Posted on 10/09/2010 9:25:34 AM PDT by Qbert
A (Republican) Senate candidate has been called a witch. A (Republican) gubernatorial candidate has been called a whore. And now... a — guess which party? — House candidate is tarred with Nazi.
"Why is This GOP House Candidate Dressed as a Nazi?" You may click to see Rich Iott — posing and smiling in 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking uniform with 3 of his closest Nazi friends... I mean... with 3 of his fellow WW2 reenacters. "It's purely historical interest in World War II." Hmm. Yeah. The high-profile article — by Joshua Green in The Atlantic — goes on, stoking your suspicion that a guy who dresses up and plays the part of Nazi has got to feel some affinity for Nazis. Sample:
Iott participated in the group under his own name, and also under the alias "Reinhard Pferdmann," which has also been removed, and which Iott described as being his German alter ego. "Part of the reenactor's [experience]," Iott said, "is the living-history part, of really trying to get into the persona of the time period. In many, not just in our unit, but in many units what individuals do is create this person largely based on a Germanized version of their name, and a history kind of based around your own real experiences. 'Reinhard' of course is 'Richard' in German. And 'Pferdmann,' 'pferd' is a horse. So it's literally 'horse man.'"
I was very far into the position of thinking man, this guy should not have been the candidate, what a screw-up for the Republicans when I got to this information — buried at the end of the 13th paragraph of the 15-paragraph article:
[Iott] added that he has participated in re-enactments as a Civil War Union infantryman, a World War I dough boy and World War II American infantryman and paratrooper.
What?! Green should be ashamed of himself for minimizing this. The 13th paragraph is about follow-up email with Iott. Did Green have the whole damning article written when he encountered this crucial piece of information? And then he decided — what? — to stick it where it's least likely to be read? A decent journalist would have ascertained how many war reenactments Iott has done and which roles Iott played in them. What is the proportion of Nazi roles he assumed compared to the number of times he played WW2 American infantrymen or paratroopers? Who decides, when war reenactments are done, which side somebody plays? Give me a realistic picture of what participation in war reenactments is really like so I can assess what Iott did.
Instead, Green's article is filled out with the well-known information that the Nazis were bad and that Jews and others are offended by signs that a person is sympathetic to Nazis. It's pretty obvious that Green is hot to smear Iott and help the Democrat in the race. And, unsurprisingly, the Democratic blogosphere welcomes Green's hearty slab of biased reporting.
TPM's Josh Marshall types up "Marcy Kaptur's Good Night's Sleep" ("whatever worry she may have had about reelection, I think that's over now that her opponent Rich Iott has been revealed as an avid Nazi reenactor"). Also at TPM ,Evan McMorris-Santoro has a long piece that looks like a rewrite of Green's piece, except that it leaves out the crucial information about other reenactments altogether. How incredibly slimy!
Look! Over there! Nazis! They're eeeevil! Sorry, but I'm looking over here, at journalists who should be ashamed of their shoddy political hackery.
(emphasis added)
Shouldn't we gather all the facts and ask questions- as she did- before jumping to conclusions...?
(Original title, "Witch!, Whore!...Nazi!". Link: http://althouse.blogspot.com/2010/10/witch-whore-nazi.html)
Did she vote for Obama? I always thought of her as pretty conservative.
Who’s surprised? Democrats have done far worse to win elections.
“Did she vote for Obama? I always thought of her as pretty conservative.”
Yep.
Maybe he was dressed as a Nazi because Nazis had some good tailors and fashionable clothing.
That black uniform is pretty cool.
Also, supported Bush. I think he writes like a REAL Conservative nowadays. Her site is my daily visit favorite, several times.
Sad to say, most people in this country believe that a movie or TV program which claims to be “inspired by a true story” is hard fact. That’s how they “learn” their history.
she is a lifelong Democrat (indeed, a Jesse Jackson supporter in 1988), a Barrack Obama voter in 2008, and a moderate on most issues!!! She is more dangerous than a liberal!!!!
What we need to know, of course, is whether O’Donnel weighs more than a duck.
Sooo true. A ‘tard acquaintance was spouting off among a group of friend about how the evil Republicans had tried to prevent civil rights back in the 1960s.
I cut him off, bluntly. “Steve, you obviously don’t know anything about politics or history.”
It brought peels of laughter from the rest of the group. It’s become a tag line. I pointed out that it was the Southern Democrats who were the main forces opposing the civil rights act. And that making such an error was not a little oversite, it demonstrated a complete ignorance of one of the main threads of American history, going back to the civil war.
How could you have read even a little history and think it was the GOP that fought civil rights. While I’m not a big Beck fan, I will say he is doing a huge service to the country to teach history on TV every day.
The thing about ‘tards is that, well they are ‘tarded. And even after you point out facts to them they will either forget it after the next bonging binge, pretend it never happened, or move on to another subject.
Steve’s latest insight was that Islam is just another religion and Christianity is equally violent. Yes, there’s your public school educated for ya.
WHY are you posting a KOSKID piece here?
http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Ann_Althouse
Hugo Boss designed the black SS uniforms.
What happens most to me is they resort to ad hominum arguments.
I have a well educated lib friend that gets madder and madder when confronted with verifiable facts. Then he starts into the personal level insults of anyone remotely connected to the discussion at hand.
For example, how does one get from weapons of mass destruction to Laura Bush's car accident of her youth (someone died as I recall)? I've seen it done.
Sad to say, most people in this country believe that a movie or TV program which claims to be “inspired by a true story” is hard fact. That’s how they “learn” their history.
Man, you are singing my song! The attempt to prove a truth based on something they saw in a movie!!! AAuuugggh!!!!!
“For example, how does one get from weapons of mass destruction to Laura Bush’s car accident of her youth (someone died as I recall)? I’ve seen it done.”
Sad, but true...
Sorry. I meant his company made uniforms for the SS.
I just posted it for the points she was making (and not an endorsement of anything else).
OK, I stand corrected.
From their website:
The KOS KIDS are busy.
“Disclaimer: This page or anyone involved in its creation, or members of reenactment groups listed here, are in no way affiliated with real, radical political organizations (i.e., KKK, Aryan Nation, American Nazi Party, etc.) and do not embrace the philosophies and actions of the original NSDAP (Nazi party), and wholeheartedly condemn the atrocities which made them infamous. May the victims of this unspeakable horror rest in peace. As we portray the German combat soldier, we are only interested in recreating his daily life, furthering our understanding of what it took to be a soldier, and at the same time having fun reliving history. We honor the men (and women) who really experienced the war, and we salute their courage and loyalty to put their lives on the line in defense of their native soil, no matter what nationality or government. “
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