MN GOP candidate for Senate says the bad guys won WWII

[Gadianton]

It's just more right-wing attention-getting. To get noticed, I'm going to subtly be pro-Hitler.

[Physics Guy]

Even though right-wing parties are getting alarmingly more traction these days in parts of Germany, they're not pro-Hitler. That guy hurt this country so much.

[honorentheos]

“Moral courage Is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men.”

That explains everything!!!

Though I believe the OP is referencing the movie, Patton, where he said something along the lines of, "We have defeated the wrong enemy." Actual statements he made carry that sentiment that the US should keep fighting and defeat Communist Russia while they were weak. Eisenhower relieved him of command duties for being an insubordinate pain in the ass and he died from injuries sustained in a car crash while still in Germany giving rise to a belief it was a hit rather than an accident.

ETA: I went to find the clip and add it. Apparently it's all over TikTok (ironically) and the other video formats weren't shorts. Judging from the titles it could have been, "We fought the wrong enemy" rather than defeated but same sentiment.

[Res Ipsa]

That explains everything!!!

Though I believe the OP is referencing the movie, Patton, where he said something along the lines of, "We have defeated the wrong enemy." Actual statements he made carry that sentiment that the US should keep fighting and defeat Communist Russia while they were weak. Eisenhower relieved him of command duties for being an insubordinate pain in the ass and he died from injuries sustained in a car crash while still in Germany giving rise to a belief it was a hit rather than an accident.

ETA: I went to find the clip and add it. Apparently it's all over TikTok (ironically) and the other video formats weren't shorts. Judging from the titles it could have been, "We fought the wrong enemy" rather than defeated but same sentiment.

Thanks, Honor. It's difficult for me to see a general from WWII saying the Nazis were the wrong enemy. It makes more sense to me that a general would have the opinion that the US should have taken out Russia while we at it.

[honorentheos]

The losers in World War II were certainly bad guys. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan were horrible states. The Stalinist Soviet Union was also a bad guy, however, in that sense, and it was among the war's winners. It could be considered the biggest winner in some ways.

The idea that winning the war with Soviet allies somehow infected the western democracies with Communism is ridiculous, though. Socialism appealed to most of the world in the Great Depression, and living through a big war probably got people used to more active government, but the Cold War started up right away.

Fighting on the same side as the Soviets didn't make anyone want to imitate Soviet Communism. You may be impressed at how your neighbours survive in miserable conditions, and learning more about just how miserable their conditions are may make you more impressed, but it only makes you less willing to join them in misery.

I mean, the US and the British blatantly avoided helping the communists, and some elements secretly helped the Fascists, during the Spanish Civil War. All under the auspices of neutrality but more out of fear of communism. It's certainly true within Western countries there were communist idealists among working class and intellectuals. But in power? Hardly.

Which makes me think of George Orwell's evolution through his experiences fighting for a communist subgroup on the side of the Republicans in said war. He left to fight as an idealist and returned staunchly opposed to Stalinist authoritarianism. It's interesting that the exposure helped him see the ideologies of all kinds are at risk of authoritarian takeover. And if a US senator feels the baddies won WWII, well, I think we can safely say we know where he sides when it comes to authoritarianism.

The Spanish Civil War really holds more parallels for the threats before us today than any other modern conflict, in my opinion.

[Moksha]

The losers in World War II were certainly bad guys. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan were horrible states. The Stalinist Soviet Union was also a bad guy, however, in that sense, and it was among the war's winners. It could be considered the biggest winner in some ways.

The idea that winning the war with Soviet allies somehow infected the western democracies with Communism is ridiculous, though. Socialism appealed to most of the world in the Great Depression, and living through a big war probably got people used to more active government, but the Cold War started up right away.

Fighting on the same side as the Soviets didn't make anyone want to imitate Soviet Communism. You may be impressed at how your neighbours survive in miserable conditions, and learning more about just how miserable their conditions are may make you more impressed, but it only makes you less willing to join them in misery.

I mean, the US and the British blatantly avoided helping the communists, and some elements secretly helped the Fascists, during the Spanish Civil War. All under the auspices of neutrality but more out of fear of communism. It's certainly true within Western countries there were communist idealists among working class and intellectuals. But in power? Hardly.

Which makes me think of George Orwell's evolution through his experiences fighting for a communist subgroup on the side of the Republicans in said war. He left to fight as an idealist and returned staunchly opposed to Stalinist authoritarianism. It's interesting that the exposure helped him see the ideologies of all kinds are at risk of authoritarian takeover. And if a US senator feels the baddies won WWII, well, I think we can safely say we know where he sides when it comes to authoritarianism.

The Spanish Civil War really holds more parallels for the threats before us today than any other modern conflict, in my opinion.

In her documentary Ultra, Rachel Maddow noted that there were 54 Republican Congressmen who either supported or had received funds from the Nazis. The major pro-Nazi US organization was called America First.