constant criticism of the existing system in parliament.  Parliament, or better still parliamentarism, should be taken to absurdity in parliament."

Just sayin'.  And I don't want to hear one word about Godwin's law.  I'm not calling anyone Hitler- I am citing a specific example of Republican conduct which, as far as I know, has no parallel in recent world history, except for the behavior of the NSDAP in the early '20's

The above excerpt from Ian Kershaw's Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris, chapter 7.  Sorry I can't link to this- I copied it from an actual book.

Comments

Poll P. said…
Yeah. This ain't your father's U.S. of A., is it?

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