Jewish Leader Uses 'Hitler Argument' Against Evangelicals

The leader of the largest branch of American Judaism blasted conservative religious activists in a speech Saturday, calling them "zealots" who claim a "monopoly on God" while promoting anti-gay policies akin to Adolf Hitler's.

And so the good rabbi ensuress that no one but the already-persuaded will hear his argument by preemptively invoking Godwin's Law. There are many reasonable ways to argue that fundamentalism is incompatible with a civic-minded society, but arguing that opposition to special protection for gays amounts to Nazism is not among them.

"We cannot forget that when Hitler came to power in 1933, one of the first things that he did was ban gay organizations," Yoffie said. "Yes, we can disagree about gay marriage. But there is no excuse for hateful rhetoric that fuels the hellfires of anti-gay bigotry."

I like that - "We can disagree about gay marriage, but..." - but if you disagree with me, you're a fascist!

No good can come from this sort of fire-brand rhetoric. He's alienating not just evangelicals, but anyone who has any qualms about extending special legal protection to gays. Not that his audience at the event minded:

The audience of 5,000 responded to the speech with enthusiastic applause...One attendee, Judy Weinman of Troy, N.Y., said she thought Yoffie was "right on target. He reminded us of where we have things in common and where we're different," she said.

- Ah yes, different - as in we're reasonable, tolerant people, and they're fire-breathing, bigoted troglodytes.