Kerry spokesperson calls on Bush to apologize for use of Hitler on website

[Cocoa]

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=144-06252004

Kerry Spokesperson Calls on Bush to Apologize for Using Images of Hitler on Website

6/25/2004 5:33:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Phil Singer of John Kerry for President, 202-464-2800
WASHINGTON, June 25 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Kerry campaign spokesperson Phil Singer issued the following statement in response to the Internet ad on George Bushs website featuring images of Adolph Hitler: The fact that George Bush thinks its appropriate to use images of Adolph Hitler in his campaign raises serious questions about his fitness to spend another four years in the White House.

Adolph Hitler slaughtered millions of innocent people and has no place in a campaign that is supposed to be about the future and hope of this nation. The Presidents use of these images during a month that evoked the memory of World War II is remarkably insensitive to the sacrifices of the millions of people who lost their lives during Hitlers reign of terror.

The Bush Campaign should immediately remove these hateful images from its website and apologize for using them. The use of Adolph Hitler by any campaign, politician or party is simply wrong.

[TroglodyteScholar]

1. Hitler's "Reign of Terror"

The use of that term reminds me....mark my words, Bush's 4 years will be referred to in history books as the American Reign of Error.

Trust me.

[The Zanti Regent]

39. More like "Bush's GOLDEN RAIN of Terror"

And we're ready to give Chimp the ROYAL FLUSH!

[kwolf68]

2. Pardon my ignorance

What was Hitler doing on a Bush website? What was the context that Bush used Hitler?

sorry for asking such a ignorant question, but i honestly dont know. Been a busy week.

[Cocoa]

7. there's an ad about "Wild-eyed" democrats

showing clips of Gore, Kerry, Michael Moore, and Hitler.

The Hitler bit was pulled from one of the LOSING entries in MoveOn's video contest.

But Bush's ad doesn't make this clear, it kind of looks like Hitler is supposed to be a democrat.

[skooooo]

18. Actually, I think it makes BUSH look like Hitler..

..the ad is bizarre, and comes off as more pro-Democrat than anything, imo.

[yardwork]

8. Here's the link. Press the big button to see the featured video.

You'll be astounded. Even after everything this criminal enterprise has done, this left me open-mouthed.

It's their official reelection website. Real class, eh?

http://www.georgewbush.com/Default.aspx

[Bo]

15. I am astounded......

I just stared at my monitor in disbelief. * team is having a serious mental breakdown and they should receive the help they need so that they understand how wrong it is to use the worlds worst butcher to their advantage.

[kwolf68]

16. Holy Shit

That is pretty amazing...even for this bunch. Thanks for the link to the gwbush website...Now i'm going to give my computer a bath.

[TrogL]

24. They've completely lost it - what on earth were they thinking of?

Oratory = Hitler?

:wtf:

[rednek_Liberal]

46. I just left a note on their Site......

I just dropped by the website, wow. I love the video montage of the greatest speakers of all time. I think that John Kerry fellow is really articulate, intuitive of the american people and gosh darn it he's smart, don't misunderestimate him. And I also just wanted to say that I think you should reconsider using those Adolf images in the context that you use them. I mean that just is plain mean and dissrespecful to psychotic, evil murdering dictators everywhere. Well thats just about all I have to say, See ya in the Soup.

Colin Hobby

P.S. Oh one more thing Tell Dick Chaney to go Fuck himself. He was right that did feel good to say.

[2Design]

3. since many of us think bush is acting like hilter....

isn't this their projection.
it is freudian....they are projecting on us their own image....

but it does head off ...us portraying them as hilter.....they know they own that persona but pretending....we do......puts it out there...

so that people don't believe us when we point out bushes hitler ways...

[Longhorn79]

37. O...K...?

[AlabamaYankee]

4. This is the note I emailed them

How DARE you intersperse a photo of Adolf Hitler, with the words"Sieg Heil" in your attack ad titled Wild Eyed?

Yes the Democrats have passion and energy. The unmistakable linking of that passion to the evil incarnate that was Hitler is despicable. I urge you to take that ad off your site immediately.

I'm disgusted that the Bush -Cheney campaign is so desperate and so misguded that it would run such obscene filth.

(AlabamaYankee)

Every time I think they cannot sink any lower they do.

I need to go take a shower now, and scrub my computer to get rid of teh filth.

[2Design]

5. I would ask them why they put bush in with the wild eyed democrats

[thebigidea]

6. and before some moron posts that this was a "Moveon.org ad"

For the 349085739475th time:

It was an anonymous entry in a contest that was quickly removed and condemned.

And again, louder, for our friends in foreign lands:

IT WAS AN ANONYMOUS ENTRY IN A CONTEST THAT WAS QUICKLY REMOVED AND CONDEMNED.

It could've been part of Rove's dirty tricks operation... and it was most certainly NOT in any way approved of, sponsored by, or paid for by Moveon.org.

[Bandit]

9. It wasn't condemned here on DU it was cheered and regarded as fact

I realize that we are on the fringe and approve of things that moderate America would not approve but for us to all of a sudden claim such a moral high road is absurd. It was an ad made by a liberal who firmly believed it was representative of Bush*. A lot here felt it was also. Granted there were a lot that found it dispicable but we must be honest here. More favored that ad than spoke out against it. Not that I am in any way defending Bush* or his use of the ad I just want it clear that they did have cause.

[thebigidea]

10. and DU = MoveOn?

Talk about disengenuous.

Damn straight MoveOn can claim the moral high ground. This is a sleazy attack on them.

If Bush/Cheney 2004 wants to run an ad about OUR rhetoric, sure - that's one thing. But they didn't.

[Bandit]

14. This is a sleazy attack on Kerry using an out take from a 30 second ad

made for Moveon.org. It wasn't accepted although it won but it does have Moveon.org right on the video. I am not saying anything against Moveon.org. I thank God they are here. I am just commenting on the hypocrisy of certain DUers. Many many here cheered that ad when it first was created. I don't recall if you were one of those that did but the majority thought it a good ad. I never saw the ad so reserved judgement. I just remember hearing the Republicans squeeling like a stuck pig about it and that made me like it whether I'd seen it or not.

[librechik]

19. don't forget, that ad was never meant to be a Kerry ad

the contest was confined to "Bush in 30 seconds"

also it was never endorsed by moveon, unless you believe a brief posting is a endorsement--does that mean if Drudge posts Abu Ghraib pics that he is endorsing torture? I don't think so,

[thebigidea]

38. why are you spreading such WRONG information?

"It wasn't accepted although it won but it does have Moveon.org right on the video. "

It won what? It didn't win anything.

And why does it have Moveon.org on the video? Because the guy who made it PUT it there. He didn't ask permission, and they certainly didn't add it.

[StopThief]

32. Was there a way for people to submit. . . .

ads directly to their website or was there a screening process of any kind before they were posted?

Anybody know?

[yardwork]

11. Beg pardon, but this is the first I heard about it

and I wouldn't have approved of it if I had seen it. Also, I don't believe that I am on the fringe of anything - please speak for yourself.

[avenueb]

13. email newspapers

I used the bush cheney site to email 5 newspapers my deep concern for the vice presidents remarks. The Bush-Cheney campaign thanked me.

http://www.georgewbush.com/GetActive/WriteNewspapers.aspx

[TankLV]

35. I WAS IN FAVOR OF THAT AD! bush* IS like Hitler!

And for anyone to deny it is just refusing to see the obvious!

There are literally THOUSANDS of LEGITIMATE comparisons of how EXACTLY like Hilter and the Nazi's bunkerboy and the repukes are!

Then again, too many people like yourself are blind. to reality.

[rednek_Liberal]

47. And if you all will care to remember ...

The great stink raised by NeoCons that blamed MoveOn.Org for removing morality fom the election process or whatever the hell they said...By the way, how did they happen to have a copy of that clip??????

[justjones]

12. Singer better not hold his breath waiting on an apology.

Bush/Cheney/Republicans are the upholders of hypocrisy.

How many times do they have to bitch and complain about something and then turn around and do it themselves.....from adultery to calling marchers terrorists to comparing Dems to Hitler, it's all about do what they say but don't pay attention to what they do. And the dumbfucks on tv will make excuses for it all.

Oh, and not to mention they have a mandate from God...haven't ya heard?

:eyes:

[Ducklord]

17. I still think the ad's a trap...

...and Kerry's spokesperson just walked right into it. Watch as I predict the near future...

GEORGE SNUFFLEUPHAGOUS: DNC Guy, what's your complaint about this ad?
DNC GUY: It's outrageously juxtaposing nazis and Hitler with Democrats!
GS: RNC Guy?
RNC GUY: George, it's apparent that my esteemed DNC colleague hasn't seen the ad in question, or he'd know that those admittedly scurrilous images of Hitler were taken from Democratic ads comparing the Bush administration to the Third Reich!
DNC GUY: Those ads didn't come from the DNC, and you know it!
RNC GUY: Yes, they came from your celebrated brothers-in-arms at MoveOn.org.
DNC GUY: Those were quickly-repudiated entires by private citizens as part of a contest--
RNC GUY: Yes, but--
....

etc.

YES, we all know that using the repudiated MoveOn entries as a political weapon is lame and a sign that the GOP is grasping at straws.

And YES, the way the Bush ad is put together, it makes it look as though Bush is comparing the Democratic speakers in the ad to nazis, especially if you don't know anything about the MoveOn mini-controversy.

BUT, when we complain about the nazi imagery in the ad, we open ourselves open to the twin criticisms of hypocrisy ("Hey, they're YOUR ads!") and stupidity ("Can't you even follow the theme of an ad without tripping over your kneejerk outrage?"). Sure, those criticisms are specious as all git out (Ann Coulter's screeds are closer to being official RNC adverts than the MoveOn contest entries, and yes, we did understand the ad, thank you very much), but if we put ourselves in a position in which we're *obliged* to defend ourselves against those criticisms, we're gonna end up wasting another freakin' news cycle talking about those stupid MoveOn/Nazi ads.

So, how would I approach it? If it were me, I'd utterly ingore the nazi material. Like many have done, I would marvel at the passionate words of the Democratic speakers in the ad, and thank the GOP for showing so many of our leaders in such a good light. Let the nazi material speak for itself. As it currently sits in the ad, the Hitler stuff will make the GOP look awful to the majority of the country, most of whom have never heard of the MoveOn/Nazi brouhaha. As long as the DNC/Kerry doesn't rise to bait, the GOP doesn't get to say "The Democrats compared Bush to Hitler" on Sunday.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking this,
Mike.

[librechik]

21. you make sense, duck--it's worth thinking about

welcome to DU

[TexasBushwhacker]

22. I agree

I don't know if it was a deliberately set trap, but I don't think that Kerry's guy should have said anything about it. They should have let it hit the TV on Sunday morning so that Ma and Pa can be watching the talking heads and Hitler comes on. Ma and Pa say :wtf:

[Democat]

23. This will forever tie Bush to using Nazi images - Kerry did right

No matter how the right spins it, Bush is using Hitler's image on his official website. It will be hard for the right to ever again credibly complain about how nasty the left is when they themselves are using images of Hitler on an official campaign website.

If they want a fight, let's give it to them. They got busted, now it's time to rub it in.

[MasonJar]

20. I am not sure that this ad will not backfire on them, if they play it

anywhere else. Hitler and Bush juxtapositioned with the bush "heil Hitler" sign and the Dems telling how bad the idiot is.

[Kimber Scott]

25. You're right. I wrote to the Kerry campaign and urged them to let the ads

air. They are absolute proof the administration has lost its grip on reality. (As if they ever had it.)

[Politicub]

30. That image surprised me

The one with Bush giving what looks like the heil Hitler sign immediately after the footage of Hitler. It didn't seem like a wise move to put it in the ad, unless, as another poster said, it was projection of what the GOP really believes.

I'm with the others on here who are surprised not only at the weirdness of the ad, but that it is hosted on the official campaign website. Has BushCo lost its mind?

[struggle4progress]

26. Controversy just hit Newsweek

And It’s Only June
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5298664/site/newsweek/

[54anickel]

27. Great, of course they did save the best for last....

snip>

.....The Kerry campaign called on the president to remove the video from his Web site.

Which might not be a bad idea for the Bush team. NEWSWEEK asked an interactive content developer for a large New York City advertising firm to view the video and offer his professional opinion. After laughing out loud at the video, he said the picture of Hitler overwhelms any other message and that the entire advertisement seemed poorly conceived. “If you’re not aware of the MoveOn.org campaign, it seems like a ridiculous point. It’s picking up a spitball, polishing it, and throwing it back at them. It’s like saying: 'I’m like Hitler? No you’re like Hitler'.”

[ilovenicepeople]

31. I Wonder?

if it gets taken off their website,can Kerry use it? All you have to do is change the endorsement at the end,its the best democratic add Ive seen. :hi:

[murielm99]

42. I bet there are millions of people who know nothing about the

whole MoveOn controversy.

They will see that ad, be turned off and bewildered.

The repukes are becoming stupid in their desperation.

[54anickel]

44. My B-i-L (Repub) was bewildered by it. Said he had to watch it 3 times,

and still wasn't certain who the ad was for. Quote from his e-mail:

On one hand, it shows the democrats as being very angry, almost out of control. Then it shows Hitler and Bush raising their hand as sort of a salute. It's hard to say who this ad is for. Not sure what to think of it.

I feel for my B-i-L, whom I love very much. He knows Shrub is no good, but he's always been a Republican. The old-fashion Republican - conservative, fiscal responsibilty, smaller gov't, etc. The type of Republican role Raygun "played" while in office. Now his party has been completely hi-jacked by the neo-cons.

Makes you wonder how many more like him are out there. They may not be willing to cross over and vote for a Democrat, but I could easily see him staying home on election day.

Perhaps there will be a new bumper sticker - "Don't blame me - I voted for Noneoftheabove."

[The_Casual_Observer]

28. I like the little cheesy baptist church background music

at the end of their "message". Cheap synthesizer devotional funeral music for a cheap synthesized fraud resident.

[hunter]

29. Stick a fork in him, George W. Bush is done.

He should have picked a better pig farm, maybe one in California. Reagan died happy, George W. Bush will probably not be so lucky.

[TankLV]

33. Aside from the fact that there are literally THOUSANDS of comparisons that

can be made how bush* is like Hitler, this is ridiculuous.

Being angry is now equating someone to Hitler?

And another thing, this is about THEM projecting THEIR qualities on OTHERS.

What about invading another country on lies?

What about stealing an election?

What about curtailing civil liberties.

What about disappearances?

What about "where's your papers?"

What about concentration camps?

What about torture?

The cornered rats are getting angry and DANGEROUS.

[AlFrankenFan]

34. Using Hitler...Bush is desperate...

n/t

[goforit]

36. So......Bush is coming out of the closet, eh? letting his hair down, eh?

WOW!!!!!...........

A Nazi who admits he is the incarnate of Hitler.

Hmmmmmm.........What will the zionists say to this?

[jackstraw45]

40. Bush is definitely getting desperate

Not good poll numbers for the incumbent at this point in the race.

[Jack Rabbit]

41. Well, here's the Bush campaign's response from another thread

Please click here.

They apologized just like Cheney apologized for his crude behavior toward Senator Leahy.

[radfringe]

43. am I surprised at the ad?

Nope. all you have to do is to look back at the Max Cleland ad where Max was juxtaposed to Bin-laden

it's a pattern, it's bush* inc. MO to slime and discredit those who oppose him. it's also a sign of desperation on the part of bush* inc. -- they can't run on bush*'s accomplishments, and there is no "high ground" for them to stand on -- so they wallow in the mud.


June 25, 2004
George Bush Resurrects Hitler to Attack John Kerry
http://www.thousandreasons.org/opinion/062504.html

The Bush campaign resurrected Adolf Hitler in an attack ad that uses his image with John Kerry's to highlight the message that it is not time for the "pessimism and rage" of his opponents. While the ad makes no direct link between Hitler and Kerry, the pairing of their two images carries the same message, just as Bush's rhetorical pairing of Iraq with al Qaeda created fear and loathing for Saddam Hussein before the war. Other faces in the ad -- Howard Dean, Al Gore, and Michael Moore -- round out this unmistakable message: those who oppose George Bush are evil.

If this latest attack stood in isolation, it could be seen as so much silliness, an over-the-top ad in a close and testy race. But the Bush administration has a history of aggressively attacking and destroying those who oppose them. Ask Tom Daschle or Max Cleland. Ask Patrick Leahy, who was cursed on the Senate floor by Dick Cheney.

Unfortunately, this kind of attack has been successful -- Daschle was effectively silenced for his opposition to the war; Cleland was defeated in his senate race -- so we can expect more unfair and aggressive attack ads in the months remaining of the campaign.

[54anickel]

45. I don't know Radfringe - maybe it's different this time -

It's going to depend on what the media lets them get away with this time around. They were able to destroy Daschle, Cleland and others because the media rolled over and gave them a free pass. Will they do it again? Hard to say, many have come out fessing up that they made that mistake on the Iraq war. It's a bit of a wait and see, mean time hold their feet to the fire game.

Sure there's the rabid followers of Rush, Hannity and all. But those aren't the folks that need to be reached. They'd vote for Shrub come hell or high water. They have no desire to seek the truth about anything and I truely believe they are a minority.

Guess I'm an optimist on this one. I think it will backfire. Shrubco thinks he has the media in his pocket. Let's hope he doesn't, as that e-mail response from the WH could surely hang them.

[CTLawGuy]

48. 90% of that ad would make a good ANTI-Bush ad

NT

[wtmusic]

49. Attempt to distract from F911

"Clever" move. Even bad pub is better than no pub with F911 drawing record audiences, or so Rove thinks. Will backfire, bigtime.