With Talk of Hitler and Socialism Seniors in Virginia Air Grievances on Health Care

Standing outside a health care town hall Tuesday in Springfield, VA, demonstrators seemed to subscribe to the belief that the tree of liberty must be refreshed not with the blood of patriots and tyrants, as Thomas Jefferson once said, but with the opinions and megaphones of the elderly.

"They've forgotten the seniors," said James McLaughlin, 62, who served in the military for 25 years and expressed his distaste for the change embodied in President Barack Obama's proposed health care reforms.

"We made this [country] what is it now and by them doing what they're trying to do it's just like socialism," McLaughlin said.

"All I'm asking is let's think about it a little bit, before we make all these changes."

The town hall, hosted by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), took place in Springfield's Greenspring Retirement Community. Former Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, Bill Kallio, AARP's director for Virginia, and Charles Delaplane of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, spoke before Connolly took questions from the crowd.

While most of the nearly 400 silver-haired attendees live in the vast complex, the aging dissidents outside did not. According to Connolly, 14 percent of Virginia's population is 65 or older, and the numbers are growing.

Barred from getting anywhere near the event, the protesters aired their grievances in front of the long driveway leading into the complex on Franconia Boulevard. Even though the demonstrations weren't as electric as those that took place a few hours later in a raucous town hall in Reston, VA, a different kind of din developed.

Five lanes of traffic in each direction, the many groans of tractor trailers, the blaring horns of motorists in support or in disapproval, and the endless whooshes of passing cars often drowned out the shouted slogans. One motorcyclist revved his engine loudly and gave a thumbs-up in support of the protesters perched on the side of the road.

Signs ranged from the simple ("Read The Bill Gerry," "Obamacare is bad medicine") to the sinister, with one man waving a yellow flag featuring a recoiled rattlesnake and the words "Don't Tread On Me" below the reptile.

Some of the gatherers passed out anti-health reform literature on behalf of Lyndon LaRouche, an 86-year-old who has in his long career served jail time for conspiracy and gone on multiple runs for the presidency. LaRouche now runs a political advocacy organization out of Leesburg, VA.

One self-styled "organizer," 58-year-old Leslie Vaughan, was getting the LaRouche message out.

"[LaRouche] is warning that right now the whole financial system is disintegrating. That's what's driving the financial system to try to save money for the bailout by cutting healthcare," Vaughan explained.

"Which is exactly how Hitler got started."

Vaughan held a brochure whose cover features a Photoshopped Obama standing next to a laughing Hitler. Pretty blonde frauleins of the Third Reich titter by their sides.

LaRouche has in recent years reinvented himself as a provocateur from the far right whose political history and personal opinions seem almost as confusing as his Web site.

Larouchpac.com looks like a deliberate imitation of barackobama.com, down to the layout, design and color scheme. Similarities abruptly end there. Spread throughout the site are videos satirizing well-known Democratic Party leaders including Obama. One image at first glance looks like the iconic poster of the 1939 Academy-Award winning film Gone With the Wind. But instead of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, it depicts Obama passionately embracing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

A puzzling animation entitled "What Don Quixote Did Right" shows a cartoon Quixote and his ubiquitous partner Sancho Panza attacking modern white wind energy installations with their swords. The allusion is to the first adventures on which the heroes embark, when Quixote charges windmills he believes are giants. The 17th century episodic work by Miguel De Cervantes is supposed to be one of the first modern novels in all of western literature.

Larouche's literary interpretation makes it a metaphor for the fascist leanings of the climate change movement.

Not all spread the gospel of Nazism's allegedly uncanny resemblance to Obamacare.

Mike McLaughlin (no relation to James), a retired Foreign Service officer of 28 years, saw first-hand the rationing in communist Poland during his career and fears the same system for Americans. McLaughlin, 66, got his message out with a megaphone and fliers.

Though a vocal critic of almost every facet of the Obama administration, from immigration to health care reform, McLaughlin didn't subscribe to comparisons between the president and one of the biggest genocidal maniacs in the history of the world.

"I don't know where those came from," he said, referring to the Obama-Hitler likenesses.

"Those kinds of things to me don't make any sense and should be discouraged and ignored."

Follow Joseph Freeman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joefree215

Comments

[DragonflyChase]

I had developed a nice little acquaintance with a lady in a local store that I frequent occassionally. The people seemed a little bit "hilly billy" but I never thought much about it till yesterday I happened to notice a quote on their wall next to their cash register. It's a quote by Churchill against socialism. On my way out the door, I stopped and asked her "Oh, by the way, and pointed to the quote." She looked down sheepishly and I said "Is this Anti-Obama?" And she looked at me all proud and huffy and said "Yes, I am against the Obama REGIME." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This nice, seemingly intelligent lady buys this stuff? OMG!!! I'm sure the look on my face said it all as I turned around and walked toward the door saying "Well, it's been NICE knowing ya!" shaking my head all the way to my car.

What does Churchill know about socialism anyway, he ran a socialistic monarchy, so what? Nothing Obama is doing comes any where near socialism. He had to do what he did to shore up the economy.

[bdaved]

If everybody keeps burning bridges like that over political disagreements where will we end up? That sounds like a situation where nobody accomplished anything positive.

[DragonflyChase]

she made her point and I in turn made my point.

she learned it's not good for business to bring politics in the faces of her customers.

I learned this is invasion of the body snatchers.

so, what's the problem? What did you expect to happen? That I would change her mind?

PALEEZE.

[Jefferson78]

Fascist is more accurate.

[PrairieDog]

If Obama is a Socialist or a Nazi then Daffy Duck is Jesus Christ. These are nutcases or people who have no clue believing nutcases with all this socialism crap.

[BobDobbs757]

These don't even know what fascism is.. it happened under Bush and we never heard them complain. Yes, I'll admit Obama is partially a socialist. Yet, we have many other developing nations who stictly only have socialist national health care. Which have lower unemployment rates nationally since employers don't have to cover that and overall as a nation save a minimum of 20% to a maximum of 30%.

[BowlingForRevenge]

Geez that Vaughn lady should have started wearing that sunbonnet a bit sooner.
Her brain is fried.Lynd­on Larouche? Come on now...real­ly ? Get a grip.

EVERYONE speaks a bit of the truth. We can "make" most anyones predictions come true. Does that mean they are correct in EVERYTHING they say and do? NO. And that is where these crazies problem lies. They do not know how to think for themselves. They are virtual tape recorders playing back what they heard....h­uman parrots.So sad.

[Tulka2]

I hear you. I too am political animal and have been tuned into the LaRouche phenomena for years. You have to give them this.... The LaRouche crowd see fascism everywhere and have for a long time. I remember when they were putting the Hitler mustache on Bill Clinton's face. He's put the Hitler mustache on every president since Nixon. Are people just now noticing?!

The "little bit of truth" in the LaRouche thing is that capitalism so easily slips into fascism. When the government holds cozy hands with corporations, we should pay attention. It is at just this point that LaRouche is overcome by his own insight and slips into the deep end.

[ldmason45]

I too, have been aware of LaRouche group for years. You are correct that they have put mustaches of every sitting president since their inception and have accused all of being fascist. I didn't understand though, some libs and dems acting as though this only happened to this president and it was "racist "? I'm bi-racial and I don't get it!

[ConcernedAmerican]

You'd think the older generation would have a better grasp of why Obama and Hitler are not comparable in any way whatsoever­....

[Socrmom]

... and realize that their beloved Social Security and Medicare are forms of the "socialism" they demonize.

[research]

The number of fools in the public falling for right wing nonsense and lies,

Unfortunately makes the fundamental case for the Conservatives:

Voters are stupid, let the elite run things, even if they are crooks.

[Tulka2]

You may call me a conspiracy nut, but it was carefully done. Reagan began to berate "liberal" teachers and got civics taken out of American classrooms. It was carefully done. Reagan preached you wouldn't want "liberal professors" teaching your children history or civics. It was carefully done.

If the goal is to keep the Republic intact, if the goal is to maintain the Republic, then it is more important to have portraits of George Washington, Abe Lincoln and F.D.R. in every classroom than it is to give kids computers. Civics and American history are more important than computers in the classroom.

[research]

Absolutely. On purpose. Carefully planned, and not that secret.

[bdaved]

Mr. Freeman, are you implying that there's something sinister about the "Don't Tread on Me" flag?

[Joseph Freeman - Huffpost Blogger]

There is nothing inherently sinister in those words, but scrolled below a rattlesnake with its tongue out implies a threat to strike should the warned one dare to tread. A striking snake is sinister in my book, the slogan on its own is not.

[bdaved]

It's not a new flag. It's a well-respected old American symbol, hundreds of years old now. And it's not should the warned one dare to tread, but to "tread on me".

[bdaved]

I think you might be unaware of the history of that flag. You can look up the Gadsden Flag, and the First Navy Jack. I think any flag or symbol can be abused and misused, but that one there has a pretty good story behind it, and is currently being used in a lot of other circumstances besides these kinds of protests.

[mariegachelin]

When we compare the President of the US and the Health care reform to Hitler and Nazism, it only shows how ignorant we are about what Nazism was about and the destruction that Hitler caused.
The holocaust was the worst tragedy that happened to human kind.

Millions of men, women and children were exterminated simply because they were "Jews", let's not forget it and stop this cruel comparisson.

[wetdentist]

but Glenn Beck says that the "new Jews" will be conservatives and "freedom-loving" normal Americans, and that Americorps will be the new Gestapo

[lvdragonlady]

The biggest problem with older people is they do not like change and that is the problem.
Things can be better if they would just give the changes a chance.

[terragazelle60]

I am 61 and my husband is 71...maybe we are unique, but we two old white folks love and trust Obama. We need change. Change is what life is about...fe­ar is just a little death, and leave that for later.

[Kay72403]

Do not generalize about "older People" not liking change. I am 62 "older person". I am a progressive. I support change. The problem is the right wing extremist uneducated white people of all ages who are the problem. They do not support change whether it is health care, enviornmental issues, diversity, our POTUS and the new administration.

[BebeLush]

LaRouche thinks every President is Hitler and he's been preaching the same, tired rhetoric for ages now. Shame people are still buying into his bullcrap.

[loudspeaker]

LaRouche likes George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, FDR, JFK. He liked Bill Clinton. In fact, LaRouche was fighting to save Clinton from being impeached. He didn't like Nixon, Bush Sr., Bush Jr.

[GeorgeP922]

Hahaha what a failure, a LaRouche fan ahahahahahahaha man you guys are clowns.

[rain33]

to me, some seniors are truly showing their prejudices more towards pres. obama since the general election.h­ow can they follow the okie-doke crap from republicans who are the ones to take away their money and pensions if they entered a nursing home facility.s­eniors are so vulernable to believe anything they won't even check out facts from fiction.st­uipd old hecklers,stuipd bafoons and what a bunch of loonies!

[Stew118]

basically.­..

[mjtaylor22]

so those collecting social security and medicare are against socialism
then give back medicare and cancel you ssi benefits

[Socrmom]

So true!

[rain33]

if seniors are against public option, well give up medicare and social security so everyone can still get covered too.

[alenaspoppa]

The irony is that the ignorance of the people protesting at these town halls are starting to make outrageous ideas like "Death Panels" and denying health care to Republicans (this was suggested by a questionnaire sent out by Michael Steele) sound good...