Yesterday, it was John Burton, the chairman of the California Democratic Party, who "compared Republican tactics during the presidential campaign to the 'big lie' strategy most famously employed by Nazi propagandists." According to the Associated Press, Burton, "'humbly apologized' to anyone offended by his comparison" (that's not an apology, as he didn't admit to doing anything wrong, but it's the best one can expect from a leftist).
Today, it was Pat Lehman, a woman from the Kansas delegation, described as its "dean," and it looks like she's digging in. Geez, how many such references aren't being noted by the Obama-friendly press in Charlotte? First, from the original report at Kansas.com via the Wichita Eagle's Dion Lefler:
Kansas delegates head to N.C. for Democratic convention
Dean of Democratic delegation makes Hitler reference when speaking about Republicans' agendaOff the top of her head, Pat Lehman can’t remember exactly how many Democratic National Conventions she’s been to.
“I’m not sure, seven, probably eight, maybe,” she says with a laugh.
But Lehman, the dean of Kansas Democratic delegates, is dead serious about what she wants her party to accomplish at its gathering in Charlotte, N.C., starting Tuesday.
... Lehman said her biggest concern about the election itself is voter-identification laws that Republicans have pushed through in a number of states, including Kansas.
She said the purpose is to suppress the vote, especially among Democratic-leaning constituencies such as elderly voters. And she scorned the Republicans’ contention that the laws are designed to combat voter fraud.
“It’s like Hitler said, if you’re going to tell a lie, tell a big lie, and if you tell it often enough and say it in a loud enough voice, some people are going to believe you,” Lehman said.
Now for the digging-in part, in a Kansas.com follow-up by Lefler:
Kansas Democratic conventioneer dismisses conservative outrage over Hitler comment
A comment by a Kansas Democratic National Convention delegate likening Republican justification of voter ID to Hitler’s “Big Lie” strategy rolled through the right-wing blogosphere Tuesday, generating outrage from conservatives across the nation.
Contacted at the convention in Charlotte, the delegate, Pat Lehman of Wichita, said she stands by her comment that Republicans are using a Big Lie technique to sell voter identification, which she called a set of “Jim Crow” laws designed to suppress voting, especially among constituencies that generally favor Democrats. The comment was published in Tuesday’s Wichita Eagle and on Kansas.com.
“I’m not going to stand by and let them lie about voter suppression,” said Lehman, a longtime Democratic Party and labor activist. “I didn’t say they were like Hitler, I said Hitler was the model for the Big Lie.”
“It’s not the first time the right wing’s gotten hysterical about me and it won’t be the last,” she added. “They’re hysterical about everything.”
... Hitler outlined the concept of the Big Lie in his book Mein Kampf, although he raised it as an accusation against Jews.
... Joan Wagnon, chairwoman of the Kansas Democratic Party and the state convention delegation, said she’s not received any blowback from Lehman’s comments.
... Lehman says she’s not going anywhere and was wholly unapologetic about the outrage her comment generated among conservatives.
“They’re used to getting away with lying and nobody calling them out on it,” Lehman said. “When pigs get caught under the gate, they usually squeal.”
And, while she said she wouldn’t have invoked Hitler, Wagnon said Lehman is essentially correct about Republican untruthfulness.
One day in, we have two Nazi references by longtime Democrats. What's the over/under on the total at the end of the festivities on Thursday night? (I mean the real total, not the reported total, because I'm sure that many will not hit the news wires, especially given the results of the two reported ones.)
Oh by the way, Neil Munro at the Daily Caller reported on August 2 that "Criminal justice data shows that blacks and poor people are the most common victims of voter fraud and are the greatest beneficiaries of voter identification rules, according to a new study."
So who's really telling the Big Lie here?
Oh, and where are the calls from the press for national Democratic Party higher-ups all the way to President Obama to repudiate Lehman's unapologetic comparison?
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
