Minn. GOP Chairman's 'Quisling' Remark Invoking Nazi Comparisons Draws Fire

[Elmore Furth]

I believe Godwin must be rolling over in his Usenet newsgroup discussion about now.

Godwin's Law

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 7, 2010
Filed at 3:34 p.m. ET

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The head of the Minnesota GOP on Thursday said he didn't intend a Nazi comparison when he used the word "quisling" to describe Republicans who are breaking with their party's gubernatorial candidate.

Republican Party Chairman Tony Sutton elaborated on his comment a day earlier after his Democratic counterpart questioned his use of the arcane word linked to a Norwegian Nazi collaborator. Meanwhile, Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner began using the remark to raise money.

In comments to The Associated Press on Wednesday, Sutton criticized a group of former Republican officials who have endorsed Horner's third-party bid for governor, saying, "There's a special place in hell for these quislings."

The dictionary definition of "quisling" is a traitor. The word comes from the name of a Norwegian politician who collaborated with the Nazis and was executed for doing so.



Minn. GOP Chairman's 'Quisling' Remark Draws Fire

[Geoff R. Casavant]

1. "Quisling" is a perfectly cromulent word.

Regardless of the original source, it has been accepted into the lexicon as a synonym for "traitor."

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. Has 'quisling' fallen out of the dictionary?

It was used commonly enough when I was a kid, but I must say that in the last several years I've only heard it rarely even on political boards, much less in real life.

Most Americans still tend to put Benedict Arnold's face on treason (though most have no idea what he actually did).

I don't understand it. 'Quisling' is so much easier to say than 'Benedict Arnold'.