At yesterday’s tea party rally on Capitol Hill, at least one protester brandished a large graphic photograph of the victims of the Dachau Nazi concentration camp, comparing health care reform to Nazi policies. Today, Rep. Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) spokesman called the photograph “inappropriate.”
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) has also condemned the poster.
Cantor, in an interview today with Bloomberg, also offered some criticism of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s comparison of President Obama to Adolf Hitler.
“Do I condone the mention of Hitler in any discussion about politics?” said Cantor, who is the only Jewish Republican in Congress. “No, I don’t, because obviously that is something that conjures up images that frankly are not, I think, very helpful.”
In a climate where Republicans who criticize Limbaugh come crawling back on their knees (see TPM’s “Forgive Me Rush” photo feature), Cantor’s office has pointed reporters to the story, emailing the link to Glenn Thrush’s post on Cantor’s remarks.
It’s worth noting that Limbaugh made the comment in question — “Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate” — on Aug. 6. Cantor at the time did not respond publicly to calls from Jewish groups to condemn the remarks.
Editor’s Note: This post has been revised since it was first published.
