Powerline blog: Hitler's homosexual cadres (read in relation to Guckert)

[geek tragedy]

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/2003_03.php#002534

<snip>The preceding controversy prompted by Lindner derived from his refusal to pay tribute to homosexuals as victims of the Holocaust. Reading the comments relating to that remark -- comments coming from each of the state's seven Jewish state representatives -- one would think that Minnesota is a state with a significant Jewish population. In fact, Jews constitute approximately one percent of the state's population of five million. It is also difficult to follow the train of thought of the Jewish DFL representatives who purported to take offense at Lindner's failure to include homosexuals among the victims of the Holocaust.

One of the morals of this story is the advantage of knowing a little history. Lindner could have had a lot of fun in the contretemps if he had been only been even slightly knowledgeable of the sexual orientation of the prominent "175ers" among the Nazi leadership. Lothar Machtan's The Hidden Hitler makes the case that Hitler himself was probably homosexual and that the Nazi anti-homosexual legislation was implemented to protect Hitler from slander and blackmail.

In any event, the Strib story has incredible entertainment value: "Lawmaker condemned by Holocaust survivor now accused of racism." The Strib also includes a summary of Lindner's previously "controversial" remarks; they provide invaluable insight into the hokum involved here: "A history of controversy." (Courtesy of Dr. David Pence.)
<snip>

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/002546.php

<snip>For amusement purposes only, let us return to the point I suggested regarding Hitler's homosexual cadres. Anyone familiar with the history of the Nazi party knows that male homosexuals were prominent among both the perpetrators and the victims of Nazism. As head of the SA until his murder by other of Hitler's goons on the Night of the Long Knives, Ernst Roehm was one of the essential instruments of Hitler's rise to power. He was also a flagrant homosexual whose sexual depravity knew no bounds. His service to Hitler was so important that when he came under intraparty attack for his homosexuality, Hitler defended Roehm (and his homosexual cadres) in words that make Hitler sound like a good DFL liberal in the mold of Allan Spear or Phyllis Kahn.

As early as February 1931, Hitler issued a remarkable decree concerning "the attacks on the private lives" of "very senior and senior SA officers." These, as Hitler saw them, were based mainly on circumstances "wholly extraneous to the context of duties to the SA." He "vigorously and on principle" rejected all requests to "rule" on these. Hitler protested that the SA men's "private life cannot be an object of scrutiny unless it runs counter to vital principles of National Socialist ideology."

Do you suppose that any of the politicians weighing in on the historicity of Rep. Lindner's comments on homosexuals and the Holocaust will introduce this element of complexity into the discussion?<snip>

How DARE those libruls talk about Gannon's sexual orientation?!?!?!

[bloom]

1. Bush's comments from 1998 - Wead's tapes

Early on, though, Mr. Bush appeared most worried that Christian conservatives would object to his determination not to criticize gay people. "I think he wants me to attack homosexuals," Mr. Bush said after meeting James Robison, a prominent evangelical minister in Texas.

But Mr. Bush said he did not intend to change his position. He said he told Mr. Robison: "Look, James, I got to tell you two things right off the bat. One, I'm not going to kick gays, because I'm a sinner. How can I differentiate sin?"

Later, he read aloud an aide's report from a convention of the Christian Coalition, a conservative political group: "This crowd uses gays as the enemy. It's hard to distinguish between fear of the homosexual political agenda and fear of homosexuality, however."

"This is an issue I have been trying to downplay," Mr. Bush said. "I think it is bad for Republicans to be kicking gays."

Told that one conservative supporter was saying Mr. Bush had pledged not to hire gay people, Mr. Bush said sharply: "No, what I said was, I wouldn't fire gays."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20talk.html?pagewanted=3&incamp=article_popular_1


This is interesting considering current events plus how much of an issue gays and abortion are for certain groups of Christians. (Bush said that he would make abortion an issue... without mentioning - as far as we know - his personal involvement).

[riverwalker]

3. who was he was being pressured to fire?

"No, what I said was, I wouldn't fire gays."

Maybe political advisors, like Rove?

[blm]

7. Bush has made promises to many people. He's a liar who switches stories

depending on who is listening. Ask the Log Cabin Republicans. They know his hypocrisy. He's just a dirty trickster - political strategist and a vote-counter. He always was since the 70s and he still is today.

[Kansas Wyatt]

2. Think about it...

Everything that Shrub and the Republicans are guilty of, they attack and destroy their opponents with smears of it. Best case scenario - people will think their opponent is guilty of it, worst case - people will think that both are guilty of it, so it's even.

If you continuously attack something and hate it, then nobody will consider that you may be guilty of it. It's only Turd Blossom's favorite tactic, and it works very well.

[smirkymonkey]

6. Classic projection...

[Stop_the_War]

4. And 100,000s of gays and lesbians were sent to concentration camps....

hitler himself was heterosexual, as were most nazis. a few were closeted, but this article is so homophobic and filled with so much hubris.

[geek tragedy]

8. It is. Which is why them whining about the way liberals treated Gannon

is so blatantly dishonest.

[Stop_the_War]

5. .

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Hitler used the SA until they were no longer useful

Then he had them all killed in what was called "The Night of the Long Knives."

When I am educational czarina, there is going to be more and better history and geography instruction in school, especially world history.

Then the wingnuts won't be able to get away with distortions like these.