Santorum stoops to the Hitler allusion

Rick Santorum is now polling within the margin of error in Arizona, pulling 33 percent of the vote compared to Mitt Romney’s 36 percent. He is leading by more than 25 percentage points in delegate-rich Texas, with 45 percent compared to just 18 percent for second-place Newt Gingrich. In Ohio, Rasmussen puts the former Pennsylvania senator up by 18 points. He also remains up in the latest poll from Romney’s native state of Michigan.

And the latest out of Gallup gives Santorum a 10-point lead over Romney among Republican voters nationwide, a two-point increase in the rolling five-day average.

In an appearance before thousands of conservative Georgians at a mega-church in Cumming last night, Santorum warned his audience that the stakes in the 2012 election were high, and he employed a highly volatile historical metaphor in driving home that point:

“…. our closest ally Britain was being bombed and leveled, when Japan was spreading its cancer through Southeast Asia, and America sat from 1940 when France fell to December of 1941, and did almost nothing. Why? Because we’re a hopeful people. We think, ‘Well, you know, it’ll get better. Yeah, he’s not, I mean, he’s a nice guy. I mean, it won’t be as near as bad as what we think. I mean, you know, this will be OK. I mean, you know, yeah, maybe he’s not the best guy.’ After a while you found out some things about this guy over in Europe, but he’s not so good of a guy after all. But you know what, why do we need to be involved. we’ll just take care of our own problems. Just get our families off to work and our kids off to school and we’ll be OK. That’s sort of the optimistic spirit of America. But sometimes. Sometimes it’s not OK.>”

Santorum now denies that he was comparing President Obama to Adolph Hitler, explaining that “It’s a War World II metaphor. It’s one I’ve used a hundred times.”

It’s hard to know how much weight to give Santorum’s denial. For example, he continues to paint Obama in dictatorial terms as “a privileged person who should be able to rule over all of you.” He portrays the incumbent as a dire threat to basic religious freedom, arguing that Obama seeks to limit that freedom only to actual worship.

In Obama’s America, he warned Sunday night, “you have the freedom to go into that church and do whatever you want, but once you walk out, you’re ours. You will do what we tell you, not what they tell you.”

Over the weekend, Santorum also attacked ObamaCare’s inclusion of prenatal testing as a mandatory insurance benefit, claiming it is part of a conspiracy to boost the number of abortions performed (Just to be clear, the testing itself is not mandatory. It is only mandatory that insurance companies cover the cost should the pregnant woman elect to have the tests performed.)

“One of the things that you don’t know about Obamacare — one of the mandates — is they require is that free prenatal testing in every insurance policy in America,” he said in Ohio. “Why? Because it saves money in health care. Why? Because free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and therefore less care that has to be done because we cull the ranks of the disabled in our society.”

If you say and sincerely believe things like that about your opponent, then it is perfectly reasonable to take the Hitler comparison as if it was intended.

– Jay Bookman

428 comments Add your comment

moonbat betty

February 20th, 2012
11:42 pm

The Thin Guy

February 21st, 2012
12:08 am

I’ll take State Names for $ 10 Alex

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104009/Joe-Bidens-Road-Island-White-House-spelling-gaffe.html

The frightening thing is Plugs is the smarter of the two tyrannical twits.

Oscar

February 21st, 2012
12:30 am

They will probably go to the convention with no candidate having a majority of the delegates.Smart money says Nathan Deal gets it on the 75th ballot.

independent thinker

February 21st, 2012
3:52 am

Hey this is the guy who wants to outlaw all birth control and regulate sexual activities- Santorum and Bachman in 2012 is the ideal ticket. Let all the GOP campaign workers wear brown shirts and tin foil hats.

Jimmy62

February 21st, 2012
6:07 am

Santorum is far too authoritarian. He’s like a lot of the left and the far right in that he wants to use government to force everyone to live the way he wants, to believe the things he believes, and by golly if you don’t like it then he’ll find a way to get the bill passed anyway, even if no one read it!

If only we could get a candidate who truly believes in freedom. Obama sure doesn’t, he definitely tries to use government to force people to live the way he thinks they should live, same with most of the GOP candidates except Ron Paul, and Ron Paul is a little too off his rocker to be trusted running the country.

Bill Orvis White

February 21st, 2012
6:40 am

The honorable Senator Santorum has been growing on me and millions of others over the past few weeks. While I still know that Speaker Gingrich has the best chances of decimating Hussein Obama come this fall, I am awestruck by Senator Santorum. This man moves me to tears with his heavy commitment to the Lord Almighty and Jesus Christ while fighting for the rights of the unborn.

Part of my fantasy White House includes President Gingrich with Senator Santorum as the head of Health and Human Services. I believe Senator Santorum would be the most effective in that position whereby He would help to overturn Roe v. Wade, shut down all Planned Parenthood units in this once-free nation and be THE first to end ObamaCare and build a market-based health care system whereby there is NO gov’t involvement!

Amen,
Bill

Stevie Ray

February 21st, 2012
6:59 am

Do you guys suppose that if GOP takes WH, they will not accept blame for economy, gas prices, etcetera and take page from BO’s spinelessness and blame BO?

Seems pretty effective.

Santorini scares the crap out of me…Gringrich is a slug and represents all that is wrong in DC. Not voting may be most patriotic since it doesn’t really matter excepting to give us meaningless debate of blue v red.

Paul

February 21st, 2012
7:00 am

Orvis White

“The honorable Senator Santorum has been growing on me and millions of others over the past few weeks. ”

So that’s why Santorum doesn’t want antiobiotics covered on health plans….

Stevie Ray

February 21st, 2012
7:00 am

Bill,

Are you serious of being sarcastic?

Granny Godzilla

February 21st, 2012
7:05 am

“The honorable Senator Santorum has been growing on me and millions of others over the past few weeks. ”

OMG There’s fungus among us.

Ronnie Raygun

February 21st, 2012
7:08 am

Heinlein was right. The Crazy Days are here. Hopefully he was wrong about Americans being dumb enough to elect a theocrat.

Mad Max

February 21st, 2012
7:10 am

Jay – your connecting the dots is a stretch, a bit slanderous and very offensive, even for a liberal columnist. There are many ways to interpret this but the main message is that he will not sit back and hope for change and he will not lead from behind like our current President. He stated some historical facts that dramatically distinguish him from Ron Paul who has a very isolationist point of view, and to a lessor degree from Barack Obama. It is also a call to those who are doing ok in this economy that sitting on the sidelines may not be the best course of action. Neither of those interpretations have anything or any insinuation of Hitler.

Mick

February 21st, 2012
7:19 am

Lead from behind? Who got bin laden? Who has kept us safe the past four years? Santorum is small potatoes, just goes to show how pathetic and weak the republican party has become…

Stevie Ray

February 21st, 2012
7:23 am

MICK,

The rebuild CIA intell network, 10 plus years in the making got OBL..BO did authorize. Same goes for safety. Santorum is a jock to be sure. How will you feel if GOP takes WH and takes credit for all this is right and blames BO for all that is wrong….$4 gas, cronyism, corrupt congress, lobbyist out of control ( remember ” the time has ended when lobbyist control the DC agenda”), use of PAC money hypocrisy, and jamming HC down our throats with a bill that may not even pass SC mustard???

Granny Godzilla

February 21st, 2012
7:31 am

Stevie Ray

Please tell us about the rebuilt CIA network.

Compare and contrast that with the closure of the
CIA unit dedicated to the capture of OBL.

After that you can examine if the partisan charges of cronyism
has proven to be true.

Also please list examples of current corruption in congress and provide data on loobyists.

We await your informed, detailed and appropriately cited response.

Billings

February 21st, 2012
7:42 am

For example, he continues to paint Obama in dictatorial terms as “a privileged person who should be able to rule over all of you.”

And Obama paints Citizens United as such. CEOs and wealthy individuals as the evil dictators.

Seriously, Bookman, it has been proven the media was in the tank for Obama in 2008. Ignoring the evidence, the media decides to double down this go round. Creating “truth” out of whole cloth.

Granny Godzilla

February 21st, 2012
7:54 am

“Seriously, Bookman, it has been proven the media was in the tank for Obama in 2008.”

Billings, Really?

We await your link to said proof.

AmVet

February 21st, 2012
7:56 am

…it has been proven the media…

But only if one uses the Republican Dictionary of Made Up Definitions to define the word proven…

Santorum’s crusade to turn the republic into his own little theocracy is of no concern to me.

He and his like minded nitwits, who want to “define marriage” and ban abortion, have as much chance of getting any of that accomplished as UGA does of winning the national championship next winter.

The dual threats of the cancer (it would be nice if it were just a fungus!) called neo-conservatism are the overseeing of the completion of the corporate destruction of capitalism and getting thousands of more US men and women killed needlessly so they can feel good about themselves.

No sale.

And why it appears that they are going to once again just give the White House to Obama…

Billings

February 21st, 2012
9:07 am

The Center for Media & Public Affairs, UCLA & Stanford University studies show bias. Look them up for yourselves.

gm

February 21st, 2012
10:03 am

When you lose by 20 points in your own state for relection, how do you expect any one to take you serious. Rick, please continue with your 19th century thinking that women supposed to live like women 3 generation ago, Obama will walk in the office in Nov.
I guess when you have no ideas on how to create jobs and Obama is slowly turning things around this is all you have, the far right rep are no doubt Americans terrorist group, who in their right mind as Americans will elect this loser has President of the United States/.

Partisay

February 21st, 2012
10:18 am

“He has written off white working America because he knows he doesn’t have a chance with them in November.”

Would love for kayaker to give us examples of how Obama (calling him “Bozo” is really childish and hurts your credibility to be taken seriously – just thought you should know) had written off white working America. How so? Any examples?

Bill Orvis White

February 21st, 2012
12:36 pm

@StevieRay
I’m serious about getting this once-free nation back on the path to fiscal prosperity like what we had under the honorable President Ronald Wilson Reagan. I’m serious about bringing a culture of life back to this once-free nation as we had under the honorable President George W. Bush. I’m serious about having the choice as to where to send your children to school instead of a failed public screwel. I’m serious about removing Hussein Obama from the Oval Office so that WE THE PEOPLE may save this once-free nation from complete ruin. I’m serious @StevieRay and am tired of those who laugh at me, but as a man, I know to expect that type of treatment on these lefty blogs where naive liberals sling hurtful words and labels at me and millions of other God-fearing conservatives.

Amen,
Bill

Pointsofvision

February 21st, 2012
12:51 pm

The real question reasonable minds need to consider is, is the GOP becoming a synonym for mental illness? Look at the conversations our GOP candidates are putting out in public domain. These are people who have lost their ability to reason.

Airdale

February 21st, 2012
4:43 pm

Sanitorium can’t even get his history right. The USA did nothing? What about the 50 Destroyers for bases, Lend Lease, convoy escort to MOMP (Sorry, Mid Ocean Meeting Point)… The conservatives of the time were the ones who were against aid. Rosevelt had to move slowly to do anything at all.
So its not only his religious rants that are misguided

Oscar

February 22nd, 2012
1:39 am

Camialiefly

Sounds like Greek to me.

Oscar

February 22nd, 2012
1:40 am

Why do people like santorum who claim to be conservative want to take away all our freedoms?

Bernie

February 22nd, 2012
2:52 pm

As the first son of the Father Of Lies, Rick’ statements makes him in good company with the Evil one.

Bernie

February 22nd, 2012
3:03 pm

One thing for sure that we all know…Jesus, cannot be found in “NO” Mega church in Cumming. To get up in a church pulpit and spew such lies and hate filled speech, the pastor nor any member in the congregation did not interupt or object to it. They have proven time after time they are not his kind of people, but simply Money changers.