Unhinged Right-Wing

In January 2004, MoveOn.org came under fire for an ad that appeared on the group’s web site that compared President Bush to Adolf Hitler. The video was not produced by MoveOn, but was simply one of more than 1,500 videos that were submitted for a contest the organization held. Though MoveOn didn’t produce or promote the video (and NEVER AIRED IT - funny how they ignore that part all the time), and the fact that they removed it from the web page as soon as they’d reviewed it and found the content offensive, it has been mentioned or referred to in hundreds of news reports in the year and a half since, and many of those references have been used to cast aspersions on the Democratic Party, which is a completely separate entity from MoveOn.org and has absolutely no connection or authority over what goes on over at MoveOn’s website. Conservative media figures have consistently attacked MoveOn for the video; as recently as May 19, CNN Crossfire co-host Terry Holt attacked MoveOn:

HOLT: At one point they compared President Bush To Adolf Hitler. This is –

BEGALA: No, they did not. Someone put out an ad that MoveOn — took it down right away. MoveOn took it off. Anyway, I don’t want to defend them. They never compared Mr. Bush to –

HOLT: Nobody wants to defend it after seeing it. It may be funny, but it’s tacky and it’s ridiculous and kind of embarrassing, I think, if you are affiliated with it. I just wonder: Is this the best the Democrats can do in terms of supporting their arguments to be made about a serious issue?

Within hours of Holt’s indignant denunciation of the video that appeared on MoveOn’s web site a year and a half ago, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) took to the Senate floor to argue that Democratic complaints about the “nuclear option” are “the equivalent of Adolf Hitler in 1942 saying: I’m in Paris, how dare you invade me, how dare you bomb my city. It’s mine.”

Um… we didn’t bomb Paris in 1942, but regardless, I think it is quite interesting that the Republicans are the ones acting like Fascists, but blame the Democrats for being just that. Classic Machiavellian move… but anyway, will the comparison of Democrats to Hitler, made by the chair of the Senate Republican Conference on the floor of the U.S. Senate, draw the same kind of scrutiny MoveOn faced when one of 1,500 ads submitted to its website -by readers- compared President Bush to Hitler?

You can safely bet NOT.

Earlier this year, after Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) referenced Hitler, Hannity called him “unhinged,” condemned his Hitler remarks as “atrocious” and “disgraceful,” and asked, “Could a Republican ever get away with comparing Democrats to Adolf Hitler?” Then, on the May 19 edition of Hannity & Colmes, Hannity ignored the Hitler comparison Santorum made earlier that day. Hannity let Santorum “get away with comparing Democrats to Adolf Hitler” — even after co-host Alan Colmes brought it up.

Just FYI: There is no rule that says judical nominations cannot be filibustered, and there never has been. Bill Frist himself voted to filibuster a judicial nomination (Richard Paez) as recently as March 8, 2000. As recently as the 1950’s, senators couldn’t even vote to cut off these filibusters; a single senator could block a nomination by filibustering.

Upon hearing about Rick Santorum’s speech on the floor of the United States Senate earlier today, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Chuck Pennacchio, who is running against Santorum in his district in Pennsylvania, released the following statement:

“As an historian of Holocaust-era Germany, I find Rick Santorum’s comment to be offensive, divisive, and destructive. Rick Santorum should immediately issue a public apology, and then retreat with conscience to consider the lasting damage he has done to the United States Senate and to the memory of 12 million Holocaust victims.”

“How ironic is it that he would make such an extremist comment, comparing Senate Democrats to Adolph Hitler, while his own political party seeks to consolidate all governmental power in its own hands?”

Pennacchio continued, “This is embarrassing to all Pennsylvanians. Unfortunately, Rick Santorum’s hate-filled and heated rhetoric is completely consistent with the junior Senator’s past behavior.”

Pennacchio proves his point by providing an interesting video on his site in which Santorum is seen comparing the New York Times to the French Revolutionaries, Communists, Baathists, and yes, also the Nazis.

David Sirota points out that Grover Norquist compared the estate tax to the Holocaust - as if the modest tax on billionaires was as big a crime as murdering 6 million people. Republicans are becoming pretty comfortable using this kind of rhetoric, but it seems to me that they forget that it was Hitler who wanted one-party rule… and they aren’t satisfied with a 95% confirmation rate on Bush nominees. They want 100%.

What does that tell you?