They Make 'Em Special in Georgia

A special kind of stupid, that is:

In July, Barack Obama proposed a “civilian national security force,” an idea backed by President Bush and intended to expand AmeriCorps and other national service
programs. But today in an interview with the AP, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) compared the idea to a Gestapo-like force:

“That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did,” Broun said. “When he’s proposing to have a national security force that’s answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he’s showing me signs of being Marxist.”

“We can’t be lulled into complacency,” Broun said. “You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I’m not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I’m saying is there is the potential of going down that road."

Maybe it's because I've learned a lot more about Georgian politics since my sister moved there, but this doesn't surprise me nearly as much as it probably would have a year or two ago. Nonetheless, I still remain amazed that a human being who clearly has at least enough brain capacity to breath, eat, go to the bathroom, and use sounds to form words can simultaneously accuse somebody of being like a Nazi AND a Marxist. And a little memo to Rep. Broun: Obama's not leading us down some genocidal road where the government kills millions based on racist ideologies that Obama himself drew up in not-too-well-written manifestos back in 1997. And finally, don't try to get out of it by saying that there's "potential," but you're not comparing Obama to Hitler: you are. Otherwise, there would be that "potential" under Bush, and a lot of other presidents, too, but I don't think Broun's brought this up before. So, sorry, Rep. Broun - the effort at a linguistic turn to get yourself out of trouble doesn't hold up. FAIL.

Having this follow Georgia's Republican incumbent senator Saxby Chambliss complaining that there's a runoff because of "high minority votes" and failing to get "our [white] folks" out - truly, an above-average day for Georgia's politicians to reveal their stupidity, ignorance, and racism.