At a point in Hitler's rise to power he realized that he had exploited all he needed from the Weimar Constitution and he suspended it with the fatal flaw: the passage of the Enabling Act. The Act allowed Hitler to rule "without the approval of the Reichstag and without reference to the President (Richard J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich, p. 351). The Reichstag Fire created a convenient crisis for the Nazis to exploit, whether they planned it or helped Marinus van der Lubbe to set the fire is immaterial (Evans, p. 328f). The fact is they exploited the moment to proclaim a crisis that only Hitler could solve. The unfortunate fact is that most Germans believed the story.
The lesson that we can draw from crisis in Weimar Germany is that a Constitution can be dispensed with; Hitler did not need it anymore. The pretense was over. The Nazis hit their high point in earlier elections and with their depleted resources and limited electoral appeal, it was unlikely that in an open, free, and fair election they could improve their Parliamentary position (Evans, pp. 303, 305). Their momentum had peaked once Hitler was appointed Chancellor.
In a similar fashion, Obama has striven mightily to move as quickly as he could to seize as much control as possible since it takes the electorate some time to understand what he up to. For most of us, Washington is far away, and rarely do what the politicians do effect us so directly. Ordinarily, we can afford to be lackadaisical. Obama and his handlers know that it would take time for people to grasp just how radical his proposals are and how he is actively working against their interests.
As people have caught on Obama will need a Reichstag event. The Nazis, most likely, set fire to the Reichstag building to create a crisis: the Republic is under attack. Give me more power and I will settle the crisis.
We are entering an ominous time for the current regime, and more importantly, for America.
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