Anti-Defamation League Blasts Rush For Obama-Hitler Comparison
This new development could make it a bit tougher for high-profile Republicans and conservatives to avoid weighing in on Rush Limaugh’s now-infamous claim that “Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate.”
The Anti-Defamation League has now weighed in with a statement blasting Rush, which should serve to elevate the issue a bit. From ADL national director Abraham Foxman:
“Regardless of the political differences and the substantive differences in the debate over health care, the use of Nazi symbolism is outrageous, offensive and inappropriate. Americans should be able to disagree on the issues without coloring it with Nazi imagery and comparisons to Hitler. This is not where the debate should be at all.
“Comparisons to the Nazis are deeply offensive and only serve to diminish and trivialize the extent of the Nazi regime’s crimes against humanity and the murder of six million Jews and millions of others in the Holocaust. I don’t see any comparison here. It’s off-center, off-issue and completely inappropriate.”
Some liberal bloggers have argued convincingly that the outcry greeting a random MoveOn commenter’s trafficking in Nazi comparisons in 2004 far outweighed what Rush’s casual comparison has generated. ADL weighing in, though, could prod the traditional media to cover this…
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One down, another 7 or so on Greenwalds list to go.
IT’S ABOUT TIME!
On this kind of stuff, nobody does it like Greenwald.
What took so long?? Thank goodness.
Maybe someone should mention this part to Nancy Pelosi
“Comparisons to the Nazis are deeply offensive and only serve to diminish and trivialize the extent of the Nazi regime’s crimes against humanity and the murder of six million Jews and millions of others in the Holocaust. I don’t see any comparison here. It’s off-center, off-issue and completely inappropriate.”
Tah, greg.
I think this (particularly Greenwald’s elucidation of the enormous difference in responses between the earlier situation and this AND given the enormous difference in magnitude between one person somewhere sending in a video contrasted with Limbaugh and Beck who have daily audiences to millions) is a very important matter.
I also think that each of us ought to do what we can to bright this disparity and what it demonstrates to the attention of every media outlet we can get to. This stuff won’t change unless there is a much louder and stronger consensus that it must.
It seems to me that this particular aspect of Limbaugh’s and Beck’s hate-mongering and pathological extremism could provide a very fruitful means to follow up on what Carville and Begala set to do earlier – to hold Limbaugh up to the light so that more people can grasp what he represents.
Lol this is off topic but Ann Coulter wrote an article yesterday dismissing the birthers and they are NOT happy!
The comments are pretty funny. Disturbing but funny none the less. I’ll probably read them off and on for the rest of the afternoon for entertainment.
@Mike: thanks for the link! You’re right–the comments are too funny for words (I tried to read the article but couldn’t stand any more about half way through).
Still don’t understand how its only offensive when it’s applied to a Democrat? Guess no one can explain that?
Where was the ADL when Bush was being compared to Hitler at almost every protest during the latter half of his presidency?
The ADL is an organization that has been taken to court for spying on Americans. How they have any credibility at all is beyond me.
We need to abolish these all these groups who are agents of foreign entitie.
“# maasanova | August 7th, 2009 at 02:56 pm
The ADL is an organization that has been taken to court for spying on Americans. How they have any credibility at all is beyond me.
We need to abolish these all these groups who are agents of foreign entitie.
”
ROFLMAO! No, Likud has been convicted of spying on America. The ADL is an American association, you nitwit.
#John T.: If you don’t like being compared to dictators, then, well, don’t start illegal wars, don’t torture and don’t illegally wiretap your populace like dictators do. Just sayin’.
#maasanova: You thinking about AIPAC, maybe?
the repubs will run for the hills. limbaugh is their
leader who reaches new levels of vileness on a daily
basis.
someone ought to ask eric cantor, GOP leader,who is
Jewish what he thinks? he’ll say nothing.
Still don’t understand how its only offensive when it’s applied to a Democrat? Guess no one can explain that?
Please – someone explain this?
@carros:
A small google exercise comparing “bush nazi” and “obama nazi.”
The former gets 843,00 results, the latter gets 4,980,000 results.
A google search of “bush hitler” and “obama hitler” brings up similar results.
The former generates 1,160,000 results, the latter 6,070,000.
The results for both searches related to “bush” are inflated because “George Bush’s grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar
The numbers for bush/hitler/nazi are, of course, for an EIGHT YEAR PERIOD, whereas Obama has been president for six months.
This post about the ADL and Greenwald shows why your weaseling in your post that YOU titled racist picture of Obama without any discussion of that in the post was so horrible and damaging.
Carros, can you name a single Democrat equivalent to Rush Limbaugh, who has a following of millions, who compared Bush to Hitler?
I didn’t think so.
At Carros,
Maybe a question will answer your question.
When did the Rush Limbaughs, Jonah Goldbergs, Orly Taitzs, and Sarah Palins of liberalism use Hitler in reference to Bush? The leaders of the right seem as comfortable with comparing Obama to Hitler and fascism as unnamed, faceless Iraq War protesters were during the Bush years. Back in the day, I remember an effort on the part of some liberal bloggers to stop this rhetoric from the left in reference to Bush. The problem, if I remember correctly, was that it discounted everything else you had to say once Hitler or fascism escaped your lips in the form of an adjective about another person or thing. And you know what? It does.
I’m certainly not supportive of Limbaugh or other right wingers but, every American has the right to speak out and that is part of the 1st amendment. ADL is not much different than AIPAC who tends to fill billfolds and purses for those who continue to support Israel’s actions against the Palestinians. In fact, one group of politicians who are strong supporters of Israel already went to Israel and paid for by AIPAC.
Another group of the same category will soon be leaving for Israel and again sponsored by AIPAC. I’m an American and I believe our Constitution rises above any organization’s objection to free speech. In fact, the way our economy has diminished,we should stop all foreign countries including Israel.
What’s the problem with you thin skinned people? Tens of thousands of you carry Bush is Hitler signs & you don’t care, but one radio entertainer makes an oblique reference and you are filled with faux moral outrage. Welcome to the other side of your own game.
http://www.ringospictures.com/index.php?page=20090816