It Sucks To Be "Swastika Guy"

Okay...

this is much ado about nothing.  Idiotic elements on both sides, unfortunately, have used the swastika against each other.

Its tired.  Its stupid.  And it belittles the tragedy that was the Holocaust.  

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

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by: Arvadonian @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:09:54 AM CST

Uh, no.

Using the swastika in this way "belittles the tragedy that was the Holocaust." Using it on the first African-American President of the United States displays an Orwellian mirror of reality that defies comprehension.

Condemning it in the strongest possible terms, and making a mockery of this man and everyone who posed smiling for photos with him, is not just appropriate but DEMANDED. Fuck these people. This is who they really are.

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by: JeffcoBlue @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:13:29 AM CST

[ Parent ]

So I gather....

from your comment that you think using the swastika against a caucasian President is not as bad as using it against a caucasian president?

Absurd.....

This is a non issue.  

Idiots are on both sides.

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

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by: Arvadonian @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:16:44 AM CST

[ Parent ]

oops...

should read "using it against a caucasian president isn't as bad as using it against an African-American president".

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

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by: Arvadonian @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:24:51 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Wasn't this Diary posted yearterday?

Talk about your ratchet effect ... screw Cramer I'm holding cash.

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by: Libertad @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:38:09 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Cramer's a joke

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

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by: sxp151 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:46:06 AM CST

[ Parent ]

This Cramer?

2008 Market predictions...
http://seekingalpha.com/articl...

Jim Cramer listed his top 10 predictions for 2008 this week.

   1. Goldman Sachs (GS) makes more money than every other brokerage firm in New York combined and finishes the year at $300 a share. Not a prediction-an inevitability. In fact, it's only January, and I think it's already come true.

   2. Oil goes much higher, maybe as much as $125 a barrel...

6. Cramer is bullish on Google (GOOG):

   Google stock reaches $1,000.

7. With the dollar weak, Cramer foresees European companies swooping in to buy up the likes of Merrill Lynch (MER), JPMorgan (JPM), Colgate (CL), Clorox (CLX), Whirlpool (WHR), and Black & Decker (BDK), which, he forecasts, will all see their stocks rise as a result.

10. Returning to his lament over governmental and Fed policies, Cramer predicts that the victims of foreclosure will lead a march on the White House and lay siege on the Fed. This, he says, will lead to Bernanke resigning, his replacement slashing rates, and the markets rebounding.  

   But if Bernanke or a future Fed chair does cut rates meaningfully, here's a sure bet: That's the time to start buying.

"Yes Twitty, I'm an idiot." Ben Stein's $$

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by: ClubTwitty @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:58:11 AM CST

[ Parent ]

attribution, please.

.
Bartlett's names me as the source for that quote.  
And the one misattributed by sxp.
.

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by: Barron X @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:27:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Sorry Arvadonian

This IS going to get plenty of coverage   It's a gift. Don't expect the media to turn it down. And don't expect local Dems to refrain from enjoying Penry looking like an idiot. As for Malkin, she'd have to bite the head off a baby on the Capitol steps to hurt her dismal image at this point.  

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by: BlueCat @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:34:00 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Oh, no doubt...

it will get plenty of coverage.  

The media likes covering simple things (primarily because they are playing to a simle audience---made simple by the media--how much more do we have to hear about the woman who just had a litter of children).

I'd rather take Penry down on real issues instead of created ones.

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

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by: Arvadonian @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:07:28 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Its typical, not surprising exactly

but its crass and idiotic, and doesn't show the Colorado Whiners Republican party in a good light.  

Especially as they fight against even minimal DP benefits and workplace non-discrimination...

The swastika along with all the anti-brown people t-shirts and signs--not just in the crowd--but ON THE STAGE, in many cases FRAMED IN THE SHOTS speaks ill of the 'coalition' still remaining in the ever more empty tent that is the CO GOP today.

This guy was on stage, along with ol' Josh--"How far can I LURCH to the right" Penry, etc.  Its a telling thing and one deserving of a spotlight.  

"Yes Twitty, I'm an idiot." Ben Stein's $$

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by: ClubTwitty @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:23:00 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Such Hypocrisy.

You have just stated Republican hypocrisy best.  As Penry said, there's one in every crowd.  That's probably right, but not in your eyes when it comes to the one in the Democratic crowd.  Then one is enough to skewer the entire Democratic party and its leaders.  You are nothing but a hypocrite.

You were probably one of those gun-toting idiots for Ron Paul who was seen at the Republican Convention at the El Jebel shrine last February with the "Conservative" sticker.  Oh, but there were more than one of those.  I counted at least a dozen men carrying, not including the Sheriff's deputies, and hundreds with the "Conservative" sticker.  That's not just one bad apple.  That's the systemic problem with the Republican Party and that's why lots of people like me, a former Jeffco GOP Chair, aren't Republicans anymore.

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by: Craig @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:39:59 AM CST

[ Parent ]

One in every crowd

The guy with the hammer and sickle standing next to the swastika guy? That would make two.  

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by: RedGreen @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:57:57 AM CST

[ Parent ]

They can't even keep their failed historical analogies correct

Fascism or Communism?  A corporate hegemonic statist system, or the means of production owned by the people?  Go the RMN letters boards and find all sorts of postings calling Obama (or environmentalists) communists and fascists in the same post...

"Yes Twitty, I'm an idiot." Ben Stein's $$

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by: ClubTwitty @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 10:07:16 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Yet again

E. B. Farnum Joshua Penry adds to his long and growing list of failures. Spooning pabulum to his lumpenproletariat and hoople heads in an effort to advance his own ego driven political aspirations is becoming more shameful by the day.  Had Penry the first clue of how to undo the damage his Republican Party did to our country, he wouldn't have display his ignorance at reactionary stoner-style sit-ins.  But no, when you are void of ideas, just protest honest efforts to ameliorate the embarrassing Republican destruction of our economy.  It is all that is left him.

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by: WesternSlopeThought @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 15:05:30 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Boy are you wrong...

I AM A DEMOCRAT (proud, voting, contributing, and working-to-get-Democrats-elected Democrat).

That does not mean that when I see a Republican/Conservative being an idiot I automatically try to link all Republicans with that idiot.  I don't particularly care to be linked with my fellow liberals when they are acting like idiots (Bush was certainly called a Nazi by many people who I may agree with on issues).

No hypocricy here....both sides have folks who are idiots and I call them out on an equal basis.

Ron Paul?  Not quite.  I'm pro-choice on abortion and have no problem with a social safety net.  

"But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining."  Glenn Beck  

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by: Arvadonian @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:04:49 PM CST

[ Parent ]

From a purely political perspective

The fact that the GOP allowed this guy ON TO THE STAGE was a colossal mistake. Anything that overshadows your message, even a little, is a big mistake on a day when you are trying to draw some attention for your side. This was a huge screwup for Wadhams and friends.

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by: Colorado Pols @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 10:55:45 AM CST

[ Parent ]

It muddied the message

carried by all the D-port Illegals signs behind the speakers.

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by: RedGreen @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 10:57:12 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Yeah, but what's the goal?

To be respected as a national political party? Clearly the fact that Republicans still dominate TV news means that nothing they do will change that.

They've got no power, and all they can do is get attention. This gets them attention. It riles up the base. Except for Another skeptic (good for him) I haven't seen a single conservative anywhere saying the swastika sign was too much.

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by: sxp151 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:11:53 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Was it an error?

We are all assuming that Wadhams, Penry, et.al. made a mistake in not pulling that doofus off the stage. But what if they saw it and decided that they did want him up there? In that case this is all going according to their plan.

Of course, this assumes the plan is play to the extremists in their base and lock in the few safe seats they have with wingnuts. But if that is their plan, then yesterday is exactly what they wanted.

Where you gonna go for business reporting software?

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by: DavidThi808 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 12:06:21 PM CST

[ Parent ]

It seems unlikely.

It's hard to imagine any calculation, even a poor one, that would lead to the conclusion that it's a good idea to associate the Republican Party with the Swastika, in a protest against the policies of an African American president.

We're all in this story together: Let's make sure that we write it well.
http://www.steveharveyforcolor...

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by: Steve Harvey @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:12:15 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I agree with David

It brought considerable attention to what otherwise would have been a forgettable rally, and to a certain extent, stepped on the Obama story.

I don't think it was an accident.

When I use lots of words, they always form an analysis (and, while producing high volume, also produce high information-density).
--Steve Harvey, 2009

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by: Ralphie @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:21:16 PM CST

[ Parent ]

But not all press is good press

And certainly not in this case. Nobody does this on purpose.

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by: Colorado Pols @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:16:40 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Republicans can't always tell the difference

n/t

When I use lots of words, they always form an analysis (and, while producing high volume, also produce high information-density).
--Steve Harvey, 2009

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by: Ralphie @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:18:03 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Malkin's proud of the sign

http://michellemalkin.com/2009...

What Malkin fails to understand is that in all her examples of some random schmuck calling Bush "Hitler," there isn't a single one endorsed by any prominent liberal. You'd never see Nancy Pelosi, Markos Moulitsas, or Rachel Maddow smiling next to a Bush/swastika sign.

Our crazies are our fringe. For Republicans, the sane people are the fringe.

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by: sxp151 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 09:42:26 AM CST

Her defense

For eight years, we've heard "Bushitler" invoked endlessly.

First I don't think liberal bloggers started talking about encroaching fascism until ... well, until there was actual encroaching fascism, so I doubt Malkin's right about the time-frame. But honestly, that term is new to me. Bushitler? I thought the Left was more clever than that.

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by: RedGreen @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 10:04:07 AM CST

[ Parent ]

There's plenty of stuff you'd see at protest rallies

We have clever signs and stupid ones too.

As I've been saying, the difference is prominent liberal bloggers who go on TV have not called Bush Hitler.

Random kooks who believe 9/11 was staged don't count as representatives of the mainstream left, since the rest of us generally think they're full of shit.

The most mainstream conservatives around are happy to call liberals fascists and socialists, and now Nazis.

Of course, the fact that the former President called the current President a Nazi appeaser in a foreign country means anything is fair game for the nutjobs.

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by: sxp151 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 10:21:26 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Can't believe...

That Malkin actually saw the sign, and consented to a photo the signbearer, as she confirms on her website.  That's pretty sad-and it's a telling commentary upon the hermetic world of today's powerless Gopsters-irrelevant, focused upon ideology,identified in the popular mind with fringies like Coulter, Limbaugh & Malkin, who are just in it for the money. The Repubs are more and more like cocaine addicts-there are a few million hardcore folks who will always buy/drink the Koolaid, and whose lives are organized around crazy beliefs/behavior. Do you suppose that right-wing rhetoric, like nicotine, gambling, and meth, just overstimulates the cerebral cortex of those genetically inclined to absorb it, thus turning them into hopeless addicts...no accident that the chief pusher is named Rush!!

If this is true, we need to fund clinics, hotlines, and 12-step programs for those pitiable souls trapped by this terrible affliction...

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by: H-Dog @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 10:25:29 AM CST

Okay, the sign's in bad taste, etc., etc., BUT

politicians (and pundits) posing for pictures at a crowded gathering shouldn't be tainted by an obnoxious sign that one of the people posing with them was carrying, that they may or may not have seen.

There are plenty of other, substantial and irrefutable, reasons why those who choose to attend this rally deserve our civil but robust criticism. We don't need to stoop to playing the "did you see Jane Fonda sitting two rows back and three seats over at a rally he attended?" card.

We're all in this story together: Let's make sure that we write it well.
http://www.steveharveyforcolor...

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by: Steve Harvey @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 10:58:16 AM CST

Not to be rude, um, but did you see the picture?

This isn't some guy in the background. This is Malkin having her picture taken by and with a guy holding an Obama/swastika sign. And she explicitly defended it: it's his freedom of speech, don't you know (as if refusing to have your photo taken with a swastika would somehow be government censorship).

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by: sxp151 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:03:22 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I saw the picture, and I can't tell if she saw the sign

before the picture was taken. You've been in crowds, with noise and movement all around you. It's completely possible not to notice a sign two feet away, not facing you directly.

I didn't know she defended it: The last report I read was that her office hadn't responded. But if she did defend it, she defended it after the fact, and any criticism of her for doing so is distinct from the criticism that she appeared in a photo with the person carrying the sign.

I stand by my original position, which is that I don't think it is particularly useful to blame those nearby for the stench of the skunk, even if some of it seems to have gotten on them. Since I don't KNOW, to a reasonable degree of certainty, that she was aware of the sign when she took the photo, I won't hold her responsible for the presence of the sign in the photo (though I will hold her responsible for anything she said about it afterward). That's just how I roll....     :)

We're all in this story together: Let's make sure that we write it well.
http://www.steveharveyforcolor...

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by: Steve Harvey @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:24:19 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Very high minded Steve

but totally unrealistic. We have every right to enjoy this and I fully intend to.  

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by: BlueCat @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:38:04 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Yeah, I know, but

my interest in politics is due to my belief that we're capable of doing much better, not just in terms of producing wiser and more compassionate policies, but also in terms of refining the process by which we do so to be better geared toward producing such policies.

I think there's enormous power in letting those with weaker analyses and less civility display themselves for all to see, while those with stronger analysis and more civility do likewise. I'm interested in, ideally, converting, and failing to do that, politically defeating and socially marginalizing the vicious and ignorant among us, not in being drawn down to their level.

We're all in this story together: Let's make sure that we write it well.
http://www.steveharveyforcolor...

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by: Steve Harvey @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 12:02:34 PM CST

[ Parent ]

You mean

anything else said at the anti-stimulus rally remotely approached wisdom? Swastika guy has sucked up all the oxygen out of this event, but there wasn't anything else worth treating as reasonable political argument uttered on the steps yesterday either. Focusing on the swastika is just shorthand for saying the whole thing was an ill-conceived and poorly executed joke.

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by: RedGreen @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 12:07:49 PM CST

[ Parent ]

They had been in power so long

that they forgot how to protest.

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 12:09:43 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I prefer longhand.

I think it's much more powerful, after showing Swastika Guy's sign, which is a statement in and of itself, to critique the other, verbal, statements that were made.

I'm not trying to be contrary just to be contrary (though I like doing that as well), but, really, which is more persuasive in the long-run, an endless exchange of more-or-less equivalently valueless rhetorical jabs, or an exchange of valueless rhetorical jabs on one side, responded to by a relentlessly cool, precise, well-informed, compassionate analysis on the other? Which do you think will be more persuasive in the long run?

Scoring quick but empty points is so tempting, and too often highly effective in the proximate campaign, but doesn't contribute much to the longer-term endeavor of gradually embuing our communities, nation, and world with continually wiser, more effective, and fairer social arrangements.

We need to think big, and be willing to transcend traditional follies. That's part of the brilliance of Obama: He is the perfect leader for such a movement.

We're all in this story together: Let's make sure that we write it well.
http://www.steveharveyforcolor...

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by: Steve Harvey @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:10:21 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Buzzkill :)

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:14:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

C'est moi.

Except when I'm in the mood to do a little buzzing myself....   :)

We're all in this story together: Let's make sure that we write it well.
http://www.steveharveyforcolor...

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by: Steve Harvey @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:30:44 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Looks like Pols

is shilling for ProgressNow, and the Post and News are reprinting their press releases.

Yawn.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:34:28 AM CST

riiiiight

It's a big liberal conspiracy!

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:36:51 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Reprehensible signs at a protest

are only reprehensible when conservatives/Republicans are present.

It reminded me a lot
of the KKK McCain/Palin rallies last year.

"The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that Dan Quayle may or may not make." -- James Danforth Quayle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: redstateblues @ Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 19:34:55 PM MST

Nope, the left never makes those kinds of accusations.

Ever.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:38:26 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Oh I'm sorry

You're right, those rallies were on the level. And this swastika guy is totally excused because of idiotic people on the left.

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:40:12 AM CST

[ Parent ]

What

no defense of your McCain/Palin = KKK assertion?

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:42:22 AM CST

[ Parent ]

It wasn't directed at Gov. Palin or Sen. McCain

It was directed at the rampant racism that existed at those rallies last year.

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:45:04 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Probably in reference to this

"A Monkey President," Live From Denver

http://coloradopols.com/showDi...

It's okay, we wouldn't want to be identified with this either. Must be a little uncomfortable for you.

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by: Colorado Pols @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:49:22 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I'm not excusing or condoning

the sign.

But it is hilarious that the Left suddenly discovered a sense of decorum now that Obama is in office.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:41:26 AM CST

Sort of like

the right suddenly developed a sense of outrage on spending. It's almost like there's been a change in politics... weird.

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:47:45 AM CST

[ Parent ]

OK thats downright funny

"Good judgement comes from experience.  Experience comes from bad judgement" - Jim Horning

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by: Fidel's dirt nap @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:55:07 AM CST

[ Parent ]

The right is not the same as the GOP

and many Republicans/libertarians criticized the profligate spending.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 12:23:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yeah, we know...

and they're all too happy to receive the benefits of that spending they so profusely criticize.

"Good judgement comes from experience.  Experience comes from bad judgement" - Jim Horning

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by: Fidel's dirt nap @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:29:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Sorry, EP

Didn't you get the memo?
republican = right = conservative = limbaugh
moderate = RINO = DINO
democrat = liberal = communist = blogger

But, to dispute your point: not "many" r's voted against the profligate spending. If they had, it wouldn't have passed.

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by: ajb @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:48:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

You forgot

democrat = liberal = communist = Nazi = blogger

---

by: RedGreen @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:59:07 PM CST

[ Parent ]

= marxist

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:00:51 PM CST

[ Parent ]

"and many Republicans/libertarians criticized the profligate spending."

Just not the ones in congress who rubber stamped every bit of it during the Bush years.  And these people were voted in over and over by Republicans.  You get the credit.  

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by: BlueCat @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:09:50 PM CST

[ Parent ]

point me to a link where CO Dems were on the Capitol steps

with Swastikas or Palin = KKK and I'll give you the point ElPresidente...

It is amazing that when GOP was in control of spending they couldn't get America's tax dollars (or future generations' tax dollars) out the door quick enough, literally by shrink-wrapped pallet fulls in Iraq...and hugely inflated services to favored (no bid) contractors like KBR/Halliburton with nary a peep from the 'fiscal conservatives.' But spend money in the states on the states and they squeal like a stuck pig.  

"Yes Twitty, I'm an idiot." Ben Stein's $$

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by: ClubTwitty @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 11:52:22 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Don't need the points

but if the outrage was truly sincere (and therefore not hypocritical), why wasn't there repeated, vehement condemnation of the loony left's consistent usage of that symbol?

If ProgressNow, DailyKos, Pols and others want to smear Malkin and all of the others at a rally because of one nutter's sign, then won't the same principle apply to Democrats/leftists--for precisely the same reason?

Silence gives consent--and the silence from moderate Dems and the mainstream left on this issue was deafening for eight years.

And while not a CO Dem, Sen. Durbin's inappropriate reference of Nazis earned him a proper rebuke.  He apologized.  But Malkin didn't make the reference or hold the sign. And she isn't a sitting Senator.

---

by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 12:35:34 PM CST

[ Parent ]

And no

I don't expect anyone on Pols condoned that behavior then, or would expect them to defend the indefensible retroactively.

But the existence of a sign held by one individual taken to represent the whole group is quite a stretch.

There were many folks who showed up yesterday--not to protest Obama's stimulus bill signing--but to tout their own bizarre agenda.  I suppose the presence of 9/11 truthers at the event means that the speakers, the state GOP, and everyone else there indicates an endorsement of that position, right?

And just a couple weeks ago, pro-Palestinian groups demonstrated against the pro-Israel rally at the capitol.  They not only had signs comparing Israel to Nazis, but flew an actual Nazi flag.

http://www.peoplespresscollect...

Does this then mean that all who support a Palestinian state support this ridiculous comparison?  Many Democrats and those on the left support that struggle, but I'm sure they wouldn't condone those signs.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 12:48:02 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Excuse me

You're El Presidente, right?

You run the blog "slapstick politics," right?

YOU posted a photo of "Swastika Guy" on your blog yesterday.

http://slapstickpolitics.blogs...

And your caption for the photo was "Fascism/Communism--same state control, same awful results."

So you say that you're "not excusing or condoning the sign" here at Pols where the inappropriate nature of it is explained in undeniable terms. But you also posted it on your own blog yesterday with a favorable tag, before the negative reaction to it was known. There's nothing to indicate you find it anything other than a cogent statement.

How are you not a colossal goddamn hypocrite yourself, El Presidente?

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by: JeffcoBlue @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:02:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Best. Post. Ever.

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:04:54 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Totally busted !

Methinks we shant be seeing the Presidente anymore.  D'oh !

"Good judgement comes from experience.  Experience comes from bad judgement" - Jim Horning

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by: Fidel's dirt nap @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:31:10 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I believe Fidel's right

"Elpresidente" was logged on for the past 15 minutes or so but is now logged off. He undoubtedly read JeffcoBlue's post and is now on the run, since owning up to what he posted on his blog means losing face. (Bet his picture of swastika guy is going to disappear from his blog, too.)

"Fine, let's take a vote. Who wants fish for dinner?...Yeah, democracy ain't so fun when it fucks you, huh?" - shitmydadsays

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by: Aristotle @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:31:23 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I hope so

Because then I can post the screengrab I took.

This guy is supposed to be the king-shit right wing Colorado blogger, too. Gets most of whatever feeble juice they've got coming. FAIL.

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by: JeffcoBlue @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 15:28:36 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Add to the list

Tancredo
Penry
Lundberg
Wadhams
Caldara

Some of the most prominent R's in the state shared the stage with swastika-twit and not one person could be bothered to point out that it might be a tiny bit inappropriate?

Good luck with that 2010 election.

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by: ajb @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:04:37 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Exactly, how is this not getting through?

It's not about whether Joe the Swastika Guy showed up at a rally, it's the fact that his message was explicitly endorsed by everyone else at the rally.

Of course there are stupid people everywhere, but can right-wingers find a photo of Michael Moore smiling next to a "Bushitler" sign? Of course not, and that's the important thing.

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by: sxp151 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:13:42 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Michael Moore?

What about -- to parallel the Republicans on stage with the swastika yesterday -- Diana DeGette, Andrew Romanoff, Pat Waak, Joan Fitz-Gerald?

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by: RedGreen @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:20:07 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Point, set, match

You're exactly right. Both parties have their share of nutjobs. That's not the issue. Peter Groff would not be dumb enough, or insensitive enough, to stand on a stage next to a guy holding a sign comparing Bush to a nazi.

---

by: Colorado Pols @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:06:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I do believe

we have a GOOGLESMACK right here.

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by: sxp151 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:16:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

That is one scary set of photos . . .

What a colossal bunch of misfits sharing the stage (or should I say misusing the steps of our State Capitol) -- Mr Fascism, Mr Communism/Socialism, Nathan the Pig and Dick WadHAMS, to name a few.  

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by: The realist @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 15:24:05 PM CST

[ Parent ]

The only hypocrites are here

posting on this blog.

The caption refers to the same sense of state control--though you seem too dense to comprehend that both Nazism and Communism were two types of the same coin--differing between national and international socialism.

I've captioned photos on my blog for the last three years, and though your interpretation deems my caption favorable, that is strictly your interpretation.  Fascism and Communism led to the same awful results--or you do you dispute that?  I wasn't referring to Obama linked to either one, but the symbolism inferred in each poster.

And no, unlike wimpy liberals, I won't run off or take down the post.  Disappearing things into the memory hole is something more suitable for those on the left who can't stand withering criticism.

And still no comment on the Nazi symbols used by the pro-Palestinians at the pro-Israel rally.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 15:53:22 PM CST

[ Parent ]

dude...

No one's going to respond to that because it's an invalid point.

For the hour or so it took you to think this up, I'm disappointed.

"Fine, let's take a vote. Who wants fish for dinner?...Yeah, democracy ain't so fun when it fucks you, huh?" - shitmydadsays

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by: Aristotle @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 15:59:58 PM CST

[ Parent ]

How is it invalid?

No comment from anyone on Pols about that rally, prominently featuring the same symbol, but one dude at an open rally brings and Obama sign with a swastika in it and gets his photo taken with Michelle and it is blogger armageddon on the left.

And as for my absence, try work--they're called afternoon meetings.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:05:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

As noted above...

You were on here for a good long while and had nothing to say then. You could have posted your response then - if you could have thought it up that quickly, that is.

Pols answers your question below.

"Fine, let's take a vote. Who wants fish for dinner?...Yeah, democracy ain't so fun when it fucks you, huh?" - shitmydadsays

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by: Aristotle @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:10:06 PM CST

[ Parent ]

And folks can stay logged on

even while they are attending meetings.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:11:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Except that you logged off before you went to said meetings

You're doing a poor job explaining yourself.

"Fine, let's take a vote. Who wants fish for dinner?...Yeah, democracy ain't so fun when it fucks you, huh?" - shitmydadsays

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by: Aristotle @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:12:42 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Oooh I'm logged in now

and will be logging out shortly.

Do I have your permission?

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:16:21 PM CST

[ Parent ]

duh...

Of course you're logged in now. How else are you posting?

You're every bit as silly as your blog.

"Fine, let's take a vote. Who wants fish for dinner?...Yeah, democracy ain't so fun when it fucks you, huh?" - shitmydadsays

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by: Aristotle @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:17:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Umm...

What the hell does this have to do with anything?

And still no comment on the Nazi symbols used by the pro-Palestinians at the pro-Israel rally.

We can also point out lots of other times someone called someone else a Nazi. We don't, because it's IRRELEVANT.

That's like saying, "Oh yeah, well the Illinois Governor, who is a Democrat, was just impeached for corruption. So there!" True, but what does that have to do with the discussion HERE?

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by: Colorado Pols @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:04:00 PM CST

[ Parent ]

So relevance on this subject

only crops up in reference to conservatives and Republicans?

But Democrats and lefties partake in it and its crickets chirping?

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:07:00 PM CST

[ Parent ]

In none of those pictures

Do we see elected officials standing next to someone holding a sign with a swastika on it. Not one.

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by: Colorado Pols @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:11:01 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Let's make it simple. Again.

Republican leaders stood shoulder to shoulder with the guy holding the swastika sign. They didn't have to. That doesn't mean they agree with him, but it certainly means that they aren't savvy enough to, you know, stand somewhere else. And Michelle Malkin basically endorsed the swastika guy. When you embrace the crazies, that makes you at least part crazy.

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by: Colorado Pols @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:09:37 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Funny...

I don't see a Republican elected official standing next to this idiot.  It's a freaking stage for crying out loud-do you really expect that Senator Penry inspected every person at the rally to make sure they didn't have objectional material?  Come on Pols, you're really stretching it here.  Parroting Progress Now's B.S. about demanding who knew what when is pretty lame.  As you've noted, there are stupid people on both sides of the isle, and the real blame lies with the people who were in the audience organizing this thing, who saw the guy and who said or did nothing.  Even if you're next to a person on stage at one of these things, you still don't notice what's going on.  

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by: Haners @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 17:39:52 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Haners, I see where you're coming from

But you don't shoulder at least some blame at Dick Wadhams' feet? He's powerful enough to kick the guy out, or ask him to remove the sign.

If they're not offended, then there's a problem.

Why not just declare a moratorium on calling political enemies Nazis? Unless they're actually committing genocide, or promoting racial superiority, it's really just insulting.

Or at least if you're going to do it, try to do it with more than "Swastika = Current President".

"Nice driveby spin" -- Libertad

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by: redstateblues @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 23:11:10 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Sorry Haners

If you're running a protest intended to get national press like this, you don't let idiots run wild unless you agree with them or are too dumb to realize how bad they make you look. It would have been easy to get that guy off the stage.

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by: Colorado Pols @ Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 15:28:12 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Misfits and El Presidente

Is your moniker a reference to some right-wing crackpot dictator--or do you deny that there are right-wing crack pot dictators?  (Just thought I'd start with a non-sequiter to put you at ease, as you seem to like them so).

I too was struck by the 'diversity' present on stage.  "Google Ron Paul" "D-Port illegals" "Obama=Nazism" "Obama=Soviet Union" "Taxation = Wage Slavery" and pretty much 100% white (Malkin excepted).


"Yes Twitty, I'm an idiot." Ben Stein's $$

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by: ClubTwitty @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:12:15 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Not a reference to anything

just a college joke.

And the event was open--and many folks showed up with their own signs.  It is called free speech.

Apparently anyone attending any rally at any point in the future will be held responsible for the content of all signage at said rally.

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by: elpresidente @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:14:41 PM CST

[ Parent ]

no...

just the elected officials and prominent political personalities who choose to be associated with them.

"Fine, let's take a vote. Who wants fish for dinner?...Yeah, democracy ain't so fun when it fucks you, huh?" - shitmydadsays

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by: Aristotle @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:16:24 PM CST

[ Parent ]

why wasn't Swastika guy at the Bill signing ?

.
oh, right.
That was set up by the Bush advance team, invitation only.  
.

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by: Barron X @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:23:18 PM CST

[ Parent ]

So I self-selected 'presidente' then...

As someone who has organized dozens and dozens of rallies there is little more important than framing your shots, knowing that elected officials and other key personages are likely to attract a camera's eye.  This is particularly the case when using an imposing backdrop like a state capitol.  Now, of course, when your star personages are people like Loony-Tunes Tancredo and DickWad. then separating them from the fringe elements becomes more difficult, as they are he and all together.  As Americans lose jobs and houses they want to see action, the GOP's only 'strategy' here is to prolong citizen suffering and their 'appeal to the base' looks like nothing more than a desperate ploy that probably does invigorate the base while chasing away anyone else that might actually allow them a victory.  

"Yes Twitty, I'm an idiot." Ben Stein's $$

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by: ClubTwitty @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:27:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

And by the way...

one must pull a permit to use the West Steps which means that the organizer has control of who is on 'stage' and on the steps, and can ask anyone they don't approve of to leave.  The security guards at the Capitol are very helpful and quite on top of it too, thus if Sen. Penry or someone else was concerned about swastikas, hammer and sickles, and 'we don't wanna pay no taxes' screeds you think they might have done something about it.  It is not an open event, it is a permitted event.  Has anyone checked to see who pulled the permit?

"Yes Twitty, I'm an idiot." Ben Stein's $$

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by: ClubTwitty @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:39:51 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Oh my stars, so withering!

So which is it big boy, do you repudiate the usage of the swastika in this context or do you endorse it? Because for all your cheesy bluster, you don't get to have that both ways. Which is what you seem to think you can do by puffing out your chest like big ad-hominem manly man and talking about what a badass you are.

I don't support invoking the Nazis over anything in contemporary politics, certainly not against the Jews. Next red herring please.

And yeah, the rest of this is so much freshman poli-sci horseshit from somebody who's been absolutely pwned but hasn't got the sense to admit same. Like the Pols say, show us one of our pundits, electeds, etc. posing proudly with a swastika and we'll have a small piece of ground to concede to you.

Until then, you are richly, hand over fist earning the scorn being heaped on you. Have a nice day in school,

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by: JeffcoBlue @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:28:19 PM CST

[ Parent ]

It's not that 1 idiot displayed the sign

It's that the people running the event did not tell him to get the fuck off the stage. Not only did they not tell him to leave, they posed with him.

The people running this are experienced politicos - they definitely checked out who was around them to make sure everything was ok for photos. That's second nature in that job.

Where you gonna go for business reporting software?

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by: DavidThi808 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 21:57:51 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I find it interesting...

that righties are answering this with the "you guys did it to Bush" card.

At least the comparison was apt in Bush's case (started war, suspended civil rights).

"Fine, let's take a vote. Who wants fish for dinner?...Yeah, democracy ain't so fun when it fucks you, huh?" - shitmydadsays

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by: Aristotle @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:10:50 PM CST

3 things.

1.  Pork farmers should be very upset because the protesters screamed "No More Pork!"

2.  Obama is a Fascist?

3.  And a Communist too?

Go figure.  Any message they tried to send with this event is now totally discounted.

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by: MiddleRoadDem @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 15:42:39 PM CST

Yesterday was a salad bar of ill conceived concepts

pick any one you want, or mix them together.

Obama's a fascist !
Obamas a communist !
Deport the illegals !
Stimulus is bad !
No more pork !

The inmates are now running the asylum - they really are.  These people are looney tunes.

I'm surprised the "Kerry Stabbed the troops" guy wasn't there.  He would've fit right in.

"Good judgement comes from experience.  Experience comes from bad judgement" - Jim Horning

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by: Fidel's dirt nap @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:18:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

But they served pork

and pork is yummy.
And the pig on the stage was cute.

But they want to convince me that pork is bad?

Another lost message there.

Sum Ergo Cogito.

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by: ardy39 @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 16:50:16 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Who is this guy?

Has anyone ever seen this guy at a republican event before?  Is it possible this person is just some disordered fool trying to cause troule?  

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by: Robert Jordan @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 17:49:59 PM CST

Isn't that the definition of "Republican"?

We're all in this story together: Let's make sure that we write it well.
http://www.steveharveyforcolor...

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by: Steve Harvey @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 18:37:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Diary title appears false.

.

I'll bet he's lovin' it.
.

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by: Barron X @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 20:47:21 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Probably.

It's like those people who volunteer to be fodder for Leno's "Jaywalking" segment: They don't care that their less-than-stellar breadth of knowledge is going to be held up for national public ridicule, they're just chomping at the bit to be on TV.

We're all in this story together: Let's make sure that we write it well.
http://www.steveharveyforcolor...

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by: Steve Harvey @ Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 21:16:51 PM CST

[ Parent ]