Nodding Donkeys - A disapprobation applied to the 'Yes-persons' surrounding a totalitarian leader.

Etymology of the phrase - Although it is commonly believed that the phrase evolved as a critical reference to members of the Democratic Party (given that the Donkey is the symbol of the Democratic Party), and more particularly to the members of President Obama's administration, that is not so. In point of fact, the phrase was coined by Albert Speer, the Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office. Speer was contemptuous of those who surrounded Hitler (Goebbels, von Ribbentrop, Himmler, et al) because of their servile obsequiousness, and referred to them as 'Nodding Donkeys'.

Some have protested that usage of the phrase in reference to members of the Obama administration and Democratic Party confirms Godwin's Law. However, there seems to be no marked contrast between the fellow-traveling sycophancy of members Democratic Party and the Obama administration, and that demonstrated by Hitler's underlings. The Donkey symbol of the Democratic Party only serves to lend irony to the usage.