CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Oct. 14, 2009 – 12:38 a.m.
Hitler, Pelosi, and ‘Vile Tweets’
By Bill Pascoe, CQ Guest Columnist
If Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, were a movie golfer, he’d be David Simms, the antagonist in director Ron Shelton’s 1996 romantic comedy, “Tin Cup.”
That movie, you’ll recall, starred Kevin Costner as driving range pro Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy.
Tin Cup/Costner is the Errol Flynn of movie golf, the swashbuckling hero of derring-do, always ready to pull the three-wood and have a go at it, even from bad lies in the rough and over water; Simms, played by Don Johnson, is Tin Cup’s opposite and his nemesis: a “grinder,” the kind of golfer who’s perfectly happy with par, and who always plays the safe shot, even when the riskier shot isn’t all much riskier.
In a pivotal scene early in the movie, Simms must face the Hamlet-like question all golfers regularly face — to lay up, or man up.
Simms chooses to lay up, and Tin Cup mocks him for it mercilessly.
Later, when his caddie reminds him that his perpetual refusal ever to lay up — and his consequent failure, time after time — is what’s kept him from a career of fame and glory on the PGA Tour, Tin Cup avers dismissively, “Greatness courts failure.”
A romantic line, to be sure, but one never uttered by Chairman Sessions — at least, not if the NRCC’s decision Tuesday to cave to pressure from Democrats is any indication of how Sessions approaches politics.
Either that, or Sessions and his henchmen are far sneakier than I give them credit for being.
At issue was a mashup video clip that parodied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., and Democrats’ positions on health care, by swapping out subtitles in a popular video clip on YouTube. Sessions, or his NRCC senior staff, relented under pressure from Democrats, and pulled the link.
In other words, they laid up, when they should have pulled the three-wood and gone for it.
To begin, no one at the NRCC had anything to do with the creation of the video clip in question, which is a clever melding of a very popular clip from a Hitler biopic, “Der Untertag” — released under the title “Downfall” in the United States.
All anybody at the NRCC did was watch the clip, think it was a funny way to parody Pelosi and the Democrats’ approach to health care overhaul, and Tweet it — that is, link to the video clip in the NRCC’s Twitter feed, which has about 4,500 followers.
For this, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee went utterly nuts, declaring that the NRCC was comparing Pelosi to Adolf Hitler, and demanding that Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, chastise Sessions and demand the removal of “this vile Tweet.”
“This vile Tweet?”
Seriously?
The proper response from the NRCC should have been, “Man up. Politics ain’t bean bag — and you know it.”
For good measure, the NRCC could have included in its response links to any of these video mashups, which, not coincidentally, use the exact same three-minute clip from “Der Untertag” — Hitler Finds Out Sarah Palin Resigns, Republican Party War Room and Hitler Finds Out Ted Kennedy Is Dead — but which happen to make fun of Republicans.
“Der Untertag” is a particularly popular video clip for mashups. My personal favorite has nothing to do with politics, unless one counts USC Trojan football as political: Hitler Defends Pete Carroll.
I don’t recall Republicans screaming bloody murder over those clips. But something tells me that if they had, Democrats would have said, “Man up. Politics ain’t beanbag — and you know it.”
In this event, it certainly appears that the Republicans over at the NRCC were a bit weak-kneed today.
There is, of course, the other possibility — that Sessions and his senior staff, having alerted the world to the existence of the video clip, decided they could now afford to take down their link to it in the spirit of bipartisanship (or whatever), secure in the knowledge that the genie is out of the bottle, and the video clip will continue to gain viewers as it explodes virally.
I’d like to believe the latter is the case. But because I bet with my head, and not my heart, I’ll wager on the former.
Bill Pascoe is CEO of The Foundation for American Freedom, a conservative think tank headquartered in Alexandria, Va.
Comments
"I don't recall Republicans screaming bloody murder over those clips." Uh, i don't recall the DNC linking to any of those clips either. When someone tweets something, it's a tacit endorsement, or at least a nod of approval. Please learn how the internet works. Thanks.
I think you miss an important point in your comparison of the NRCC Twitter comment to the online videos that attack Republicans in a similar fashion. All of these videos (including the one recommended by the NRCC) were done by individuals "out there" on the Internet. As such, there's little difference between them and any other blog, mailing list, or website. We all expect to see fringe stuff "out there." By promoting it under its own imprimatur, however, the NRCC lent it the credibility of ELECTED OFFICIALS, which (to me, anyway) is a different thing altogether. Political rhetoric in the US has reached a level we have not seen in generations. We have elected officials naming the President "an enemy of humanity," suggesting that they "don't know which side he's on" in the war against terrorism, and telling citizens to be "armed and dangerous" on political issues. We have candidates for office shooting live ammunition at targets labeled with their opponent's initials. To have elected officials suggest that it's "really funny" to compare other elected officials to Hitler is beyond the pale. I expect this stuff from the fringe, be it Ramsey Clark on the left or Glenn Beck on the right. I, for one, expect MUCH better from my elected officials, regardless of their party affiliation.
When is it ever politically correct to invoke the name of Hitler? I have/had family that survived Hitler's Germany and to compare him to Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic effort to enact some sort of Health Care Solution is so vile I can barely believe I read that. And you all laughed it off? It certainly seems indicative to why Republicans are generally regarded, at the moment, as callous, insensitive and out of touch, not to mention anit-Semetic. As Billy Crystal intoned in The Pricess Bride 'Have fun storming the castle, boys." Even my replublican friends here are none too thrilled with your attitudes. Notice I didn't capitalize the 'r' in republican. Yo don't even seserve that much recognition. Bastards!
It is alright for cowardely republicans to link to Hitler and the press just loves it and endorses it. Cowards attack people and not there idea's. Jouranlist like the idiot writing this article, just confirms to me that the media cares more for profit then the truth. Llike DALMAX says, to see the media cheering the comparison of Nancy to Hitler just sickens me. The media as a whole just sickens me. The media is corporate shill for profit and misinformaytion. I never trust what any anchor, reporter or writer say or write anymore. As long as you media cowards care more for profit then what is good for our country, then truth and honesty will never be expected. This article and the response articles from the media elites show you would rather divide Americans for profit then ever shine a light on the truth. I wish all media would have to adher to the fairness act. Since that law was overturned, so was truth, justice. and unbiased reporting.. Anybody thar condones using Hitler comparisons are to cowaredly to use facts and information to forment an arguement. They attack people and not their ideas. That is what cowards do and that is what our media is doing. Cowards are told what to do, think, and say. A patriot demand justice, honor and integrity. To bad the media has no idea how to act like a patriot.
"I don't recall Republicans screaming bloody murder over those clips." What a hypocritical liar this scumbag writer is. Doesn't he remember all the GOP whining and demands for an apology from Democrats when an anonymous clip comparing Bush to Hitler was posted to a MoveOn.org contest? They had one of the all-time hissy fits over that one and that wasn't even from anyone official or connected to the party. Man-up and admit you're a lying sleazeball Pascoe, you'll be telling the truth for once in your life.
Hey Bill, want to come over and talk to my wife's relatives about the relationship between Pelosi and Hitler? To you, Hitler is just a fun topic to joke about, to them he is the monster who gassed and destroyed their family. Every time the right opens it's mouth it just demonstrates how far out of touch they are.
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