December 4, 2006
YOU ARE WHAT YOU TOLERATE:
Living with the Extremist Plague: Germany's parliament is currently debating whether to ban the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD). But such a step may prove to be neither feasible nor advisable. In fact proponents of democracy in Germany would be better off focusing on their strengths and trying to make the NPD irrelevant. (Dirk Kurbjuweit, 12/04/06, Der Spiegel)
Holger Apfel is a short, heavyset man with a rosy face that doesn't lend itself to concealing emotions. Apfel smiles a lot. He smiles when he is asked a question, and he smiles when he responds. At the moment life is good for Apfel, very good, and that is difficult to stomach.Apfel is the deputy chairman of Germany's far right National Democratic Party (NPD) and head of the NPD parliamentary group in the state parliament in the eastern state of Saxony. He is sitting in a leather armchair thinking about the first three things he would do if he ever became chancellor. His face erupts into a broad smile. He is enormously pleased that he is being interviewed by someone from SPIEGEL, and by the fact that he is in demand and attracting attention.
The three measures Apfel mentions are all tinged with racism. [...]
There is no disagreement among democrats that the NPD is an unconstitutional party. Indeed, it is a party that wants to abolish the German constitution, pays homage to a Hitler-worshipping ideology and is motivated by racism and anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, the Federal Constitutional Court already rebuffed an attempt to ban the party in 2003, dealing a serious setback to those in German who support democracy.
One of the things for which Bill Clinton doesn't get enough credit is using the Oklahoma City bombing as a pretext to hound the militia/white separatist movement, which had started to become mainstream, into oblivion again. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 4, 2006 5:16 PM
"The three measures Apfel mentions are all tinged with racism. [...]"
But the article never actually tells us what they are, only that in the reporter's opnion they're racist.
Perhaps we can infer what one of them might be from this passage:
"It is nevertheless shocking to read that 34.9 percent of survey respondents agreed with the statement that foreigners should be sent home if jobs became scarce in Germany."
Given your position on Mexican immigration I doubt you'd agree, but would you call it "shocking"? Shun anyone who though it was a good idea? Call for discussion of the idea to be banned as "undemocratic"?
The problem Germany is having is isn't resurgent Naziism, it's PCism, and if the Nazis are the only party with the guts to reject PC idiocy they're going to get votes. I hope some other parties figure that out soon.
Posted by: Ralph Phelan at December 4, 2006 5:37 PMJust OJ's latent love of the power of goverment to 'convince' you to do things it thinks is right showing is all.
Posted by: tps at December 4, 2006 6:33 PMYou are the government.
Posted by: oj at December 4, 2006 6:36 PMIn theory, yes. In the real world, no. Government does what the government wants and the rest of us get to eat a big sh*t sandwich most of the time.
Posted by: tps at December 4, 2006 6:55 PMI remember Clinton trying to blame the OKC bombing on Rush Limbaugh.
Posted by: PapayaSF at December 4, 2006 8:47 PMYes, he shamed the Right out of endorsing such anti-government extremism. Thus W's first big speech accused Gingrich and company of going too far in their rhetorical hatred of government.
Posted by: oj at December 4, 2006 8:51 PMgonna share what you're smokin'?
Posted by: re quired at December 4, 2006 10:19 PMTim McVeigh = "anti-government extremism."
Rush and Newt != "anti-government extremism."
Posted by: PapayaSF at December 5, 2006 1:50 AMIn 12 Step they're called enablers.
Posted by: oj at December 5, 2006 7:38 AMRush Limbaugh wasn't the problem. Because of Oklahoma City, the militia types discredited themselves.
Gingrich might be a egotist but I don't recall seeing him holed up with all those folks armed-to-the-teeth to fight for the Articles of Confederation.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at December 5, 2006 7:09 PM