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In the days following Tucson, lawmakers and the press monitored each modicum of political speech to see if a moment of intemperate rhetoric would signal a break in a “new era of civility” ushered in by the tragic shooting.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Looks like: Yup.
In a little-noticed floor speech last night (flagged today by ABC News), Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee invoked Nazis, the Holocaust, Germany’s infamous Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, and – yes – blood libel in describing how Republicans have characterized the health care law as a “government takeover.”
“They say it's a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like Goebbels," Cohen said. "You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually, people believe it. Like blood libel. That's the same kind of thing, blood libel. That's the same kind of thing.”
Referencing “blood libel” – the anti-Semitic false accusation about which Americans received a history lesson last week – Cohen added: “The Germans said enough about the Jews and people believed it -- believed it and you have the Holocaust.”
(Cohen's remarks didn't get picked up until today because they were delivered to a nearly empty House gallery. Members of Congress can give speeches on almost any topic after legislative business is finished for the day. Many members use it as their way to “revise and extend” their remarks with the hope that it will get picked up by their local stations or newspapers. These speeches tend to be given to not only empty press galleries, but empty seats on the floor as well.)
The last time a Democratic politician invoked Goebbels to describe a GOP rival (when California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown drew a parallel between the notorious Nazi politician and Republican Meg Whitman), First Read coined its own theory of what bringing up the Nazi party does to political discourse. Here’s what we wrote then:
You’ve heard of Godwin’s Law -- in an online argument, the person who brings up the Nazis or a Nazi comparison automatically effectively ends (and loses) the arguments. Well, here’s First Read’s Law -- bringing up the Nazis in American politics never does anyone any good. And guess what: The first one to bring it up always sees it boomerang.
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Didn't we all agree not to do this kind of thing for a while? Sure, the government takeover line is pure bull, but the demonizing Republicans as Nazis thing helps no one, particularly now. This is the sort of thing the left admonishes the right for doing. Therefore, Democrats must refrain from such actions as well. I say, by all means, continue to fight ferociously for health care but no more of this.
Can nobody read!
Cohen did not say the GOP were Nazis or had policies like Nazis. He said the GOP is using the same propaganda tactics as used by the Nazis, namely GOP members and commentators are in lockstep, constantly repeating a lie or half truth to the point where their supporters and some independents believe the lie and will not accept the truth when it is shown to them. The GOP also continues to tell their supporters they are under attack from all and sundry creating fear in their supporters and some independents. Fear is a great motivator and unifier, a fact also well know to the Nazis who concentrated German fear of the Jews to bind the Aryan race in the 30's.
Please people, read articles carefully and accurately and also be aware of history and how politicians have manipulated vast sections of populations using falsehoods and fear. Well said Mr. Cohen.
Merely saying the name Nazi is spewing vitriol. Rep. Cohen's President asked that to stop.
I agree with you Joe- he didn't call anyone a Nazi. He was talking about procedure. And there are similarities.
And the feigned disappointment in the rhetoric is old now. Its back to business as usual.
Don't try to make exuses for the old fool. If there is doubt about what Cohen said, hit "REPLAY" and listen again. But don't try to whitewash his hateful, destructive comments. Talk about desperation -- the Dems are imploding .... eating their own young. They pay no attention to what Obama says ... why should anyone else. Who cares how they vote on the Repeal. It will be passed in the House and we will see where everybody stands in the Senate for further reference in 2012. Can't wait to throw the rest out (along with the RINO's who choose to stand with them).
Republicans lie?
Republican strategies akin to the Big Lie and Joseph Goebbels?
I'm shocked....NOT!
Folks, I've been saying this for eight months.
Yes, the GOP lies constantly. There is spin, there is coloring and then there is out and out lying. That's what the GOP did to John Kerry, what they've tried to do to Barack Obama and what they are doing with regards to the HCR.
The saddest part about this is their loyal toadies will continue to defend and support the GOP, even against their own enlightened self-interest. That too, is just like Nazi Germany.
Lemmings never learn.
And mindless automatons like you that utilize Animal farm logic-Dems good-Repubs bad- are somehow enlightened philsopher kings? Please-Democrats are the most mindless of all in the political spectrum. You all believe the government exist solely to provide you or your ilk with everything you cannot provide for yourselves. You all suffer from the entitlement mentality that has been nourished by the Democratic leadership in return for your mindless-loyal votes to keep them in power. You will vote for anyone that promises you all "free stuff", which even the most stupid amongst you must now realize is not free!! Our nation will pay a dire price for the failed policies and welfare state the Dems have created since WWII-afterall they have been in complete charge of the pursestrings for 38 out of the last 50 years- so the responsibility for the 130 trillion in unfunded liabilities we now have in the form of entiltlement programs is their fault -not the Republlcans!!
Franklin, tsk tsk. Name calling, and of course, you're wrong.
Are we having to reach all the way back the WWII to find somebody to blame for George Bush's fiscal mismanagement of the nation. I think that's a little desperate of you.
"Free stuff?" There is no "free stuff", we all know that.
Dems...I'm not a Dem, nor am I a Republican. I'm an Independent. And here's a shocker for you Frank, I've worked for two different GOP office holders here in Oklahoma. I got one of them elected against all odds and re-elected when he was pronouned politically dead.
Frank, I've worked INSIDE the GOP. When I say they lie, I'm speaking from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE inside the party!
Our nation will pay an even direr price (is that a word?) if we don't do something about health care.
The GOP isn't looking out for the American people, they are looking out for big money and that's it.
Wake up Frank, you're being duped.
See, that's how it's done Frank. I didn't once call you a name or accused you of any misdeeds. Other than suggestingthat you may have had the wool pulled over your eyes.
Have a nice day
Sure good to know the Democrats never lie.
Never said that, not the issue. The issue is the GOP tactic of the big lie. You tell the lie and you keep telling the lie. Just listen to Rush Limbaugh and you'll see how it works. You keep repeating the lie long enough and some people begin to believe it's fact. They repeat it and before you know it, it's become a perceived fact and a great injustice has been done.
The examples of the GOP big lie strategy are too numerous to list here but here are a few of their recent greatest hits.
The great Illegal immigrant scare -ongoing- a few years ago the GOP did some polling to try to find a wedge issue that was high return and low risk. They hit upon the brilliant strategy of using illegal immigrants and the great crisis was born. Illegal immigrants are the ideal subject for demonization. They are powerless, they have no money and they can't vote. Plus the xenophobic base of the GOP is terrifed of them (as they were terrified of the Irish, the Chinese, the Polish, etc etc etc)
The great Gay Marriage scare- Mostly done- Gay marriage is a great threat to the holy institution of marriage. How? Well, it isn't, but since most of the GOP base and a goodly portion of the Democratic base and severely homophobic what better theme to wedge into the electorate. Of course, the gays are not powerless and DO vote. So this wedge issue has largely been abandoned by all but the Christian right.
The Swift Boat scandal- Done- John Kerry, a decorated, wounded, Viet Nam War veteran was the target of a false and misleading ad just because one tiny group of veterans who happened to have a lot of money were upset that Kerry became an anti-war advocate after leaving the military. Free Speech anyone? I guess not. This was a brilliant strategy because it muddied an issue the Bush administration was deadly afraid of. George II spent his military service in a country club air force unit safely in the US and spent most of his time helping Republican candidates. Dick Cheney had "more important things to do" than to serve his country and he got multiple deferrments. John Kerry not only served in the US Navy, he served in the most hazardous duty, as a swift boat captain plying the muddy rivers of the Mekong and other rivers in Viet Nam. He was awarded numerous decorations and was wounded more than once. The "swift boaters" BIG LIES muddied that eviable record and we got George II for a second term.
President Barack Obama is Muslim- Ongoing- A lie, a BIG LIE.
President Barack Obama was not born in the US - Ongoing. A lie, another BIG lie.
The HCR would force Granny to go before "death panels"- pretty much done. ANOTHER BIG LIE.
And my personal favorite
The HCR is a job-killing bill- Ongoing- LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE
and it goes on and on and on today.
These lies are beleived by the gullible and they damage good people and keep millions of American from getting much needed insurance and other things absolutely necessary to achieving the American dream.
THE BIG LIE, Joseph Goebbels was a past proponent, he would be proud of what the GOP has accomplished. THE BIG LIE is almost an art form in the hands of the GOP. Goebbels would be so proud.
I say let's forget the Party lines and just throw out anybody that lies or fails to follow the wishes of the people. Let's do away with the R's and D's and just vote out those who ignore us. Let's forget the poll numbers and dump everybody that doesn't read legislation before signing it, ignores constituents, and continues to power grab and overstep government bounds. Time to return to "will of the people" and "throw the bums out" .... 2012 can't come soon enough.
You shouldn't be wasting your time listening to Rush Limbaugh, it'll cause you to have a stroke.
What's a Nazi? is it older than an Edsel?
The word NAZI is the shortened version of the National Socialist Party in Germany ran by the infamous Adolf Hitler. Edsel was Henry Ford's sons name.
So much for a kinder, friendly Congress!
Mr Cohen, is known in Tennessee are both liberal and inflamatory.
Most people pay, no more attention to him, than the empty seats, he spoke to!!
President Obama's and the Lefts call for civility lasted about 20 minutes! What would the Left do if they could not invoke Hitler or Nazis? That along with starving"the children" and throwing granny off her social security and medicare is getting a little old for anyone with an IQ above room temperature. The Dems since WWII have created a welfare state and entitlement mentality using deficit spending in order to garner votes, loyalty and to stay in power. The real hatred and vitriol always comes from the Left-anyone not recognize the way Olbermann, Maddow, Huffington Post, Move On.org, Bill Maher, Code Pink all suffered from Bush Derangement Syndrome. How about every rally or protest march that ends with broken windows and looting? Incivility is a way of doing business for the Left, whether its here, England, France, Greece or any of the other failed Socialist states!!!!
If Mr. Cohen had not used the inflammatory buzzwords no one would have paid any attention to his statement.Now that he has our attention would be an excellent time him to point out that he wasn't really name-calling. He was reminding us that these reprehensible tactics have been disastrously effective before.
What a horrible comparision! But the lies being manufactured by the right are even more horrid and do nothing to move this nation forward! So, if the shoe fits.......
All this talk about lies, politicians, and the health care bill. Which lies, the ones for it or the ones against it? There have been both, but I guess the only ones objected to are the ones the other side tells. Politicians lie, and on both sides. 'Twas ever thus. Arguing about who is does it better is a huge waste of time and energy.
Let's face it. Whenever we point our finger in condemnation of others, as many as three fingers are pointing back at ourselves. Most observers play a part in the objectionable conduct or language if we condem it using similar words or similar conduct. In the U.S. House of Representatives, the House Speaker is responsible to control the decorum of house members, and where necessary insist on the member making his or her point with civility in mind. Not all house members can be trusted to be civil when trying to assess blame -- some may be incapable of civility--and it falls upon the House Speaker to insure civility among its members.
so, if th republicans are Nazis and this is another holocost, whene do you start killing republicans Mr. Cohen? You are not going to defend the world from another holocost?
Yeah, this guy messed up. He could have made all his points without resorting to comparisons to Nazis and Goebbels. The fact remains that the health care reform act has not diminished the stature or marked of a single private health care company and has not established a single government controlled single payer account or program. It is not even close to a government takeover of healthcare. It's already added thousands of previously eliminated or denied subscribers with more on the way. Last year saw premiums going up as the abusive HMOs and other insurance companies scrambled to gouge as much from their customers as they could while they could. This year, premiums go down, coverage goes up, profits and dividends are limited to the benefit of the sick who were previously subjected to real HMO exclusionary tactics (read: Death Panels, where non-medical office workers chose who gets benefits and who doesn't based on arbitrary, bottom line criteria, not medical criteria). Healthcare opponents, supported by the insurance companies, Fox News, the Koch brothers'/Dick Armey Crossroads PAC dominated (created, bankrolled message controlled) Tea Party have outright lied about the issue from the get go. Even the name of the repeal effort in the House about the "Job Killing" reform act is false. (The .05% resulting decrease in jobs would be from those who wouldn't have to have a job to be insured any more and could choose to retire are the sum total of jobs ending, which could then be filled by someone else who isn't retirement age. The "Job Killing" moniker is an outright lie.
He could have said all that and been just as accurate without the incendiary rhetoric. The Republicans remain against the very people who voted them into office. They lie to cover the fact and coerce their constituents to cut their own throats while drowning the rest of us in the resultant deluge of blood and corporate/wealthy tax giveaway welfare red ink.
It's not just a liberal politician who slipped up. The liberal media (self described as liberal in this case) have also slilpped up, but there's no real sense of outrage in the "mainstream" media. During the feeding frenzy after the Tucson tragedy, there were innumerable comments about conservatives/Republicans "fostering a climate of hate". Click on the second link below to an article on Joe Lieberman's decision to retire and not run in 2012. Written by a senior editor at Slate, this self-described liberal uses the words "loathe", "hate", and "despise" over and over and over to describe how not only she, but "liberal friends", feel about Lieberman. Not just his policies, but the man personally. She apparently really, genuinely hates him personally at a vicseral level.
Ironically, she not only describes feeling this way, she acknowledges that the feelings are somewhat inexplicable, because she concedes that for the most part Senator Lieberman has supported positiions that she is in agreement with. For all that, she contends that discussing "who hates Lieberman the most" is a "parlor game" among Connecticut Liberals.
If ANY conservative columnist talked about President Obama in these terms, indicating that they hate not just his policies, but the man himself, the attacks from the mainstream media would be blistering and incessant.
There are two links below. The first is from Jan 10, and is a Slate piece that slams the Tea Parties and conservatives in general for fostering "hate". The second is the hit piece on Lieberman. I'm not a member of either party; I'm a slightly right-of-center independent. That said, I have to say the hypocrisy of this is disgusting.
http://www.slate.com/id/2280711/
http://www.slate.com/id/2281645/
So much for a kinder and friendly, Congress!
Mr Coken is known for his liberal and inflamatory comments.
Most people don't pay anymore attention to him, than the empty seats, did, he spoke to in the middle of the night!!
I do not know why the Republicans are so outraged or sensitive over the criticism to their criticism. They have told outrageous lies about Death Panels,coverage and costs. They look ridiculous and still they carry on. I say let them have their say and the Democrats can compare the lies to anything they wish. People need coverage. People know they need coverage. The whole field of Insurance needs a work over. The Insurance Plan we now have is a step in the right direction. If the Republicans had a single brain among them, they would have accepted that and found ways to build on the Program. Instead, their first priority was to try and make a useless statement by repealing the BILL. They are wasting our time and money. The people who thought the Republicans would or could accomplish anything other than continuing to disrespect and insult the President were in error. Now, we all live the stupidity until 2012. Ugly!
and that makes them like mass muderders that gassed 8million+ jews? Or perhaps you believe that the holocost did not happen?
If they are going to kill 8 million americans someone needs to stop them.
The current generation of conservatives spent like drunken sailors to support a questionnable war, so anyone died-in-the-wool GOP had better clarify they are conservative, not Republican.
For the record, I voted for Reagan twice, but think the Clintons have a lot of good things to offer our country....when kept in check.
It only matters on the local level, people, so elect those who reflect your goals and values. Washington is a cesspool and doesn't know you exist.
Steve Cohen is a smart guy and is unafraid to speak his mind.
The guy is a d-bag who uses references to Nazi's and doesn't have the first clue what he is referring to. It's more fitting to say that he is a mindless idiot full of hot air.
For once, can we have an intelligent conversation in this country and leave out references to Nazi's and similar rhetoric? You might disagree with someone, or even dislike them, but that doesn’t make the person a Nazi. People who do this on either side look and sound like idiots.
He's right. It IS propaganda and the Nazi's were masters of it. We should never forget.
This is wrong. I'm a progressive. I didn't like it when republicans invoked Godwin's Law and I don't like it now either. There's got to be a way to conduct business without this inflammatory rhetoric....left or right.
only the intellectuals could see through all the negative propaganda on healthcare reform, and recognize it for what it is. Unfortunately the level of education and sophistication in this country has gone way down.
Hmm. The new "civility" in our discourse is quite charming. F&&&king Dems!
Neat. How's that go gain...?
Republicans telling lies? Boy, there is a real shocker! Next thing you know they will be saying Rush Limbaugh is a liar! In all seriousness, it never ceases to amaze me the whoppers these guys come up with. They call it the Job Killing Health Care Bill. They should know a thing or two about killing jobs as they have done plenty of that over the past 10 years or so.
I am to the point I would like to see this nation split in half. Democrats to one side and Republicans to the other, it does not matter to me who goes to the east or west. Let's draw a new boarder and see who goes down first. I'm going with the Republicans.
Proud to be a Republican!
President Obama's and the Lefts call for civility lasted about 20 minutes! What would the Left do if they could not invoke Hitler or Nazis? That along with starving"the children" and throwing granny off her social security and medicare is getting a little old for anyone with an IQ above room temperature. The Dems since WWII have created a welfare state and entitlement mentality using deficit spending in order to garner votes, loyalty and to stay in power. The real hatred and vitriol always comes from the Left-anyone not recognize the way Olbermann, Maddow, Huffington Post, Move On.org, Bill Maher, Code Pink all suffered from Bush Derangement Syndrome. How about every rally or protest march that ends with broken windows and looting? Incivility is a way of doing business for the Left, whether its here, England, France, Greece or any of the other failed Socialist states!!!!
I knew this guy Franklin was going to work the word "Socialist" in here somewhere. Yet he seems to think that his namecalling is OK
A PROPHETIC 1944 SPEECH
Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 - December 19, 1968) was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the socialist party of America.
Norman Thomas said this in a 1944 speech:
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of "liberalism", they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." He went on to say: "I no longer need to run as a presidential candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democratic party has adopted our platform."
again, when does the war start aginst the republicans? I already heard Obama call them enemies. We learned this less well, nazi enemies need to be killed, or ar eyou people going to stand around like the catholics in Nazi germany and do nothing? Perhaps this is just retoric to inflate your egos.
As a Catholic who is highly critical of so many things the Catholic Church does and has done, I would like to respond to the writer: those who stood around or stood by or stood away were legion: Catholics, Protestants, believers, non-believers, liberals and conservatives... 'good people all' whose crime of silence resulted in the punishment of so many.