Controversial Video of Crist as Hitler Surfaces
A controversial anonymous video has surfaced online that depicts Charlie Crist as Adolf Hitler. The video depicts an unhappy Crist/Hitler ranting at his staff about the gains Marco Rubio has made in the Republican primary for the US Senate.
Watch the video:
The Republican Party and Jewish groups have condemned this video, and rightly so. It is entirely inappropriate to depict Governor Crist, or any of our leaders (like tea baggers were doing to President Obama), as the greatest villian in modern history, a man responsible for killing millions.
Dr. Jeffrey Feingold, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida's Jewish Leadership Council, released this statement about the video:
"I find it in completely distasteful and utterly wrong that someone would create a video which attempts to compare the Governor of the State of Florida to Adolf Hitler, a man who committed persecution and genocide against millions of people, for political purposes. This blatantly insensitive video has no place in the U.S. Senate Campaign and its creators, whoever they are or whoever they are affiliated with, should be ashamed. This video is not only offensive to members of the Jewish community, it is offensive to all Americans, and I, on behalf of all Florida Republicans, condemn this video and demand a full investigation to find out who is behind this disgraceful political attack video."
It's good to see the Republican Party taking such a strong stance against hate imagery. Now, I'm sure you can see where I'm going next with this. We, meaning everyone including both Democrats and Republicans, need to condemn hate speech and hate imagery whenever it comes up in the political discourse. How can we expect to move forward and together come up with real solutions to our greatest problems if we keep invoking the worst parts of our history? Republicans, or any other politician, should not be allowed to spew hate at LGBT constituents and then be utterly appalled when an attack ad comes out during the course of a political campaign. It's either or folks.
