Althouse: "Everyone seems to ignore that Pelosi started this, saying town hall participants were showing up with swastikas, etc."

August 10, 2009

"Everyone seems to ignore that Pelosi started this, saying town hall participants were showing up with swastikas, etc."

"That's calling them Nazis, as Dick Durbin referred to our Gitmo interrogators from the Senate floor. I've been listening to the left compare George W. Bush to Hitler for eight years. I've been listening to Democrats and the left compare conservatism to Nazis my whole career. This time I responded. In kind, by comparing the radical left policies of the Nazis to today's radical left leadership of the Democrat Party. I'm not surprised they don't like it."

47 comments:

The Dude said...: Nazi is as Nazi does.

National Socialists unite! Work makes free and so on...; 8/10/09, 1:11 PM
Bissage said...: The good news is it's still considered an insult for someone to call you a Nazi.; 8/10/09, 1:14 PM
Chennaul said...: Well Nancy upped her game-

Now they're Nazi and other various signs carrying UnAmericans....

I think the UnAmericans might not be covered....; 8/10/09, 1:16 PM
Chennaul said...: And there is this from one of the top ten comments over at LGF-

[...]3) There is a whole section on taxing private health care benefits. And, if this section is retained, it will certainly make it more and more expensive over the years for any employer to offer private health insurance or for an American citizen to retain their own private health insurance. This proposed bill is a direct hit on all aspects of the private health care business.

4) A very large part of this proposal, a major title in the proposed bill, will set up a Federal Health Care Corp (doctors, nurses, administration personal, health care clinics etc.) that will be in direct competition with private health care industry. And, having the Federal government behind this Federal Health Care Corp, there is no way the private health care industry will be able to compete against all the government propped up parts of this programs. [...]; 8/10/09, 1:20 PM
save_the_rustbelt said...: Pelosi's attempt to upgrade "Congressional Airline" is going to backfire really, really huge.

She will likely try to sell it as a jobs program.

The former CEO of GM is just shaking his head.; 8/10/09, 1:22 PM
traditionalguy said...: The one thing you can Always count on the Mind Controlling Democrats to do is to accuse their opponents of doing exactly what the Democrats are in fact doing. The confusion factor works for them. The MSM willingly picks it up as if it may be true, who could know. They only lose when a communicator as gifted as Limbaugh gets to analyse about their tactics. Stories mentioning Limbaugh are only shown with an older 300 pounder picture of a scowling Limbaugh. Goebbels would be proud of today's Sorosocrats. .; 8/10/09, 1:23 PM
Synova said...: You know... a whole lot of people are Statists but don't realize it. They aren't against big government at all or against government solving our problems... they just want government intervention to go the way they want it to go and compel the things *they* want it to compel.

This was my issue with Huckabee and supporters, actually.

This is exactly the same for those who want the state to regulate behavior (morality) to promote and officially approve of the right attitudes about the right things... be it traditional values or the new-improved values, as it is for those who want government to remove all possible risk from their lives.

And on the "liberal" side we have the "new-improved" values voters and the "risk free life" voters.

And the truth of it is... it's all Statism. It's all oppressive and fascist.; 8/10/09, 1:25 PM
Methadras said...: Alinksy-ites UNITE!!!; 8/10/09, 1:29 PM
Tex the Pontificator said...: The word "Nazi" carries a lot of freight. Casting away that freight. are not the Left in general and Nancy Pelosi in particular behaving in an anti-democratic and authoritarian manner?

Ironically as I see it, Pelosi and crowd use the term "Nazi" to dehumanize their opponents in a manner analogous to how Hitler sought to dehumanize Jews.

Clearly things aren't as bad as they were for European Jews, but then Nancy's not yet in charge of our health care. Who doubts that ACORN will cross-check health records with voter rolls?; 8/10/09, 1:30 PM
Kirby Olson said...: F.A. Hayek, the important economist at the U. of Chicago, argued in the 40s that Roosevelt was taking the country toward Nazism. As soon as you have a liberal elite that is fed up with the slow painstaking progress of pushing their changes through, they then try to take over the government with massive bureaucracies. This sets up a system, Hayek argued, that is easy then to convert to Nazism or to Stalinism (Hayek argued that they were the same thing).

We had a guy last two terms who seemd goofy but was competent. Now we have a guy who seems competent but is goofy.

He keeps pushing these enormous bills that are too big for anybody to read, and where the details are hidden. Most of us don't even know if the illegals are getting free healthcare in the new bill. According to what I've read: they are. some 30 million of them. And then they will get citizenship, and then they will vote Democrat, creating a permanent Democratic majority. That's the real secret behind this bill. We are paying to be taken over by the left.

He is applying all the wrong lessons from history and taking us on the Road to Serfdom.

SERFS UP!; 8/10/09, 1:34 PM
Greg Toombs said...: I find it interesting David Brooks and other "conservative" fellow-partiers in the DC/NY cocktail circuit seem all to ready to accept the premises of their MSM questioners.

It's as if it's all understood, or something...; 8/10/09, 1:40 PM
Roger J. said...: David Brooks is the NYT's butt boy (apologies to our gay commenters, but the phrase resonated in this case); 8/10/09, 1:52 PM
Chase said...: We found the mentors for the Government of Pelosi and the White House that they are using in describing the townhall protestors:

Iran.

What's the difference in how Pelosi and Emmanuel and Co are doing in their description of the townhall protestors and the mullahs and Ayatollah in Iran describing the vote protestors?

How much longer before billy-clubbing time in America?

Cause we had it before during the Vietnam political riots. Is it not possible to imagine this government doing something similar towards it's political foes?; 8/10/09, 2:01 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Well... that answers my question.; 8/10/09, 2:05 PM
The Dude said...: Does un-American mean illegal immigrant? Is Pelosi getting confused? She loves illegals, so she should embrace being un-American, too.

I think the botox has paralyzed Nancy's brain.; 8/10/09, 2:07 PM
The Drill SGT said...: I have an idea. Nancy can create a committee to investigate this Nazi astroturf plot to frustrate the will of the American People. She can call it:

the House Un-American Activities Committee or HUAC; 8/10/09, 2:27 PM
Methadras said...: save_the_rustbelt said...

Pelosi's attempt to upgrade "Congressional Airline" is going to backfire really, really huge.

It's called ConAir and no it isn't about blow-dryers.; 8/10/09, 2:28 PM
Shanna said...: The one thing you can Always count on the Mind Controlling Democrats to do is to accuse their opponents of doing exactly what the Democrats are in fact doing.

Isn’t that the truth. I have learned whenever I hear something said of conservatives that has me just scratching my head wondering where on earth they came up with that, you’ll see it come out of the other side sometime soon. Conservatives are violent! And then union violence. Conservatives are collective data on citizens! Then Obama will collect some data. It’s a great way to know what’s coming down the pike.

This was my issue with Huckabee and supporters, actually.

Huckabee is a statist, you’re totally right Synova. That’s why I can’t stand Huckabee.; 8/10/09, 2:29 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Nancy must be desperate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law; 8/10/09, 2:33 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: Nice to see the Democrats finally realizing the dangers of street protest and "activism". Ahem.

The Dems should be happy. Rallies and protests and disrupting public meetings are the weapons of the politically weak. It's a sign of how far the Republican party has fallen.; 8/10/09, 2:36 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Actually, if the Dems get some form of universal health care, what will they want next?

Or will they say to themselves "That was a job well done, let's close up shop [Congress] and we can all go home"?

Nah who am I kidding.; 8/10/09, 2:41 PM
Chase said...: From the Pelosi/White House soaking up Iran's political style File:

Remarking on Iran's Vote, the Iran State-supported TV News (Hey - we don't have anything like that here, do we?) reported:

An underground network providing foreign media outlets with photos and footage of the post-election unrest has been identified and arrested in Iran. Security forces said Wednesday that the network was comprised of pro-reform extremists who had contributed to the western media campaign against the newly-elected Ahmadinejad government.

At least two members of the group have confessed to providing media sources in the West with visual imagery depicting the post-election street violence, all in a bid to provoke anti-government sentiments and stage a regime change in Iran.

Next Talking Point to Come from the PR Firm of Pelosi/White House:

"The protesters are just trying to undo the results of an election they democratically lost"

You heard it here first; 8/10/09, 3:00 PM
Unknown said...: BusHitler.

Enough said on this subject.; 8/10/09, 3:12 PM
Larry J said...: You'd think with all the cameras in cell phones and a sychophantic press that we'd actully see a bunch of those swastika photos Pelosi mentions. Where are they?

When Pelosi said she didn't believe the protests were real because the protestors were so well dressed, I guess she just has no experience with protestors who use basic hygiene.; 8/10/09, 4:09 PM
Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...: Synova, bravo!; 8/10/09, 4:30 PM
rhhardin said...: Taxing health care benefits is a good idea, in fact. I'm surprised the left put it in there.

The tax-free status of health care benefits is what started the whole health care mess.

Your employer can buy health care cheaper than you can, is the distortion.

Either make private health care insurance deductible, or tax business supplied health care.

The latter is the better idea, since it doesn't favor spending on health over other things.; 8/10/09, 4:35 PM
Triangle Man said...: By gum ElcubanitoKC, I think you're right. Synova nailed it! They are all fascists under the hood.; 8/10/09, 4:55 PM
Jim B said...: rhhardin -

"Either make private health care insurance deductible, or tax business supplied health care."

Better to make health insurance deductible. Making something taxable just increases the flow of dollars to Washington and then raises issues about who's getting taxed, and who isn't and why aren't more people paying taxes, etc.

Better to let people deduct the cost of their health insurance, which would induce more people to buy health insurance - and isn't that what Leftists have been telling us all along that's what they really want?

So: is it really more tax revenue or more insured people that you want?

How you answer the deductibility vs. taxability question will reveal what's really most important to you.; 8/10/09, 4:56 PM
Balfegor said...: Better to let people deduct the cost of their health insurance, which would induce more people to buy health insurance - and isn't that what Leftists have been telling us all along that's what they really want?

Well, sure, but seriously -- do you honestly think there's a large pool of people making enough money and paying enough of it in tax that a tax break for health insurance would affect their behaviour meaningfully?

I mean, there's a few -- I recall one absolutely bizarre story from 2006, I think it was, (for the SCHIP expansion) about an upper middle class family that had simply decided not buy health insurance for their children. But there's not too many.; 8/10/09, 5:31 PM
Balfegor said...: Sorry, that should have been "pool of uninsured people."; 8/10/09, 5:33 PM
Bob said...: Nancy Pelosi will be the poster girl for the 2010 elections. She's well on her way to being "Newt Gingrich in a skirt". Eight years of comparing the right to the Nazis is a lot of banked payback just starting to cashed.; 8/10/09, 5:40 PM
GrannyClampett said...: Here is a video of my representative, Tom Scott, addressing a group of constituents (although he denies that) when health care reform was brought up by a physician (or, according to Rep. Scott, an insurance company plant sent there to highjack the meeting.)
http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=133599&provider=top

Nice fella, isn't he? So respectful of the people he works for.; 8/10/09, 5:40 PM
traditionalguy said...: Granny Clampett...Mr Scott is a con man, literally. He got elected because the 1996 Olympics coming to town caused a mass re-location of the worst slum dwelling, uneducated African Americans out of Atlanta and into a middleclass suburban county south of the Airport. This overnight population shift opened up a new Black power base and people like Scott came in from out of state to organize and control the local politics. The only qualification for Scott and his allies to be elected has always been the black demagogue who verbally abuses whites the most in public. We are so used to these things around here now, that I am surprized that it seems offensive to you.They result was in 7 years a County with the third highest rated school system in Georgia lost its accreditation and now has the next to the lowest test scores in Georgia. When the new black Sheriff was elected, he fired all the white officers the next morning. It has become a third world area today.Mr Scott is its power broker, and he is always incensed when a white person speaks to him with a voice of authority.; 8/10/09, 7:38 PM
LonewackoDotCom said...: If those at the meetings had simply been asking things that were difficult, the Dems wouldn't have as much to hang their hat on. Instead, the leaders of the supposed opposition to BHO have been encouraging people to act like baboons.

An example from June from Instapundit - and the better way to do things - is here. Seriously: find better leaders, because the ones you have now are demonstrably incompetent.; 8/10/09, 10:29 PM
JAL said...: Either make private health care insurance deductible

For the self employed, I believe there is some kind of deduction or tax break for health insurance.

Tax guys? Where are you?; 8/10/09, 11:55 PM
Chase said...: Un-American Democrats shouting down Republican lawmakers
at townhall meetings:

On March 16, USA Today reported that Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum "was among dozens of members of Congress who ran gantlets of demonstrators and shouted over hecklers at Social Security events last month. Many who showed up to protest were alerted by e-mails and bused in by anti-Bush organizations such as MoveOn.org and USAction, a liberal advocacy group. They came with prepared questions and instructions on how to confront lawmakers."; 8/11/09, 2:32 AM
Chase said...: Democrat Hypocrites - how short thy memories!::

Even disruptive tactics aimed at blocking President Bush's Social Security reform program were merely seen as evidence of boisterous high spirits and robust, wide-open debate. On May 23, 2005, the Savannah Morning News reported:

By now, Jack Kingston is used to shouted questions, interruptions and boos. Republican congressmen expect such responses these days when they meet with constituents about President Bush's proposal to overhaul Social Security.

“Tinkering with the system is always controversial. To make Bush's plan even more so -- political foes are sending people to Social Security forums armed with hostile questions.

By now, Kingston, a Savannah lawmaker and part of the GOP House leadership, has held 10 such sessions and plans at least seven more.; 8/11/09, 2:49 AM
Chase said...: White House Disputes Pelosi Contention that Town Hall Protests are "Un-American":

"I think there's actually a pretty long tradition of people shouting at politicians in America," White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton told reporters on Air Force One when asked about the comments.

"The President thinks that if people want to come and have a spirited debate about health care, a real vigorous conversation about it, that's a part of the American tradition and he encourages that, because people do have questions and concerns ...And so if people want to come and have their concerns and their questions answered, the President thinks that's important.; 8/11/09, 2:57 AM
AlphaLiberal said...: As a matter of fact, many protestors have been showing up swastikas, posters of Obama with a Hitler mustache. It's a simple matter of fact and it's documented in, you know, these "photograph" things you may have heard of.

Further, the rightwing "leaders" have been making all kinds of Nazi comparisons. We have the "recordings" of them saying these things. You guys do know of recordings, right?

And the protestors have been silencing other people and calling that "free speech," It was THAT ACTION which Pelosi called un-American. And she's right.

Shouting people down and preventing others from being heard is not a sane person's notion of a "conversation." These screamers have no coherent point to make, anyway.; 8/11/09, 5:17 AM
AlphaLiberal said...: I think that Chase's "White House quote" may have been taken out of context.

Robert Gibbs said that the demonstrators were showing less civility and manners than his six-year-old.; 8/11/09, 6:29 AM
Anonymous said...: And you lap that shit up, don't you?; 8/11/09, 8:27 AM
Chase said...: AlphaLiberal,

Would love to have links to those photographs you are referring to.; 8/11/09, 9:45 AM
Chase said...: Today's talking points from the White House's Marketing Division's New York Times:

White House Adapts to New Playbook in Health Care Debate

When the White House writes these articles, they still just make this point - trust us! Don't worry about the details. Trust us!; 8/11/09, 9:52 AM
MJ said...: "For the self employed, I believe there is some kind of deduction or tax break for health insurance."

This is true but I'm not sure why you think this is relevant. This attempts to equalize self employment to third party employment, but it doesn't address non-employment based insurance.; 8/11/09, 11:24 AM
MJ said...: "And the protestors have been silencing other people and calling that "free speech," It was THAT ACTION which Pelosi called un-American. And she's right."

This is both false and hypocritical. The vast majority of protestors are civil. The few boisterous events were conveniently edited to omit our elected leaders dismissing the concerns of voters with casual, patently false sound bites. It's hardly a wonder that people get pissed when they figure out their so called representatives simply don't care about their opinion. This is exactly what you should expect when you craft your legislation in secret without allowing all the effected parties to have their say.

It's hypocritical because even these few boisterous righties are 1/4 as offensive as leftists protestors have been for decades. And during these decades the political left and the media have gone to great effort to support and normalize their behavior.

Now all of a sudden we're supposed to enforce a decorum standard? What a joke. It's pretty telling that the so called liberal's definition of decorum is 100% dependent on the goals of the protestor.; 8/11/09, 11:35 AM
Synova said...: "Shouting people down and preventing others from being heard is not a sane person's notion of a "conversation." These screamers have no coherent point to make, anyway."

Curious, AL. Why the qualification?

Do the rights of protesters to protest depend on having a coherent point to make?

Free speech is approved speech?

What happened to dissent being Patriotic? Is only approved dissent Patriotic?

I will say that you're on the same page as Obama and Pelosi... dismiss the opposition and legitimize the opposition. This saves having to understand someone else's point of view.

Is it any wonder that people yell when they are being ignored?; 8/11/09, 11:39 AM
Synova said...: "delegitimize", of course.; 8/11/09, 11:41 AM