Cavalcade of Nazi Comparisons Continues

David Streeter — October 14, 2009 – 10:40 am | Abusive Holocaust Rhetoric | Republicans | Stop the Smears Comments (1) Add a comment

Despite being deeply offensive to Jews and anyone with a conscience, conservatives and Republicans continue to invoke the Holocaust and Nazi imagery in their attacks on President Barack Obama. As National Jewish Democratic Council’s President David A. Harris told The Hill and Ha’Aretz that the use of Nazi related rhetoric by the GOP and its allies has reached “epidemic proportions.”

Just check out the events that have occurred during October:

• Former Idaho Sherriff Deputy Matthew Hathaway admitted to posting signs likening Obama to Hitler on three northern Idaho schools
• GOP Senatorial Candidate Peter Schiff (R-CT) compared his campaign to fighting against the Nazis in WWII.
• Representative John Linder (R-GA) published an opinion piece in Politico comparing Obama to Hitler and Mussolini
• Fox News’ Glenn Beck declared on his radio show that Obama’s treatment of Fox News resembles the Nazis’ treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. This comes after he compared Obama’s “czars” to Nazis
• Rush Limbaugh, who might as well be the leader of this distinguished group, continued his comparisons of Obama’s health care plan to Nazi policies  
• The National Republican Congressional Committee tweeted a link to a video depicting Hitler and Obama as friends.
  
• An anonymous vandal carved “I Swastika Obama” on a Massachusetts golf course

Eight prominent incidents in less than one month! This truly is an epidemic and, as comic strip artist Dan Piraro illustrates in his October 14 “Bizarro” comic, the Nazi comparisons are affecting our nation’s youth.

The use of Nazi rhetoric is cheapening our political discourse and it is hurting America’s image abroad. It needs to stop immediately. But until it does, NJDC will continue to monitor this disgusting trend. Check out what NJDC has done to address the onslaught of Nazi rhetoric:

• NJDC helped get NRCC’s Obama-Hitler tweet removed 
• The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein wrote about NJDC’s challenge to Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) to repudiate and counter the Nazi comparisons.
  
• NJDC publicly called on Rush Limbaugh to stop using Nazi imagery. Unfortunately though, Limbaugh’s $400 million contract allows him to spew his hateful rhetoric without any fear of repercussions.
  
• NJDC led the effort to get MSNBC to distance itself from Republican pundit Pat Buchanan’s revisionist historical article defending Hitler, which was successful. 

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