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Tea Party Billboard Linking Obama to Hitler, Lenin Turns Off Some Conservatives

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A Tea Party-sponsored billboard in Iowa that ties President Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin -- complete with large photos of the three -- got plenty of attention, but not necessarily the kind that the group wanted.

The outdoor ad in Mason City, put up about a week ago by the North Iowa Tea Party, was removed Wednesday and replaced with a public service announcement, the company that owns the billboard said. The original sign included the labels Democrat Socialism, National Socialism and Marxist Socialism above the enlarged photographs, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. "Radical leaders prey on the fearful & naive," the text below proclaimed.
Tea Party billboard in Iowa
But Sharon Blakely, a leader of the national Tea Party Patriots, a grassroots conservative group, said the billboard was a waste of time and money. "It's going to make people think that the Tea Party is full of a bunch of right-wing fringe people, and that's not true," she told the AP. "When you compare Obama to Hitler, that to me does a disservice to the Jews who both survived and died in the Holocaust and to the German who lived under the Nazi regime."

She could have added that Nazism, or fascism, is the polar opposite of the Soviet leader Lenin's creed, communism. In fact, after a brief alliance, the Nazis and the Red Army of the Soviet Union fought each other in many bloody battles during World War II.

Many Tea Party members argue that Obama's liberal policies are socialistic. Bob Johnson, co-founder of the Northern Iowa group behind the billboard, conceded that the purpose of the ad -- alerting the public to the peril of socialism -- may have been "overwhelmed" by the visuals. But John White, an Iowa coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, said it was worse than that. "I fear they may end up in some kind of trouble over it," he said, "because it's basically slanderous. I don't know that it's the message we want to send. I'd much rather see billboards that say, 'Remember in November. Get Out and Vote.' "

"At our last rally we saw some people with those kinds of signs and asked people to put them down," White told the Mason City Globe Gazette. "It's borderline hate crime."

Kent Beatty, general manager of the Nebraska company that owns the billboard, said a North Iowa Tea Party representative called him Tuesday night and asked that the ad be removed. According to the New York Times, it was near an area in the center city called "Music Man Square," honoring Meredith Wilson, a native of Mason City who wrote the music and lyrics for the famed musical.

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129 Comments

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FrankNWIowa

Sounds like an accurate comparison to me. Lets see, there's his "share the wealth" comment, there's socilized medicne, government takeover of private businesses. And then there is that pesky poll from James Carville's firm that demonstrates that 55% of Americans think Obama is a socialist.

I'm just ticked off that they didn't have the guts to leave the billboard in place. Come on people, we need to have the courage to say what we all know to be true.

July 18 2010 at 1:25 AM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
julforyou

Funny how things like this were okay with every one when Bush was in office and the left posted similar things, or burned him in effigy. Get over it, there will always be someone who does things like this, it does represent an entire party or population.

July 14 2010 at 10:58 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
BOO BOO

To insult the memory of those who died in the Holocoust is unforgivable. To minimize the memory by comparing what happened to them to what is nothing more than the right throwing a political tantrum over not getting their guy elected shows just how low they are willing to crawl to get their way. This went way too far, it shows them to be nothing more than ""Radical leaders prey on the fearful & naive,""

July 14 2010 at 7:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kaykells

My Gosh - why not leave it up? That is what they feel and think, so why not have the courage of rheir desires? TeaParty of north Iowa sold themsleves out because of a possible link to a hate crime? I bet they are now on the radar of the FBI as a hate crime group. And well they should be. But Jeesh - they caved that quick?
What little respect I had for them is now gone. Just goes to show you that the people running this TeaParty show is about as intelligent as they sound and look on the sound and video bytes allowed by the national media.

July 14 2010 at 6:19 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
ME

All this crazy stuff going on with the "Tea Party" group will come back and haunt them all one day. Luckily there are lots of photos and film from local and national news media of these people and the way they act, the crazy stuff they say and post on poster boards at their gatherings to remind them and others of their actions.. I believe many will be horrified one day, horrified of the way they acted and/or the things they have said and done and some of the things they have had on placards holding proudly and in this day and age of 24 hour news, cell phones with cameras, Face book, My Space and Twitter it will be "out there" for eternity for them and their friends, family, coworkers and future bosses to see.. Personally, what I have seen on the news that goes on at these meetings and they way people act reminds me of the Klan meetings I have seen on the History or Discovery Channel.. Its shameful, very un American and un Christian......

July 14 2010 at 6:07 PM Report abuse +4 rate up rate down Reply
majorg1000

Wow. Last time I looked President Obama was elected by a free people unlike the other two. Knowing that it isn't illegal, and supporting the right of freedom of Speech, I am still aghast that anyone or any group would compare Our President to Hitler and Lenin. These can not be the same people I spent a career in the military defending. Talk about being un-American...The Tea Party will get everything they desrve, and then some when election time rolls around.

July 14 2010 at 6:06 PM Report abuse +5 rate up rate down Reply
scotnewell

I am sorry to have to tell you but your statement as follows is dead wrong. The similarities between the philosophy statements of Nazism and Communism are very much the same to any one who has read the history of the era. They are definitely not polar opposites and they fought each other because of the quest for power, not because of any philosophical differences.

"She could have added that Nazism, or fascism, is the polar opposite of the Soviet leader Lenin's creed, communism. In fact, after a brief alliance, the Nazis and the Red Army of the Soviet Union fought each other in many bloody battles during World War II."

July 14 2010 at 5:28 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to scotnewell's comment
Eric

Actually, they were polar opposites (despite what some ill-informed modern conservatives would like you to think)...National Socialism was not marxist in nature...as matter of fact, the NAZIs thought Marxists were "soft-headed liberals, concentrating on the bellies of Germans instead of the souls." Ultimately, the Germans thought that the US and Britian would join in the fight against the Soviets because they saw a similar "spirit" between those countries and Germany...that spirit would crush the rising Marxist tide.

July 14 2010 at 5:49 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
llenette1

I think everyone, not just anti-Obama's need to study and learn the difference between Socailism, Communism,etc. It's fine if you don't agree with his policies, it's fine if you just don't plain like the guy. But at least take the time to know the difference. Anyone claiming Obama is a socialist is begging to be shout down and embarrassed by an even moderately educated individual. Or maybe your hatred for the President is keeping you ignorant, or in this case, stupid. Billboards like these only make the masses think that Tea Party members use fear to sway the "fearful and naive". Hmmm.... that sounds familiar.

July 14 2010 at 5:08 PM Report abuse +6 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to llenette1's comment
ME

Many of them seem to need more than just that.. Some often come across as not very knowledgeable about the issue at hand and more than not confuse their very passionate religious views as fact and science. Then use those religious teachings and cult like passion as a license to be horribly cruel and spew hatred and intolerance that would make Hitler and Lenin run in fear...

July 14 2010 at 5:59 PM Report abuse +5 rate up rate down Reply
B

As an Independant, it is obvious the Liberals are scared to death by the Tea Party!

July 14 2010 at 5:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to B's comment
Eric

The Tea Party can be frightening...they use fear and ignorance as their main tools. These two things are not a good combination for a rational society...liberalism has had too good of a run (234 years and counting) in America to allow it to crash.

July 14 2010 at 5:44 PM Report abuse +6 rate up rate down Reply
Cristina

Obama !!! Obama !!!! Obama !!!! My prayer for you Mr President .God Bless you !

July 14 2010 at 5:04 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply

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