There are few events in the modern era that evoke revulsion as much as the attempted annihilation of an entire people based on their religion. No, this particular event is not the neo-conservative movement’s drive to wipe out Muslims; that is another story. The Holocaust was a human atrocity on such a grand scale that it still evokes abject disgust among any decent human being regardless their religious or national background, and just mentioning Nazi elicits outrage amongst all but the worst representatives of humanity. Over the past few days, Republicans rallied around one of the America’s worst representatives of humanity and aligned themselves with pedophile, draft dodger, racist, and now Nazi sympathizer Ted Nugent. There is a saying that a person is known by the company they keep, and the Republicans praising, excusing and defending Ted Nugent should be regarded as Nazi sympathizers.
Last month when Nugent launched a barrage of derogatory comments about President Barack Obama at a gun expo in Las Vegas, he described the President as “a communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-nurtured, subhuman mongrel.” Nugent calling the President a communist is typical for the archetypical white-trash racist assailing Barack Obama for leading the Executive branch while being African American. However, Nugent’s use of “subhuman mongrel” marked a new low that Republicans embraced through their defense, and implied approval, of Nugent’s Nazi remarks. They could hardly condemn Nugent because they support whipping racists and gun-zealots into frenzy against this President since it worked so effectively for Nazis in their drive to exterminate Jews.
It is unclear why only Wolf Blitzer criticized Nugent for channeling Nazis, and why main stream media is not reporting that Republicans are praising and defending the Nazi sympathizer Nugent. Blitzer said last week “That’s what the Nazis called Jews to justify the genocide of the Jewish community. They called them ‘untermenschen,’ subhuman mongrels. If you read some of the literature that the Nazis put out there, there is a long history of that specific phrase he used involving the president of the United States.” According to a historian at the University of California at Los Angeles, David Myers, Adolph Hitler used the word “untermensch,” or subhuman, in his book Mein Kampf in 1925 and “from that point forward, it was part of the Nazi lexicon. That and ‘mischling’ or mongrel, were intoned with daily regularity by the Nazi propaganda machine.” The world knows how that propaganda succeeded, and yet there has been little to no harsh condemnation of Nugent’s Nazi propaganda against President Obama in national media.
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There can be little doubt that Nugent deliberately chose the Nazi phrase as propaganda, but Republicans have barely chastised Nugent for using what they call “inappropriate” language. The same day Blitzer reported that Nugent used Nazi propaganda to criticize the President, Politifact rated Blitzer’s assertions as absolutely true. Still, Texas gubernatorial hopeful Gregg Abbot welcomed Nugent’s campaign assistance and Ted Cruz defended and praised Nugent claiming “there are reasons people listen to him, which is that he has been fighting passionately for Second Amendment rights. And this administration has demonstrated an incredible hostility to the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.” Cruz or Nugent cannot cite one instance of this President’s “incredible hostility to the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” but truth is of no consequence to Republicans or Nugent in their demonization of President Obama.
Cruz’s is as bad as Nugent for praising the Nazi sympathizer, and in what CNN and the Washington Post falsely labeled an apology, Nugent reciprocated and praised Texan gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott, representative Louie Gohmert, Ted Cruz, and governor Rick Perry that Wolf Blitzer could not shame into condemning Nugent’s Nazi propaganda. The most Blitzer could get out of Perry was that Nugent’s remarks were “inappropriate,” and it is likely all any media will get from Republicans, at least from Texas Republicans. It is important to remember that Nugent’s Nazi comments were not for politicians, they were for racist gun-fanatics who embrace Nugent as their prototypical warrior against President Obama.
According to the president and CEO of the Outdoor Channel, Jim Liberatore, who could hardly contain his glowing praise for Nugent while parroting Ted Cruz, “Ted Nugent symbolizes everything that is right in our industry and represents our viewers as an outspoken patriot, a skilled outdoorsman, and a devoted family man. His programs have a powerful, zealous fan base with unmatched engagement levels.” It is no coincidence that Nugent used Nazi propaganda at a gun expo he knew his racist supporters would hear to whip them into intense anti-Obama frenzy. It is also no coincidence that Texas Republicans are tripping over themselves to praise Nugent instead of condemning his embrace of terminology that incited decent German people into Holocaust facilitators. Sadly, there are millions of racists in America who would participate in an attempt to wipe people of color off the face of America, and instead of immediately condemning and distancing themselves from Ted Nugent, Texas Republicans could only praise him for his opposition to the President and follow Willard Romney’s example and welcome his support for their candidacy.
There is a tendency to criticize anyone for comparing Republican propaganda tactics to Nazis, but in this case comparing Republican support of Nugent’s Nazi propaganda is warranted. For over five years Republicans have given tacit approval to, and participated in advancing, propaganda criticizing President Obama as an interloper, not being American, and an illegal President. Nugent exceeded their efforts by resorting to Nazi propaganda that led to the worst human atrocity in history. Americans should make no mistake that Nugent’s Nazi remarks were not meant to ramp up hate towards Barack Obama or Americans who support him.
Americans should be aware that racist pedophile, draft dodger, and National Rifle Association director Nugent regards any American who does not comport with his vision of America is a hated enemy and unwelcome in his perverse America. Besides failing to condemn Nugent and his Republican cheer-leaders’ defense for using Nazi terminology, there was little reporting that during his Nazi propaganda rant he spared no Democrats from his vile remarks. He said, “I think America will be America again when Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton, Dick Durbin, Michael Bloomberg and all the liberal Democrats are in jail facing the just due punishment that their treasonous acts are clearly apparent.” Nugent’s inclusion of “all the liberal Democrats in jail” is tantamount to Nazi propagandists lumping all Jews together and it leads one to wonder if “in jail” was code for in concentration camps or worse. Main stream media, Texas Republicans, and anyone defending, excusing, or praising Nugent are as guilty as the racist pedophile because their reluctance to condemn or distance themselves from him is implied approval to use dangerous Nazi propaganda against the President.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
