Tom Roeser: Ron Paul = Adolf Hitler

Thank you, Tom Roeser. You took time out of your busy schedule to attend a Ron Paul rally and then write about it, comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Well, congratulations! You did it! Suddenly, people who never heard of you before are linking to your article and leaving comments on your blog. Kudos! Your little publicity stunt worked.

I say "publicity stunt" because no one with any shred of intelligence, credibility, or decency would have actually taken what he had written seriously. First of all, you said that Ron Paul's "demagogic phraseology appeals not to conservatives -- but, apparently if Saturday's meeting was any indication -- to a sweaty group of boisterous, screaming, jumping up and down in place, obese youth (obviously from hours spent huddled before computers), shaggy, unkempt, hirsute, noisy, obstreperous, rambunctious and raucous. And that's before we consider the male contingent." I realize that having a sense of humor is very important in journalism, but was that really supposed to be funny?

And then there was your main point, which you obviously meant as a lesson in world history:

You can say all you want about Hitler...monomaniac, racist, genocidal tyrant...but he and his people could really run a rally. From the Munich beer hall putsch through to the end of his regime he was unexcelled. Let me say the manipulation of an already excitable, juvenile, impressionable and deliriously passionate youth audience by the Ron Paul people was unexcelled -- at least among those I have observed in this country. Hitler's meetings would involve people packed like sardines in a room that did not allow much area for expansion. That was the case here.

Did you write that with a straight face? Was that another twisted attempt at humor? I mean, suggesting that a 72-year-old congressman from Texas, who is calling for smaller, less-intrusive government and an end to senseless wars, is as threatening as a blood-thirsty tyrant who murdered millions of people in pursuit of a master race? Surely you weren't serious.

To those reading this: if you decide to visit Tom's blog, note the important message in the sidebar:

**WARNING**
Defamatory comments will not be tolerated and the individuals who post such comments will be turned over to authorities. Our "reader comments" system allows us to track IP addresses and we intend to collect as much information on posters as we possibly can. Thanks!

Please be civil. Egos are fragile things. And no personal insults. Leave that to the professional journalists. Name-calling will not be tolerated -- unless, of course, you are comparing libertarian Texas congressmen to genocidal dictators and calling their female supporters obese, shaggy, unkempt, hirsute, noisy, obstreperous, rambunctious, and raucous.