NEOAVATARA

I am sick and tired of it.

People on both sides using the most hated symbols in world history, and using it for their own political benefit.

I don’t know where it started.  This week, I know it started with Nancy Pelosi, who said health care protesters were carrying swastikas:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaC-uMzvKKM

Absolutely a moronic statement.  Still haven’t seen one protester carrying any Nazi symbols during the health care debate.  Or maybe she was thinking of allies on the liberal side, who COMMMONLY used Nazi symbols in protests against President Bush.  I don’t want to show any pictures here, but MoveOn.org had a video of Bush in 2004 that was absolutely disgusting, and didn’t bother Ms. Pelosi one bit:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpxmYvlLKXo

That said, Rush Limbaugh took it a step further, and said that Democrats were trying to use Nazi policies as their own this week.  First of all, I didn’t listen to the segment, but usually when Rush goes ‘over the line’ this, he is parodying the Democrats…and considering that it came the day after Pelosi’s idiotic comment, I will assume that was his goal.  I still think it was in bad taste and over the line, however.  And here is the larger point politically:  I don’t think such tirades help our cause.  We can show that the other side is hateful and bigoted, without joining their lowest common denominator.

Using symbols of mass genocide, for whatever reason,  is frankly ignorant and not useful.  It is similar to throwing the word ‘racist’ around like a play toy.  It does not improve the level of debate.

I am perfectly happy verbally  bashing the Speaker over her comments, without getting in the mud with her.  I know it is hard, but sometimes we have to take the higher road.

The Health Care protests the last couple weeks have generally been respectful.  Sure, there has been yelling…but again, yelling is an American right.  I guess so is displaying Nazi symbols…but I would argue such rhetoric and hate-filled speech, we should leave to our bretheren on the left, because I think it hurts our cause much more than it helps it.

And finally, to leave you on a reflective but sad note:

20,900,000 – Estimated deaths caused by the Nazis 1933-1945

5,800,000 – Estimated number of Jews killed in the Holocaust

500,000 – Estimated number of Gypsies killed in the Holocaust

200,000 – Estimated number of handicapped persons killed in the Holocaust

416,000 – Number of American soldiers killed in World War II

These are not things to joke around people.  Please, let us keep it civil, at least more civil than the Democrat Speaker of the House.

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UPDATE:  Just for full disclosure, Rush Limbaugh responded to several people claiming he started the Nazi references:

“Everyone seems to ignore that Pelosi started this, saying town hall participants were showing up with swastikas, etc. That’s calling them Nazis, as Dick Durbin referred to our Gitmo interrogators from the Senate floor. I’ve been listening to the left compare George W. Bush to Hitler for eight years. I’ve been listening to Democrats and the left compare conservatism to Nazis my whole career. This time I responded. In kind, by comparing the radical left policies of the Nazis to today’s radical left leadership of the Democrat Party. I’m not surprised they don’t like it.”

Rush Limbaugh, August 9, 2009