RADICAL RIGHT Save America From Newt Gingrich This week, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich released his latest book, To Save America: Stopping Obama's Secular-Socialist Machine, in which he argues that "the Left" threatens to cause "the United States as we know it" to "cease to exist." "The secular-socialist machine" -- previously defined by Gingrich as "the Obama-Pelosi-Reid team" -- "represents as great a threat to America as Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union once did," he writes. To promote the book, Gingrich has spent the past week touring the conservative media and defending his over-the-top assertions to the more traditional press. Much of Gingrich's rhetoric in the book echoes Fox News host Glenn Beck's narrative of progressives and the Obama administration and rehashes some of the policy proposals Gingrich has promoted through his billionaire-funded front group American Solutions. In an interview on the conspiratorial host's radio show, Gingrich praised Beck for having "a real impact on educating people," adding, "I wrote To Save America to be an educational part of that experience, to say to people this is a secular socialist machine. They are dedicated to fundamentally changing your country and they don't care what you think about it." As he does every few years, Gingrich is also using the book to fuel speculation that he might run for president. "There's more of a possibility now" of running for president than in 2008, Gingrich told Politico's Mike Allen, adding that he is "prepared to try to lead the movement" that would save America.
GINGRICH'S NAZI RHETORIC: On Fox News this week, Sean Hannity asked Gingrich if "the rest of the Republican Party sees" that progressives are "a threat to America as great as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union." "No. And here's my simple defense for that: If the secular socialist machine wins, we are going to be in a country which no longer resembles America," said Gingrich, standing by his ridiculous comparison. But Gingrich's outrageous rhetoric hasn't been embraced by many outside of the conservative echo chamber. After reading the quote from the book, Fox's Chris Wallace asked, "[I]sn't that wildly over the top?" "No, not if by America you mean the historic contract we've had which says your rights come from your creator, they're unalienable, you're allowed to pursue happiness," replied Gingrich. "But you compare that to the Nazis and the Communists?" followed up Wallace. "I compare that as a threat, not in terms of the moral -- look, there is no comparison to Nazi Germany as a moral -- or, by the way, to Mao's China or the Soviet Union, all three of which were evil," said Gingrich. But in his book, Gingrich invokes Nazism far more than just making a comparison in terms of a threat. Gingrich quotes right-wing writer David Horowitz arguing that the great atrocities of the modern era, whether from Nazis or Communists, were committed by people who believe in a "future that would save mankind." Gingrich uses Horowitz's quote to draw a comparison to "the current leaders of the Democratic Party." Later in the book, Gingrich says that "Marxism, Nazism, and Fascism" each "required the use of a powerful, centralized state authority," where "those who resisted were eliminated," "religion was enemy number one," and "religious texts" were replaced with "nationalist propaganda in schools." Gingrich then writes that "there are many parallels between the anti-religious governments of the twentieth century and the anti-religious elite of the United States in the twenty-first."
GINGRICH CALLED OUT: Wallace wasn't the only figure to push back against Gingrich's Nazi comparisons. In an interview on Joy Behar's Headline News show, former Republican congresswoman Susan Molinari -- who served while Gingrich was Speaker of the House -- called his comments "absolutely outrageous." "To compare anything that is going on in this country to the atrocities of Nazi Germany in any way, shape or form is just crazy," said Molinari. On MSNBC today, another former GOP congressman from Gingrich's era, Joe Scarborough, lashed out at his comments, calling them "sick" and "shameful." "I hope you apologize for that shameful remark," said Scarborough. In a statement released last night, the American Jewish Committee condemned Gingrich's Nazi comparison. "By invoking the current Administration in the same breath as two murderous totalitarian states, Newt Gingrich has drawn a foolish and dangerous analogy," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "Gingrich's linkage not only diminishes the horror of the Holocaust, it also licenses the use of extremist language in contemporary America."
GINGRICH'S BAD HISTORY: The backlash against Gingrich's outlandish charges against the Obama administration began before he released his book. At the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in April, Gingrich test drove his "secular, socialist machine" talking points, describing President Obama as "the most radical president in American history." This prompted Gingrich's American Enterprise Institute colleague Norman Ornstein, a moderate, to pen a Washington Post op-ed assessing Obama's record. Ornstein concluded that Obama "is a mainstream, pragmatic moderate, operating in the center of American politics; center-left, perhaps, but not left of center." "The most radical president in American history? Does Newt Gingrich, a PhD in history, really believe that [expletive]?" asked Ornstein. Apparently Gingrich does believe it as he wrote an op-ed in response defending his claims. "Ornstein has it exactly backward," wrote Gingrich, citing the passage of the stimulus bill and health care reform as examples of Obama's "machine" politics. To defend his "socialist" claim, Gingrich invoked the exaggerated claims about czars in the Obama administration and the Waxman-Markey clean energy legislation. Ornstein responded by debunking Gingrich's assertions. "My conclusion is quite different than that of my AEI colleague," he said. The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder was much less measured, arguing that "Gingrich further enables the Right's flight from reality." Ambinder found that Gingrich's argument was full of hypocrisy, out-of-context quotes, and misstatements of facts.
RADICAL RIGHT -- REP. WEINER GOES AFTER GOLDLINE AND ITS 'UNHOLY' ALLIANCE WITH GLENN BECK: One of the consequences of the successful effort to persuade large corporations to stop running ads on Fox News host Glenn Beck's TV and radio programs is that the right-wing "rodeo clown" has been left with only small companies advertising gimmicky products like faulty "survival" seed banks. At least 125 advertisers have abandoned him so far. One of Beck's remaining and most reliable sponsors is Goldline, "which has made its name profiting -- with the help of conservative talkers -- off fees for buying and selling gold against public anxiety." Now, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) is "going after" Goldline and its right-wing pundit backers. A press release put out by Weiner's office states that Goldline "has formed an unholy alliance with conservative pundits to drive a false narrative and play off public fears in order to sell its products." A report released by the congressman yesterday states, "On numerous occasions, Glenn Beck has dedicated entire segments of his program to explaining why the U.S. money supply is destined for hyperinflation with Barack Obama as president. He will often promote the purchase of gold as the only safe investment alternative for consumers who want to safeguard their livelihoods. When the show cuts to commercial break, viewers are treated to an advertisement from Goldline." In response to Weiner's probing, Glenn Beck has launched Weinerfacts.com, which is devoted to personally attacking the congressman. The site features multiple posts childishly mocking the congressman's name and comparing him to various hot dogs wieners.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told The Hill yesterday that she vows to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell by the end of this year. "I don't have any doubt that 'Don't ask, don't tell' will be a memory by the end of this year," said Pelosi. The Senate failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to end debate on its financial regulatory reform bill yesterday. Two Democrats, Sens. Russ Feingold (WI) and Maria Cantwell (WA), joined Republicans to block the vote. They demanded that votes be allowed on amendments making the bill tougher on Wall Street. The National Research Council, the nation's leading scientific body, declared yesterday that "climate change is a reality and is driven mostly by human activity, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation." The group issued three reports outlining the harmful human influence on the climate as overwhelming and arguing for immediate strong action to limit carbon emissions. Prominent oceanographers are "accusing the government of failing to conduct an adequate scientific analysis of the damage" from the Gulf oil spill "and of allowing BP to obscure the spill's true scope." The scientists are concerned that agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been "slow to investigate the magnitude of the spill and the damage it is causing in the deep ocean." The administration has created three offices to replace the Minerals Management Service, which has been accused of corruption and incompetence. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed an order establishing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to oversee oil drilling leases, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to oversee drilling safety, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue to oversee fee collection. "Mexican President Felipe Calderón used a rare state visit to the White House" to condemn Arizona's new immigration law as "discriminatory," saying it could "create hatred that will benefit no one." Calderón also called on the U.S. government to move on an overhaul of its immigration laws during a "lavish" welcoming ceremony before yesterday's state dinner. 2009 saw "record growth in small businesses," according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, released today. "More entrepreneurs launched new businesses in 2009 than any other time in the past 14 years," the study found, despite "tight lending standards banks imposed during the recession." "Almost six years after issuing a landmark report on terrorism, the heads of the 9/11 Commission…expressed frustration that more progress hasn't been made on several of the commission's key recommendations." Bureaucratic problems, such as a difficulty in sharing intelligence between agencies, "threaten public security," they said. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has set Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's confirmation hearings for June 28. "I would urge everybody to come to the hearing with an open mind, listen to her answers to those questions, and we will make sure that every senator -- both sides of the aisle -- has ample time to ask the questions they want," Leahy said. In the past two days, the Pakistani government has blocked access to YouTube and Facebook because of content on those sites that is deemed "sacrilegious." The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority said it acted after failing to convince both sites to remove the "derogatory material," but expressed its hope to resolve the dispute in a way that "ensures religious harmony and respect." And finally: "We could do without him, can't we?" -- "Glee" star Jane Lynch's response to a question by CBS's Katie Couric about what she thinks of right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh. Follow ThinkProgress on Twitter. |
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"[The Republican Party] is the political home, if you will, for African-Americans."
-- RNC chairman Michael Steele, 5/19/10
VERSUS
Q: Why should an African-American vote Republican?
STEELE: You really don't have a reason to, to be honest -- we haven't done a very good job of really giving you one. True? True."
-Steele, 4/20/10
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