Arizona State Rep. Brenda Barton (R) said late Monday she stands by a Facebook post she wrote earlier in the day labeling President Barack Obama “De Fuhrer,” a misspelled reference to a title used by Adolf Hitler, and that it should not be “controversial at all.”
Barton was asked about the post by the Arizona Capitol Times newspaper and said she said was inspired by National Parks Service officers enforcing the government shutdown on federal lands.
“He’s dictating beyond his authority,” Barton said of Obama.
Barton said Obama’s attempts at health care reform and expanding gun control laws are evidence of his similarities to Hitler.
“It’s not just the death camps. (Hitler) started in the communities, with national health care and gun control. You better read your history. Germany started with national health care and gun control before any of that other stuff happened. And Hitler was elected by a majority of people,” she said.
Barton also accused the president of trying to maximize the discomfort Americans are feeling as a result of the shutdown, which she described as an “outrageous form of federal imperial government.” She concluded by rejecting the idea she owes Obama an apology for her statements.
“He’s doing something controversial. It’s not controversial that I’m criticizing him,” said Barton.
