Text 29264, 67 rader
Skriven 2007-07-17 06:45:40 av Sean Dennis
Ärende: Idiot Democrat
======================
Here's a future one-termer:

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In Meeting With Atheists, Rep. Ellison Compares President Bush to Hitler

Monday , July 16, 2007

Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, is
defending himself Monday after comparing President Bush to Adolf Hitler
and leaving the impression the administration may have rigged the Sept.
11, 2001, terror attacks.

Speaking to an atheist group on July 8, Ellison said that the president
acted much the way Hitler did when the Reichstag, or German Parliament
building, was burned in 1933 ahead of elections that pitted Hitler's
Nazi Party against others, including the Communists. Hitler, who was
suspected of ordering the fire, declared emergency powers that helped
him launch his dictatorial and murderous reign.

"It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that,"
Ellison told the group, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and
it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could
basically have authority to do whatever he wanted."

During his speech, Ellison went on to tell the 350-member Atheists for
Human Rights: "I'm not saying [Sept. 11] was a [U.S.] plan, or anything
like that, because, you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball
box - dismiss you."

Later in the week, Ellison told one of the newspaper's columnists that
he thinks Usama bin Laden - not the Bush administration - was
responsible for the attacks. On Monday he suggested the administration's
response to Sept. 11 was one of "fear and rage."

"Obviously, Usama bin Laden and the hijackers who carried out the
murderous events are responsible for 9/11. The question is, however, how
do we respond to this tragedy? With fear and rage? Or with courage and
reason? I'm for courage and reason," Ellison said in a statement.

"This means that in the aftermath of 9/11, instead of invading Iraq,
President Bush should have responded militarily where necessary, but
even more so, diplomatically, and with all of our intelligence
resources," he added.

In both his speech to the atheist group and his statement Monday,
Ellison, who has co-signed a bill to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney,
said that civil liberties and religious tolerance have eroded since
Sept. 11, that the president has squandered international good will, and
that the U.S. image abroad has been shattered by "the taint" of Iraq,
Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay detentions and Patriot Act violations, among
other issues.

"If the president had embraced the good will of the post 9/11 world to
marshal an international effort to eliminate the terrorist cells
responsible for this heinous act, we wouldn't be mired in a five-year
war. We could have effectively eliminated Al Qaeda instead of creating a
virtual recruiting station for them in Iraq," he said.
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Later,
Sean

 þ SLMR 2.1a þ This tagline stolen by Silly Little Mail Reader!

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