Recently, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) was forced to apologize for implying that federally-issued student loans could lead the United States down a “slippery slope” comparable to the Holocaust. But do you know who else liked comparing things to Nazis?
Well, actually, Roscoe Bartlett. It appears that eliminating subsidies for private companies in the student loan process is just the latest action that Bartlett has identified as setting America down the path to fascism and genocide.
Bartlett Compared Federal Student Loans To The Holocaust. According to the Washington Post, “Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) suggested Wednesday federally-issued student loans were unconstitutional. He also said that disregarding the Constitution could lead down a ‘slippery slope’ and cited the Holocaust as an example of what could happen when a country heads down a wrong path…‘Not that it’s not a good idea to give students loans; it certainly is a good idea to give them loans,’ Bartlett said. ‘But if you can ignore the Constitution to do something good today, tomorrow you will be ignoring the Constitution to do something bad. You could. There are more people in our, in America today of German ancestry than any other [inaudible]. The Holocaust that occurred in Germany — how in the heck could that happen? And when you start down the wrong road, it can be a very slippery slope.’” [Washington Post, 9/6/12]
Bartlett Compared The PATRIOT Act To Nazi Germany A Day Before Comparing Federal Student Loans To The Holocaust. According to Politico, “Rep. Roscoe Bartlett had to apologize recently after his remark last week suggesting that federal student loans were unconstitutional and citing the Holocaust as an example of what happens when government heads down the wrong path. Turns out, that was Bartlett’s second Holocaust reference in two days. A day before his student loan comment, Bartlett called the PATRIOT Act a violation of civil liberties and the ‘least patriotic thing’ he had voted for in Congress. Ignoring the Constitution is a ‘slippery slope,’ Bartlett said, before suggesting a parallel with Nazi Germany. ‘If you can ignore the Constitution to do what you consider good things today, tomorrow you can ignore the Constitution to do bad things,” Bartlett said at a Funkstown, Md. town hall meeting. “More than half of our people in this country are of German descent. How in the heck – I know those people! How could the Holocaust have happened? These are the same German bloodlines that represent the biggest ethnic group in our country today. It’s just, if you start down a slippery slope, you could end up doing that kind of thing.’” [Politico, 9/10/12]
Bartlett Compared Gun Control To Nazi Germany: “One Of The First Things Hitler Did Was To Pick Up Guns And Then 13 Million People Went To The Gas Chamber.” According to the Washington Post, “Bartlett is hoping to win voters with his opposition to gun control. ‘One of the first things Hitler did was to pick up [citizens’] guns and then 13 million people went to the gas chamber,’ he said.” [Washington Post, 5/11/80]
Bartlett: “If The Government Knows Who Has Guns, One Day There Could Be A Hitler. There Could Be A Knock On The Door. ‘You Have Two Guns, We Want Them.’” According to the Washington Post, “As does Bartlett.Bartlett says the Second Amendment is a protection against abuse of power by the state. He is against strict gun control and registration: ‘I do not trust the government. If the government knows who has guns, one day there could be a Hitler. There could be a knock on the door. ‘’You have two guns, we want them.’” [Washington Post, 2/20/00]
Published: Sep 13, 2012