Yesterday Florida Rep. Allen West said that Nazi propaganda master Joseph Goebbels would be “very proud” of Democrats, after polls showed that Congress was deeply unpopular, but that Republicans generally scored even lower.
“If Joseph Goebbels was around, he’d be very proud of the Democrat Party because they have an incredible propaganda machine,” Mr. West said. “I think that you have, and let’s be honest, you know, some of the people in the media are complicit in this, in enabling them to get that type of message out.”
These remarks didn’t sit well with pretty much everyone with local Jewish members of the Congressional delegation, who called on Mr. West to apologize.
“In 2011, any sane person should know that Nazi analogies and casual references are offensive and inappropriate, especially in the context of political name-calling,” said the west side’s Jerry Nadler. “But Congressman West takes Nazi references to a new low in seeking to smear his Democratic colleagues and score cheap political points. To so cynically invoke Goebbels demonstrates, at best, a terrible lapse in judgment, and, at worst, latent anti-Semitism that has no place in public discourse in the U.S. or anywhere else.”
Gary Ackerman of Queens concurs:
“Allen West must immediately apologize for equating the efforts of Democrats to the propaganda of Joseph Goebbels,” he said. “This is exactly the type of rhetoric that turns people off to Washington and getting involved in politics.”
Mr. West is well-known as a bomb-thrower around Capitol Hill, but we haven’t yet seen statements condemning him from local GOP representatives. It is worth noting that Michael Grimm won his Staten Island seat with a large amount of out-of-district Jewish support, and Bob Turner represents one of the most Jewish districts in the nation.
We will update if they send anything out.