Anti-Obama Protester Compares President To Nazi In Swastika Sign

In championing the protests being staged at Democratic town halls, the Republican Party faces the obvious danger of becoming defined by the crazier elements of the crowd. So it's hard to imagine GOP higher-ups feeling good about what took place during a protest last week outside the Fort Collins office of Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.).

A woman protesting Democratic plans for health care reform was captured holding up a sign of a Swastika, with the president's name below it, encircled and crossed out by a red line. The implication is that Obama is a Nazi -- though the culprit, in this case, added a question mark next to his name, as some sort of caveat.

Earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that the protests at these events were illegitimate, in part because the protesters were carrying signs with "swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on health care." She was ridiculed by right-wing media for making an unsubstantiated charge in an effort to defame these grassroots demonstrators.

The image was provided to the Huffington Post by a reader who is a Democrat. Asked for reaction, Markey spokesman Ben Marter said: "Even as tempers flare on both sides of this debate, we need to remember that we are all Americans and we all want the best care for our families and our loved ones. And to that end we need to have a respectful and constructive conversation about one of the biggest issues that our country is facing."

This is the second time this week that a Nazi reference has popped up during a protest of a Democratic lawmaker. Earlier, a demonstrator at an event featuring Rep. Lloyd Dogget (D-Texas) carried a sign with the Nazi SS symbol.

These protesters are outside the norm. But they are receiving the preponderance of media attention, which presents a tricky proposition for the GOP. Clearly, the party has reveled in the disruption of Democratic town hall events. But it also risks being perceived as tolerant of an angry mob-like mentality that freely throws out charges of Nazism against the President of the United States.

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Comments

[lilian101]

How terrible, everyone knows tha Nazi Germany was well over before Obama was born. But other than that, the myth of reduction of Medicare benefits to fund Medicaid is already in the regulations. The latest reduction is, according to media sources, for Medicare cardiac care and oncology care and they savings is to be diverted to 'family pracitioners' who of course, do no see Medicare patients but do see Medicaid patients--the children of the illegal alien--et cetera.

[IronicMan]

Is it just me or did anyone else notice that the new silent majority is made up of the populace who voted for the Democratic Party for the past 12 or so years?

The Republicans (and their Neo Con engine) are still walking all over the Democratic party and are once again outmaneuvering them this time on health care despite the Democratic majorities in both houses.

As much as Republican perfidy, Democratic kowtowing gave us two wars, the Patriot Act and all of the myriad consequences. Now we even have something called Bluedogs on top of it all.

These so called right wing extremo protesters are getting traction not because they are asking intelligent or relevant questions or even because there are very many of them. It's because their corporate handlers know how to sell product to Americans.

And the poll numbers show that Americans are buying.

[AtheistUS]

It is shame that in the country that helped so much former USSR to crush Nazi Germany, in this very country so many people do not know much what 'Nazi' really means.

[Vieux Charles]

This is surreal. You're complaining because ONE woman identified the President with a swastika?

Where were your complaints Mr. Stein when legions of leftwing mobster did the same to Bush?

http://www.larryflynt.com/ad_parodies_gallery/image/bush-nazi.jpg
http://www.funny-tshirts.biz/customer/product.php?productid=16347
http://media.photobucket.com/image/swastika%20bush/jaynecounty/Bush.jpg
http://img.wonkette.com/images/thumbs/22fd375575e804b03f42246aed214d42.jpg

and this is just half of page one of a Google image search with the criteria: Bush swastika

[RedPower09]

I saw too many posts to reply to with this so I'm just going to post it here.

Think back to your last trip to the DMV, how pleasant was that trip? Were the employees lively and happy? What about your last trip to the Post Office? Most likely it was a bad trip. A vast majority of people dread going to the DMV, why? Poor service, long waits, uninterested employees. Now think back to your last trip to get a check up or treatment in a hospital. Most likely your doctor seemed upbeat, chatted with you, maybe told a joke or two. Now change the doctor's attitude to that of a government employee (such as the DMV). Poor service, long waits, uninterested employees is what we will get with this government plan. What does this mean? Lots of people will opt to keep their insurance which is fine, but not only will they have to pay for their insurance they will have to pay for everyone who is on the government plan. I, for one, do not need to be paying for more than one health care plan.

[mikeVA]

Think about the inefficiency, costs, lack of competition and poor value of the health care system. The cost have reached 16% of gdp. Those are real facts by neutral scholars and experts, not some cannard, imaginary talking point, of sloganeering by many people in the "redpower" that don't even have insurance.

[Roland99]

Last time I went to the DMV was 2 months ago in Seminole County, FL. Took all of 10 minutes, at lunch time, to be able to print my proof of insurance cards at a computer made available to customers, have my picture taken, and get my new license. The women I dealt with were very pleasant and we cracked jokes even.

Last time I went to the post office, again at lunch time, it took a few minutes to get through the line but I was able to purchase a money order very easily.

Now, my daughter starts school here in a few weeks and I have to pay at least $100 for her physical as I do not get employer-provided insurance (not without paying about $400/mo for me and my daughter)

[unite4change]

Redpower09, do your homework. Most of these services were privatize by the Bush administration. In other word private companies are operating them. That is what is meant by smaller government, letting the private sector operate everything including governmental agencies. So if you have complaints about the entities you mentioned, take them up with the GOP because as I said, they were privatized by the Bush administration and GOP.

For the record, the American people are the government, and if you hear politicians using derogatory comments about our government, we should send them home. After all, we hire them to assist in making our government work.

Please tell me why republicans believe they are the only Americans paying taxes?

[IronicMan]

Maybe the people at RedPowers DMV are Republicans, I don't know they are a grumpy lot. I just had my license renewed and while it wasn't the highlight of my day there was certainly no grief or bad vibes exchanged.

As for the Post Office it often is the highlight of the day and staffed by the most pleasant and efficient group of people I have ever had to stand in line to meet. I know all of the clerks by name, they play Prince on the speakers, and the line moves fast.

Oh, my wife and I both cannot stand our Primary Care physician who in turn seems like he can't stand people (thank god he's close to retirement) despite his chosen profession and boatloads of money.

All that just to say your anecdotal information is pretty worthless in this discussion.

[LanceBresee]

Is it just me, or is it somewhat disengenuous for the BUSH=HITLER croud to be complaining of swasticas on protest signs?

[AtheistUS]

I think it is just you.

[D-V-H]

Yes the left has some koooks, but the right is defined by theirs now.
The left is not defined by their extremists.

[shahoon]

Comparing what the Nazi's did legislatively in Germany at the beginning of their administration with what is currently happening on Capitol Hill is really not a stretch, if you know your history. It is truly alarming that a socialistic agenda is taking hold in America. The "silent majority" cannot afford to be silent anymore. The outcry against thee "Health Care" bill is just the tip of the iceberg. There is truly a grassroots movement to return America to it's constitutional heritage. All politicians should take close notice!

[michaleenflynn]

Perfectly stated!

[Jaywalkker]

But does the "road to socialism" also have rest stops at state sponsored race purity rallies, promotion of xenophobia, or the blaming of a particular social/ethnic/cultural group of all the country's ills? Is there a massive push by the US to "regain" or "reclaim" some lost territory? Is there a massive propaganda push from the white house that places the US above all other countries on this planet?

So far I fail to see the National Socialist comparison.

[Mildmannered]

co-sign

[OdysseusNemesis]

Literate historians would let us know that grassroots movements are born out of anger against issues that are of disadvantage to them -- not mobs rented to fight against a good policy. How sad that these rent-a-mob crowds are fighting against something that is for their own benefit.

[AtheistUS]

But from your comment everybody can see that you do not know history.

How can you make conclusions then?

[Tarathiel]

First of all, just because something is called National Socialism does not make it so. They may have called themselves socialist but their actions and beliefs state otherwise. The Nazi brand of Fascism which strongly used nationalism seeked to have an cultural and ethnically homogoneous ruling class. Communism as outlined by the Russians did not specify any ethnicity for the ruling class. There is also a difference in the role models of each system. The model citizen of Nazi Germany was the Aryan Superman (read some Nietzsche on this). The Aryan Superman is someone who does not embrace the morality of the slaves (It's been awhile since I've read Nietzche though so I don't rememeber exactly). Communism instead worships the common worker, the ones doing hard labour providing for the livelihood of a nation.

[OdysseusNemesis]

The “question mark” next to Obama's name indicates that this woman is clever enough to add the caveat (or being told to do so by her “shadow handlers”) but wanting in understanding in comparing Nazism to Obamaism.

It is dangerous for mankind to belittle Nazism by making such silly comparisons: Those who have heard of the name “Hitler” but know nothing about Nazism might think that trying to reform health care equates to the killing millions of Jews, Poles, Ukrainians, Russians; concentration camps; the conducting of human experimentations; the destruction of Stalingrad, Warsaw and many others cities; and countless number of crimes.

In Nazi Germany, this woman and her ilk would probably end up in a re-education camp for her shameful level of ignorance.

[zanzig]

What on earth gives you the impression that "GOP higher ups" will be chagrined to see signs such as this. In an almost seamless progression since the McCain/Palin rallies of last year, this is exactly what the GOP has been working towards. You fool yourself Mr Stein, if you think there is anyone in the party heirarchy who thinks this should be stopped. This violence and thuggery is exactly what they have aimed for from the beginning so that there will be an excuse to say that President Obama is not good for the country. Ignore that message at your peril.

[EgyptianMysterySchool]

A little research and you may find the comparison reasonable...

Hitler's Finance Minister, Hjalmar Schacht, started The Bank For International Settlements (BIS) and Hitler personally appointed two of his Nazi party members to the bank's first board of directors.

The bank still exists today and one of it's chairmen is man by the name of Timothy Franz Geithner - appointed by your beloved leader as Treasury Secretary.

The BIS was created to loot the wealth of countries through treaties (settlements). Hitler would bomb a country (Austria, Yugoslavia, etc.) into submission and then sign a treaty w/ the country. Part of the treaty included the payment of vast sums of the country's wealth to the Nazi's and it was the BIS's job to collect the debt. Over the years this has been done to many countries through war, economic extortion, CIA covert wars, UN sanctions, etc.

Now your "beloved leader" has put one of this draconian bank's chairman in charge of our country's money and no one's keeping track of what's going out the door.

I'm just saying - don't believe me, check it out.

[AtheistUS]

What a pile of garbage!

[shahoon]

You respond like this because you are uninformed. Please educate yourself. What is happening today with the Obama administration is nothing new. Rulers in the past have tried similar measures; some have failed and some, much to the detriment of the people, have succeeded. Those opposing the oppressive Health Care legislation are fighting for your future and your freedom.

[EgyptianMysterySchool]

Watch out for the cliff, lemming.

[zanzig]

It's not Geithner who is on the Board of Directors of BIS, but Ben Bernanke.

[EgyptianMysterySchool]

From the BIS website - he's Chairman of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) (part of the BIS)

Chairman of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS)

[EgyptianMysterySchool]

Forgot the link...

http://www.bis.org/press/p050509d.htm

[dragonlady620]

This is relevant:
http://www.theplumline.whorunsgov.com/healthcare/anti-reform-group-takes-credit-for-helping-gin-up-town-hall-rallies/

[dcnola]

Inbreads

[RedKnuckles]

Sourdough or Pumpernickel??

[BodyShotz]

Sourdough

[j mcdouglas]

Pretty sure they're Wonderbread.

[pepperdude]

He should get used to being called all kinds of names. The same thing happened to Bush. And he didn't pay it much mind.

[RedKnuckles]

Problem is that he's black and getting 4 times the death threats Bush got.

[DaveTex]

I remember a movie about the assassination of Bush. At least one BOOK that pondered it and countless jerks whose idea of political discussion was 'F*** BUSH" and several wished to shoot him out loud, Comments like, "JOHN WILKES BOOTHE and LEE HARVEY OSWALD, WHERE ARE YOU?"

[3Dubyadot]

That's what being a pioneer is all about. If he didn't want to deal with this non-sense he did not have to run. Yawn the race card. White people voted for him, he won a landslide victory, move on. Besides race, other factors for anti obama sentiment could be his ties to ACORN, Jesse Jackson, Rev Wright, SEIU, New Black Panther party, you remember the video of two guys standing outside the polls with nitesticks, or his "report your neighbor" program, telling his followers to engage and "get in the face" of Americans who simply disagree, all of which are divisive and or racists at best. He is turning his own voters against him in record numbers and that trend doesn't appear to be slowing.

[BodyShotz]

Bush never had throngs of media fanning r@cial sentiments against him. In fact, most people gave him a pass after the w@r started (2 fake w@rs).

[Matrsnot]

And which Obama continues to propagate.

[AtheistUS]

We should not "get used" to such name-calling.

As for Bush, - well, the war criminals like Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld must be in court and the in prison.

[lilian101]

Why not? In the last 40 years, every Caucasian male has gotten used to Afirmative Action.

[annieR]

Bush had a mind?!

[wdw505]

when i was under 25 i elected to carry catastrophic coverage only........there was nothing wrong with that..........i had a 5000 deductible........now this plan takes that option away from the young......

5000 will not make or brake anyone in normal employment

i paid 75 to 95 per month depending on the year......not bad

[MamaBird62]

This plan does not take that option away, nor the option to fly without insurance, if that's what you want.

[Chip W]

I read an article recently written by a woman who buys her own health insurance today.
She has a $10,000 deductible and pays $200 per month, and was pleased about it.

[chedet]

She has money. I don't.

[dragonlady620]

I think it's sickening that someone pays $200 a month for a $10,000 deductible. If that's considered a good deal, it's a pretty sad commentary on the state of medical insurance today. Unless she has a catastrophic illness she will never use it-and the insurance company gets money for nothing. If she does end up using it, it means she had to shell the first $10,000 for her treatment before the insurance kicks in anything, and if she can afford it, more power to her-most people can't.

[Dbos]

Never had to use it did you. The devil is in the detail.

[Aimleft]

Obviously your idea of "normal" employment is vastly different from most people's.

[FreelanceMinion]

Just heard Lou Dobbs tonight say Pelosi was unhinged for claiming this because his people could find no evidence anyone ever did such a thing. I thought he worked for a NEWS agency?

[MamaBird62]

"His people" can't find their own rear ends.

[SamiSam]

Or his waistline.

[lilian101]

Yes they can, its their motto.