A civil rights group and some Republican members of Congress are calling for Rep. Keith Ellison, Minnesota Democrat, to be reprimanded for comparing President Bush’s reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks to that of Adolf Hitler after the German parliament building was set ablaze in 1933.
In a July 7 speech to a group of atheists, Mr. Ellison referred to Hitler’s actions to turn public sentiment against communists.
“It’s almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that,” Mr. Ellison said. “After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the communists for it and it put the leader of that country in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted.
“I’m not saying [September 11] was a plan, or anything like that, because, you know, that’s how they put you in the nut-ball box — dismiss you,” Mr. Ellison said.
Rep. Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, and Rep. Zach Wamp, Tennessee Republican, wrote a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, demanding a reprimand of Mr. Ellison.
“We call on you to act swiftly and immediately reprimand Representative Ellison for his flagrant and irresponsible comparison,” Mr. Cantor and Mr. Wamp wrote. “These comments inflame hatred and division at a time when we should be promoting unity and reconciliation.”
Calls to Mrs. Pelosi’s and Mr. Ellison’s offices were not returned.
Mr. Ellison stood by his remarks Monday but said he did not intend to link the Bush administration to Nazi Germany.
In an interview with the Associated Press Tuesday, Mr. Ellison backed down and said, “In hindsight, I wouldn’t have used that reference point.”
“It was probably inappropriate to use that example, because it’s a unique historical event, without really any clear parallels,” Mr. Ellison said. “I believe that they have exploited the fears that grew from 9/11, in order to pass legislation and even start wars they could have never gotten away with but for that tragedy.”
The Anti-Defamation League is asking Mr. Ellison to retract his statement. National Director Abraham H. Foxman called Mr. Ellison’s July 7 speech “outrageous and offensive.”
“Whatever his views may be on the administration’s response to September 11 and the conduct of the war on terrorism, likening it to Hitler’s rise to power and Nazism is odious and demeans the victims of September 11 and the brave American men and women engaged in the war on terror,” Mr. Foxman said.
Mr. Ellison, the only Muslim serving in the House, opposes the war in Iraq.
In January, Mr. Ellison told the Associated Press that he was “not inclined to continue to support a war or an occupation that [Mr. Bush] has no plans to get us out of, and which is so costly in terms of dollars and lives of American soldiers but also Iraqis.”
During an October campaign rally, Mr. Ellison said, “There is one way that you can truly hold this president accountable, and it’s impeachment.”
But his comments regarding the Reichstag fire, Mr. Cantor and Mr. Wamp said, were “beyond the pale of reasonable discourse.”
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