Nazi?
I’ve always liked Barney Frank. Now I like him even more:
Dining room tables aside, here’s what I’m wondering: Nazi? Nazi? This seems spectacularly crazy even for the already spectacularly crazy healthcare debate.
It turns out the woman is a LaRouche acolyte. Ah. That explains the crazy. But what’s absurd is the game of hot potato being played by left and right. “LaRouchies are Democrats!” “LaRouchies are conservatives!”
No, LaRouchies are insane.
Trying to shoehorn the LaRouchies into the healthcare debate is tricky. On the left, we have people who want reform. On the right, we have people who oppose reform. And then we have the LaRouchies, who believe the Beatles were created by the British Psychological Warfare Division.
They are kind of entertaining though.
26 Responses to “Nazi?”
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Anonymous Male says:
I’m calling bullshit on the questioner. She looked embarrassed to be asking the question. I think she and her partner were both plants.
August 19th, 2009 at 4:38 pm EST -
myiq2xu says:
Barney should have just said “Godwin! You lose!”
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Violet says:
She did look embarrassed. I noticed that as well, and wondered about it. Is she a LaRouchie who’s suddenly realizing that being a LaRouchie in public is mortifying?
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myiq2xu says:
“being a LaRouchie in public is mortifying”
Religions make more sense when you’re surrounded by believers.
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yttik says:
Hey, I have an idea! Let’s scream at voters, call them dumber than a dining room table, and see what happens to our agenda! Yeah, that’s the ticket! We’ll just beat up on constituents while negotiating with the pharmaceutical industry.
Geesh, no wonder this country has taken so long to pass any genuine liberal ideas.
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Toonces says:
Whatever the woman’s affiliation, or even if she was a plant, Barney’s response is perfectly appropriate. You don’t get to go around calling people Nazis and expect them to respond diplomatically.
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cloaking device says:
yeah, the LaDouchebags are always on campus, trying to lure the young folks into joining their crazy cult. but their methods of recruitment (anger, harrassment, guilting & general annoyance) are just as insane as their beliefs, I’m always surprised that they continue to attract anyone.
A few years ago, before I knew who they were, I stopped to talk to one of them who was handing out an “impeach cheney” flyer and he got into my face and said “what are YOU doing to stop the war in Iraq?” and I said, “Oh, I’m in Bands Against Bush and we play shows & donate the money to that cause”. Welllllll… that was the wrong answer because obviously, the RIGHT answer was “impeach cheney”, which he then tried to convince me to help them with by donating and I was like… “look, you do it your way, I’ll do it mine” and he screamed at me saying “Well you’re not doing enough!”. okayyyyy dude. woah. ever heard of punk rock? you might find it theraputic.
Another time, a guy sidled up to me on the street near campus and said “Do you want to know what cheney’s idea of foreplay is?” and I said.. “not really”, and he rambled on, realizing I was trapped at the traffic light and said “telling his wife a fantasy about world war III” and I knew right there it was another LaDouchebag. that joke isn’t even funny, and around Berkeley, hardly shocking. just kinda gross and annoying.
yeah, I f*ckin’ can’t stand those a-holes.
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yttik says:
“..You don’t get to go around calling people Nazis and expect them to respond diplomatically.”
Actually a good politicians does respond diplomatically. They kiss a lot of ugly babies, too. They speak with courtesy to stupid people. It’s part of their job description.
It’s a matter of, do you want to get your agenda passed or do you want to feel superior for a few moments because you got to ridicule somebody? That Barney Frank clip is all over the internet, soon to be all over the cable news. Explain to me how calling a woman dumber than a dining room table is going to advance the health care agenda?
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Nora says:
I call bullshit too, and it does make a big difference if she’s a plant. The Democrats and their lapdogs in the media are aching to show the folks that are against these health care plans as crazy. We’ve already seen several cases of Dem plants trying to stir up trouble.
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Toonces says:
yttik, some things are so crazy, you don’t respond like they’re legitimate. You don’t give time/energy/attention to every wacko out there and pretend like every side has its legitimate points. If that woman had called Barney an alien from outer space here to destroy the planet, he wouldn’t respond as if her concerns were important and needed to be addressed, he’d tell her she was nuts, and it would be appropriate.
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Toonces says:
And personally, I LOVE it when politicians cut through the thick fog of bullshit. That’s one thing I liked about Sarah Palin. She certainly wasn’t always diplomatic because she knew that not every situation calls for diplomacy.
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Aspen says:
I think the Right and the Fauxgressives enjoy conveniently letting women be viewed as the face of the front line of this crazy. This is what I see in the pictures coming out of many of these town halls.
And yes, I am paranoid, thank you. -
Aspen says:
Oh, and this Larouche group make PETA look sane.
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yttik says:
For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. If you want to calm fears about rationed care, you don’t say, well maybe grandma “should just take a pain pill instead of having the surgery.” If you want to calm people’s fears about the competency of government, you don’t bring up medicare fraud and problems at the post office. And if you want to win over hearts and minds on health care, the first step is to avoid calling people stupid.
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Violet says:
Explain to me how calling a woman dumber than a dining room table is going to advance the health care agenda?
He didn’t call her dumber than a dining room table. He said talking to her would be like talking to a dining room table. Kind of like talking to a brick wall. The implication isn’t dumbness, but stubborn intransigence and futility.
I think he did exactly right. The woman asked him, a Jew, how he could support a “Nazi” plan to give people more healthcare. I think he was pretty restrained under the circumstances.
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Toonces says:
Right, if only Barney Frank coddled this woman in the right way after she disrupted the meeting and said such an offensive thing to him, all the willfully ignorant people who think that Obama’s shitty insurance giveaway plan = turning America into a purely socialist state and destroying capitalism would be convinced, surely.
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Violet says:
I’m trying to imagine the conversation.
Woman: How can you support a Nazi plan?
Frank: Well, actually we don’t think of it as a “Nazi” plan. We’re a little more Mussolini, a little more Franco. Ha, no pun intended!
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Anonymous Male says:
I’m imagining a different conversation:
Barney: ….and then you ask me how I can support a Nazi plan, and then I tell you where to stick it.
Woman: Do I have to say “Nazi”? I mean, Christ, everybody’s gonna see my face, you know? WTF, it’s embarrassing.
Barney: Do you want the thousand bucks or not?
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Adrienne in CA says:
And this clip is being played on Larry King? Sorry, but this stinks to high heaven.
My read:
For the last few weeks, the media agenda was convincing viewers that America is simply not ready for “radical” health care reform. Now that it’s clear that the only thing radical about the so-called reform is how thoroughly it will protect Insurance/Pharma and screw the public, the agenda is to show that anyone still objecting is a crazy loon. Very clever how they do this by featuring a LaRouchie, so as not to impugn the Tea Party brand they’ll need for the next astroturf campaign.*****A
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Violet says:
Anonymous Male, if you’re implying that Barney Frank paid this woman as a plant, I think that’s ridiculous. I’m aware of nothing in his background or in his current political stance to warrant that.
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myiq2xu says:
As a general idea we should treat differing points of view with respect.
But when someone starts talking about how Obama is a space alien or a nazi then scorn and derision is appropriate.
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Sandra S. says:
I’m with Toonces. I think it takes away your credibility to dignify that kind of bullshit with a response. It’s what I’ve thought of Obama wanting to compromise when he didn’t have to, and it’s what I think of any politician who engages in debate with someone who is so obviously making inflammatory and pointless arguments.
This makes me like Barney Frank even more.
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monchichipox says:
I agree with everything he said. Plus I’m the least diplomatic person I know and I say that with pride. However, he unfortunately argued with a fool…and well there are a lot of people who might not know the difference.
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Anonymous Male says:
Whether Barney Frank was directly involved or not is irrelevant. A plant is a plant, regardless of the source. She does not look like a “true believer” in the video. Not even close.
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madaha says:
If you want to calm fears about rationed care, you don’t say, well maybe grandma “should just take a pain pill instead of having the surgery.”
no one said that!!
monchichipox - I love your name, lol
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RKMK says:
It is my personal opinion that the political habit of fluffing the egos and coddling/giving credence the “opinions” of crazy fucks is the primary reason the US is in such dire straits right now. You have to nip that crap in the bud, before the descent to madness begins.
Good on ya, Barney.
