IN WHAT HAS TO BE A LEADING CANDIDATE FOR THE MOST INFLAMMATORY, IGNORANT AND DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE POLITICAL STATEMENT OF THE YEAR, CONGRESSMAN STEVE COHEN (D-TN) compared Republican opposition to President Obama’s health care reforms to the tactics of Adolf Hitler’s henchman Joseph Goebbels and the genocidal regime in Nazi Germany. In A DEEPLY INSENSITIVE AND TASTELESS MANNER he also invoked the Holocaust to hammer home his point, in a speech to an almost empty House of Representatives on Tuesday evening, comments which have already drawn a sharp rebuke from the National Jewish Democratic Council. The video of the Congressman’s bizarre rant can be viewed here. CBS News Political Hotsheet has transcribed some of his remarks :.
“They don’t like the truth so they summarily dismiss it. They say it’s a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like [Nazi propagandist Joseph] Goebbels. You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually, people believe it. Like blood libel. That’s the same kind of thing.”
… “The Germans said enough about the Jews and the people believed it and you had the Holocaust. You tell a lie over and over again. And we’ve heard it on this floor: Government takeover of health care.”
There can be no doubt that IF A BRITISH POLITICIAN MADE THESE KINDS OF CHARGES in a similar context in the House of Commons THERE WOULD BE WIDESPREAD PUBLIC REVULSION OVER THE REMARKS AND IMMEDIATE CONDEMNATION FROM LEADERS ON ALL SIDES OF THE POLITICAL AISLE, AS WELL AS FROM THE PRESS. Yet the story has barely featured as a major news item in the US mainstream media with a couple of notable online exceptions, and ignored completely by pillars of the liberal establishment such as The New York Times. And as for the White House and the Democratic leadership, which has had a full day to respond to the comments, there has been complete silence.
…THE EXTREME REMARKS MADE BY ONE HIS OWN SUPPORTERS, WHOM NANCY PELOSI IRONICALLY DESCRIBED AS THE “CONSCIENCE OF THE FRESHMAN CLASS” BACK IN 2008. Congressman Cohen’s hate-filled statements represent a new low for American political discourse, and so far America’s liberal elites have been strikingly reticent in denouncing them
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100072674/democratic-congressman%E2%80%99s-comparison-of-republicans-with-nazis-is-met-with-thunderous-silence-from-president-obama-and-americas-liberal-elites/
Conscience of the Democrat’s freshman class? No wonder they lost so many seats.
Cohen denies comparing GOP to Nazis
DEMOCRATIC REP. STEVE COHEN (TENN.) CLAIMED WEDNESDAY THAT HE DID NOT COMPARE REPUBLICANS TO NAZIS during a floor speech this week, BUT REITERATED MANY OF THE SAME POINTS HE MADE IN THAT SPEECH.http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/139007-democratic-lawmaker-i-did-not-compare-republicans-to-nazis
In his first television interview since his Tuesday-night speech, Cohen said he does not think most "reasonable people" would construe his words as a direct comparison between Nazis and the GOP.
But HE MAINTAINED THAT REPUBLICAN RHETORICAL TACTICS DURING THE HEALTHCARE DEBATE HAVE RESEMBLED NAZI PROPAGANDA.
This reminds me of the old saying, "I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but what you heard is not what I meant." The other saying that comes to mind is “Are you going to believe me (Cohen) or your lying ears (normally eyes).”
Was Obama only kidding about civility?
REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TENN) IS REFUSING TO APOLOGIZE FOR HIS WORDS ON THE HOUSE FLOOR likening GOP opponents of ObamaCare to Geobbels, and invoking the Holocaust. So far, NEITHER ROBERT GIBBS NOR PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS COMMENTED ON THIS OBVIOUS SLAP IN THE FACE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL FOR CIVILITY. This would seem to be an obvious opportunity for the President to triangulate and win over independents - a Sistah Souljah moment. But is he willing to antagonize an ObamaCare supporter?
Meanwhile, even liberal Jewish groups that support Obama are condemning Cohen's words. JTA reports:
"THE NATIONAL JEWISH DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL CRITICIZES THE COMMENTS OF REPRESENTATIVE STEVE COHEN (D-Tenn.), which compared Republicans to the Nazis and unfortunately reintroduced the Holocaust into the health care debate," said the umbrella body for Jewish Democrats. "As we have said repeatedly, INVOKING THE HOLOCAUST TO MAKE A POLITICAL POINT IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE -- on either side of the aisle."
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/01/was_obama_just_kidding_about_c.html
Let’s see, Palin was wrong to have targeted Gabrielle Giffords’ district and even worse she defended herself. Now we have a Democrat making charges against the Republicans and evoking Goebbels and the Nazis and he sees no problem with it. We are getting dangerously close to hypocrisy.
Anderson Cooper takes Steve Cohen to the woodshed over Nazis/Goebbels remarks
He’s not going to be giving the keynote speech at a Tea Party convention anytime soon. But he DID GO TO BAT FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AT A TIME WHEN A LOT OF MEDIA PERSONALITIES ARE CALLING FOR LOWER-VOLUME POLITICAL DISCOURSE.
On Wednesday night during his “KEEPING THEM HONEST” SEGMENT, CNN “AC360” anchor Anderson Cooper TOOK ON TENNESSEE DEMOCRATIC REP. STEVE COHEN, who had compared Republicans to Nazis in a debate about the repeal of Obamacare on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Cooper offered his thoughts and fired these questions at Cohen:
• Representative Cohen, how can you think that it’s appropriate for a member of Congress on the floor of the House to COMPARE THE STATEMENTS MADE BY REPUBLICANS ABOUT HEALTH CARE TO LIES ABOUT JEWS TOLD BY JOSEPH GOEBBELS AND OTHER NAZIS? HOW IS IT APPROPRIATE?
• IF YOU WEREN’T TRYING TO COMPARE THEM TO NAZIS, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE MENTIONED NAZIS. I mean, you said their statements on health care are the same kind of lies that Nazis told….
http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/20/keeping-the-honest-anderson-cooper-takes-steve-cohen-to-the-woodshed-over-nazisgoebbels-remarks/#ixzz1BbUyJ5Yk
This Cohen thing is a big deal. The President asks to tone things down and a star from the Democrats libel Republicans by calling them Nazis.
Report Card on Obama's First Two Years
Two years ago today, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States. ARE YOU BETTER OFF TODAY THAN YOU WERE TWO YEARS AGO?And interesting collection of statistics. The ones I found most revealing are:
The number of unemployed Up 24.7%
The number on food stamps Up 35.1%
The National Debt Up 32.1%
The last one is unbelievable. In only two years Obama has increase the debt by almost a third.
Todd: Obama’s approval soaring
Five days ahead of his State of the Union address, President Obama has rising support, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. The President’s approval ratings is now at 53 percent, an eight point jump in one month and the highest ratings for the president since July 2009.http://www.mediaite.com/tv/nbc-news-marks-obamas-first-two-years-in-office-with-soaring-approval-ratings/
NBC News’ Chuck Todd says President Obama is getting a boost from several factors, including a general sense of optimism among Americans. The poll asked “Will the Economy Get Better or Worse in the Next Year?” 40 percent said better, 17 percent said worse. The “better” answer jumping from just 32 percent in December.
This is one of those facts that must be greeted with AMBIVALENCE BY THE LEFT. Obama’s approval has certainly gone up, but only after he started to sound conciliatory and made a deal to extend the Bush tax cuts. It’s kind of like the mixed emotions the guy who watched his mother in law drive over a cliff in his brand new Cadillac.
To the Rescue: Spending cuts from the GOP
A number of the House GOP’s leading conservative members on Thursday will announce legislation that WOULD CUT $2.5 TRILLION OVER 10 YEARS, which will be by far the most ambitious and far-reaching proposal by the new majority to cut federal government spending.http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/20/house-gop-conservatives-set-to-unveil-2-5-trillion-in-deep-spending-cuts/#ixzz1Ba4VV373
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, will unveil the bill in a speech at the Heritage Foundation on Thursday morning.
Jordan’s bill, which will have a companion bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican, would IMPOSE DEEP AND BROAD CUTS ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. IT INCLUDES BOTH BUDGET-WIDE CUTS ON NON-DEFENSE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING BACK TO 2006 LEVELS and proposes the elimination or drastic reduction of more than 50 government programs.
At last, we are seeing some sanity in Washington. After a four year orgy of spending by the Democrats, the Republicans appear to be looking to give us “real change we can believe in.”
Hubris heading for a fall
It takes a worried man to sing a worried song, and in a recent speech that seemed like Larry Summers's swan song, the president's now-departed economic adviser WARNED THAT AMERICA IS "AT RISK OF A PROFOUND DEMORALIZATION WITH RESPECT TO GOVERNMENT." He fears a future in which "AN INADEQUATELY RESOURCED GOVERNMENT PERFORMS BADLY, LEADING TO FURTHER DEMANDS THAT IT BE CUT BACK, EXACERBATING PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS, DEEPENING THE BACKLASH, AND CREATING A VICIOUS CYCLE."
The idea that America's problem of governance is one of inadequate resources misses this lesson of the last half-century: NO AMOUNT OF RESOURCES CAN PREVENT GOVERNMENT FROM PERFORMING POORLY when it tries to perform too many tasks, or particular tasks for which it is inherently unsuited.
Actually, GOVERNMENT IS NOT SUFFICIENTLY DEMORALIZED. The hubris that is the occupational hazard and defining trait of the POLITICAL CLASS CONTINUES TO CAUSE GOVERNMENT TO OVERPROMISE AND UNDERPERFORM. This class blithely considers itself exempt from the tyranny of the bell-shaped curve - the fact that in most occupations a few people are excellent, a few are awful, and most are average.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/19/AR2011011905000.html
I love this column. Will hits the nail on the head with this one.
The clash between the left and the right
There was once a time in this country when you could make a movie, or write a book or any essay, DEPICTING YOUR CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ENEMIES AS SUBHUMAN AND WORTHY OF DESTRUCTION. And this was a very healthy thing. Such works of art could provide a catharsis for the audience, letting them express their revulsion at their enemy vicariously. CATHARSIS is a basic idea that goes back at least to the Greeks, and our post-Tucson attempts TO CENSOR OURSELVES WILL ONLY CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS. Because let’s face it: LIBERALS THINK THAT CONSERVATIVES ARE SUBHUMAN, AND CONSERVATIVES THINK THAT LIBERALS ARE UTOPIAN, BABY-KILLING DESPOTS. Pretending otherwise will just prolong the inevitable clash that can only be resolved with one side winning the debate. And part of that debate means giving vent to just how much the two sides hate each other. THIS CAN BE DONE CRUDELY — I.E. KEITH OLBERMANN’S TANTRUMS — or artistically, with fictionalized characters and dramatic panache. But pretending the hate is not there, and that catharsis cannot help us deal with it, is like treating a boil with a band-aid.http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/19/chris-matthews-marked-for-death/#ixzz1Ba8HrW5f
A very interesting point of view with so many deploring the vitriol in politics today. Most of the people who condemn the level of vitriol don’t have a very good grasp of history. What makes America so great is that we argue our differences freely and then use the ballot to settle them. The argument right now by those on the left is they fear the vitriol will lead to violence. The fact that it hasn’t happened doesn’t seem to stop their missive, “what if?” And once again the solution they seem to be pointing to is more likely to cause problem than to calm things down. The law of unintended consequences it alive and well, but the left fails to recognize that it even exists.
Senate map shrinks for Democrats in 2012
North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad's retirement plans underscore a big problem for Democrats in 2012 and beyond. Farm Belt and Southern voters who prefer a Republican president but have often backed moderate Democrats for Congress seem increasingly inclined to vote GOP in all federal races.
Republicans rejoiced at Conrad's announcement this week, convinced they can win the open seat in 2012 and hold it for years to come. They see it as a replay of last fall's North Dakota election, in which Republican John Hoeven easily won the Senate seat vacated after 18 years by Democrat Byron Dorgan.
They also point to neighboring South Dakota. After Republican John Thune narrowly defeated Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle in 2004, Democrats didn't even bother last year to oppose Thune's re-election. Republicans feel they can hold the seat for many years, and they are eyeing South Dakota's other Senate seat, now held by Democrat Tim Johnson.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_farm_belt_replay
Not good news in a year the Democrats will have 23 seats up for grabs while the Republicans will have 10. And the Republicans need to win only 14 of the 33 seats (42%) to take control of the Senate. If they win 50% they will have 53 seats and if they win 62% like they did this year, they will hold 57 seats in the Senate.
Here’s a brief article on the current state of the 23 democrats and 10 republican seats that are up for grabs in 2012. The Republicans have only 10 seats up of which 2 are vulnerable (20%). The Democrats have 23 seats up for grabs of which 13 are vulnerable (57%).
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/01/20/assessing_the_2012_senate_battlefield_108599.html
Disparaging the intellect of Conservatives: The 30th anniversary
On the 30th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s inaugural address, David Davis, a Tory member of Parliament, praises the Gipper in the Wall Street Journal‘s European edition:
When the 69-year-old Reagan became president, he encountered A BARRAGE OF INTELLECTUAL SNOBBERY FROM THE EUROPEAN AND EAST COAST ESTABLISHMENTS. The then British ambassador to the U.S., Sir Nicholas Henderson, opined that “Reagan believes there are simple answers to complex problems. THE MAIN WORRY IS NOT JUST AGE, BUT WHETHER HE POSSESSES THE MENTAL VITALITY AND POLITICAL VISION NECESSARY.”
BUT REAGAN PROVED THEM ALL WRONG. He became the first Cold War president to serve two terms without becoming involved in a major armed conflict, despite it being an extraordinarily unstable and volatile period in world history.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/257563/across-pond-robert-costa
And his leadership led to the longest period of peacetime economic expansion up til then, the fall of Communism, and a tax reform making the tax code simpler and better. Up until his presidency, inflation was the government’s friend as everyone was being put in higher brackets due to inflation. Reagan remedied that. But the Democrats seem to be caught in their 1980s playbook. Disparage the intelligence of any Republican who runs against any Democrat.
Palinphobia: Why Sarah Palin Drives Them Wild
If she grants interviews to Oprah or Barbara Walters, she’s accused of wanting to be a celebrity. If she denies those interviews, she’s labeled a coward.
If she’s quiet when viciously attacked, she’s accused of hiding. If she speaks up, she’s described as injecting herself into the story.
If she addresses health care reform, bailouts, and QE2 via columns, Facebook, and Twitter, she’s accused of not engaging in unscripted conversations. In 2008, she was criticized by many for calling it like she saw it and going off script at campaign events.
When she resigned as Governor, she was labeled a quitter. I assure you that if she hadn’t resigned, she would have been painted by many as a self-centered hypocrite who didn’t care about Alaska. They would have argued that she prioritized the preservation of her political future over the fact that frivolous ethics charges against her were draining the resources of the governor’s office.
The truth? MANY ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT ARE READY AND WILLING TO POUNCE ON SARAH PALIN’S EVERY MOVE. The question is why. And the answer is simple.
She’s just a regular person like you and me. But she’s a regular person who has managed to pack convention halls and book signings, to release two bestselling books, to launch a successful and unconventional television series, to boost the ratings of every television show she has appeared on – and SHE HAS DONE IT ALL JUST BY BEING HERSELF. NO HELP FROM THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT, NO HELP FROM THE MEDIA ELITE, and no help from any you-do-for-me-I-do-for-you deals with big shots. TO TOP IT ALL OFF, SHE’S – HEAVEN FORBID – HAPPY.
The worst part for the elites? While running a city and a state, SHE MANAGED TO KEEP HER VALUES INTACT. She sustained a successful marriage and prioritized her children. She kept smiling and loving life. She even made time for those 5 a.m. runs.
TO THE BUSINESS-AS-USUAL POLITICIAN AND/OR MEDIA HACK, SHE’S SIMPLY MADDENING. So, they respond by saying SHE’S NOT SMART ENOUGH. (TRANSLATION: SHE DOESN’T SPEAK OUR PRETENTIOUS LANGUAGE.) Or they claim she’s too controversial. (Translation: She stands by principle, even when it’s unpopular.) Or they declare she’s not presidential. (Translation: She doesn’t play by our rules, and that scares the crap out of us.) Or they insist that her TV series proves she’s not a serious politician. (Translation: If she pulls a Reagan, we’re screwed. And why didn’t I get offered a TLC show?)
PALIN’S WORK ETHIC, RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT, AND COMMITMENT TO PRINCIPLE INSPIRE MANY AMBITIOUS AMERICANS. Because they get that she’s not a superhero, but a hard worker. And if she can do it, so can they.
But to the insecure, to those who feel the need to tear you down in order to lift themselves up, Palin is an absolute nightmare….
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41284
An excellent article. I especially like the part about her not being smart enough and the translation. As I’ve said many time, she scares the devil out of the left and the establishment right. I like her.
Why is this story a bunch of junk?
2010 was the warmest year since global temperature records began in 1850 - although margins of uncertainty make it a statistical tie with 1998 and 2005.
The WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION (WMO) CONCLUDES 2010 WAS 0.53C WARMER THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THE PERIOD 1961-90 - A PERIOD COMMONLY USED AS A BASELINE.
The 10 warmest years have all occurred since 1998, it notes.
The WMO analysis combines data from three leading research agencies, and is regarded as the most authoritative.
The three records are maintained by the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), and jointly in the UK by the Hadley Centre and the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12241692
Here’s the answer as to why this story is a bunch of junk. Suppose you were a school teacher who figure out that the current class you have has the best average grades ever. But then you find out someone hacked into the school computer and lowered the grades of previous classes and raised the lowest grades in this class giving them the average of the C students. That’s basically what’s been going on. GISS has been lowering earlier temperatures even while they’ve taken out the temperatures at the poles and substituted temperatures from as far as 800 miles away (warmer). And even with all these adjustments we are talking about 2010 being .018 degree on average warmer. This isn’t just nonsense, it borders on fraud.
Democrats try to curb Cuccinelli's powers
DEMOCRATS IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ARE TRYING TO CURB THE POWER OF THE STATE'S ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SUBPOENA PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN AN EFFORT INTENDED TO LIMIT INQUIRIES like the one Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II is conducting at the University of Virginia.
Under a 2002 statute designed to catch government employees defrauding the public of tax dollars, Cuccinelli (R) has demanded that the university turn over documents and e-mails related to the work of Michael Mann, a former university climate scientist whose research showed that the Earth has been warming.
Cuccinelli has said he wants the documents, including grant applications and e-mails exchanged between Mann and 39 other scientists and university staffers, TO HELP DETERMINE WHETHER MANN COMMITTED FRAUD BY KNOWINGLY SKEWING DATA AS HE SOUGHT PUBLICLY FUNDED GRANTS FOR HIS RESEARCH.
Cuccinelli's demand has pleased conservatives, who say that global warming is a hoax, but has OUTRAGED MANY ACADEMICS, WHO SAY HE IS SMEARING AN HONEST RESEARCHER BECAUSE HE DOES NOT APPROVE OF HIS FINDINGS.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/18/AR2011011806201.html
Now if this was just an attempt to smear an honest researcher, wouldn’t the best way to overcome it to simply give Cuccinelli the documents and prove him wrong?
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