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Ohio's Sherrod Brown Tells Senate: Hitler and Stalin Busted Unions Too

1 year ago
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Not that he's making any comparison with current events, mind you, but Sen. Sherrod Brown reminded his fellow lawmakers this week that Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin had little tolerance for unions.

Neither did Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, Brown (D-Ohio) told the Senate on Thursday. "These autocrats in history don't want independent unions," he said. "Some the worst governments we've ever had -- you know one of the first things they did? They went after the trade unions."

Twenty-four hours later, he had second thoughts, explaining that he felt passionately about the current union struggle to preserve negotiating rights in Ohio. "But in speaking about this, I should not have mentioned the hostility of tyrants, like Hitler, to unions," he said in a statement. "I don't want my mistake to distract from the critical debate in Ohio, and I apologize for it."

Brown had gone the Senate floor Thursday to defend the American labor movement as state legislatures in his home state and in Wisconsin moved to strip public employees of many of their collective-bargaining rights.

Brown's office pointed out the to The Plain Dealer that he made it clear he wasn't trying to link events in the U.S. to the horrors of Nazi Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union. In his speech, the first-term Democrat said, "I'm not comparing what's happened to the workers in Madison or Columbus to Hitler and Stalin, but I am saying that history teaches us that unions are a very positive force in society that creates a middle class that protects our freedom."

Brown, a former congressman and Ohio secretary of state, has a record of close ties to unions.

Watch his Senate speech, courtesy C-SPAN:

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23 Comments

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secjet1

The bad part about Brown is all these lunatic liberals believe him and start going on rampages... death threats and carrying signs that compare Walker to Hitler.. Don't these idiots realize they are hurting their "cause" to fleece the taxpayers with the racketeering scam going on with the Dems. We are awake and soon the polls will reflect the disgust with the unions. Sure we like the firement, cops, teachers etc. but they chose to do those jobs and if they don't want to compromise, maybe they should look for a union job outside of government. THERE IS NO MORE MONEY. State after state, city after city across the US will be stuck paying through taxes the unfunded pensions and HC benefits. It will take 40 - 60 years of this mass servitude of the taxpayers to pay off these pension and HC debts. That's if new hires are put in 401ks and pay more of their HC. We will be paying more people to live the retired life, than the number of people actually working. What an ugly picture.

March 07 2011 at 12:24 AM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
ttdq

He might add that Jimmy Carter, democratic president, took away the bargaining unit power for all Federal Emplyees in 1972. Never much thought of Carter as a tyrant. He wasn't capable of being thought of as anything except a very very weak president.

March 05 2011 at 9:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Agent-X

You know who else liked to demonize other groups of people by using false analogies and distasteful comparisons? Hitler and Stalin.

March 04 2011 at 10:36 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
cortney1234

So far i have read that republicans are both stalin and hitler.... Alot of name calling.

Unfortunately those names don't balance the budget.

There has been a long history of using Tax dollars to buy union votes for the dems.... the taxpayers have awakened...... YOU LOST.

March 04 2011 at 10:23 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to cortney1234's comment
efleishman

BROWN WAS RIGHT AND HE SHOULDN'T HAVE CHICKENED OUT. ALL DESPOTS GO FOR DESTRUCTION OF TRADE UNIONS, THUS ELIMINATING THE MIDDLE CLASS. AND THE DOPEY MIDDLE CLASS CHEERS THEM ON IN THE NAME OF PATRIOTISM.

March 04 2011 at 5:40 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
oaklane13

Brown is a disgrace to the United States! Democrats are more out of control and vicious than ever!! Guess it is par for the course since Obama is the most divisive Presidnet in History!

March 04 2011 at 5:20 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
kev

Its almost impossible to make as many Millionaires and Billionaires without a strong Middle Class with good wages to buy the very goods that make those Mega Millionaires & Billionaires..Just ask any third world country like Mexico..

March 04 2011 at 3:05 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to kev's comment
ptaray

The days of "making millionaires" is over, unless you have lots of capital to start investing in the places that steal it from the little guys. Thats the point of this new assault on America by the radical right wingers and the corporate folks who will dump them as soon as they wreck our economy with Obama in the Presidency.
Then angry folks vote out of irrational anger and fear, and the GOP has proxy bought your nation. Corporate America is NOT regular America, they are global and owe no allegiance to the soil we live on, they already live off shore for all intents and purposes.
Lords and peasants... the GOP is the revival of the RED COATS, hiding behind the Flag of the patriots who fought to escape the British slave labor lives that made our revolution necessary.

March 05 2011 at 7:57 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
monza866

The era of civility was short lived. Haul out Hitler and Stalin to try and denegrate Republicans who are trying to reverse the budget breaking contracts. I thought the liberal Dems liked those 2 cats since they attacked the sucessful wealthy .

March 04 2011 at 2:32 PM Report abuse +8 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to monza866's comment
ptaray

No actually remind America, that corporations are NOT DEMOCRATIC, they do not exesice democracy, they tell you what they will do, and they make those decisions with a select group of folks who put profit over man power and the rights of those they dole out the money to. Kill unions and you kill the right to get wages increased unless the corporation thinks it wants to, and what corporation wants you smarter or secure enough in your life to relax and maybe start your own business to compete with thier monopoly?

As the unions have shrunk, so has the paycheck you get from working harder.
FACT, not fiction. working class paychecks down, corporate leaders and wealthy positions up by 150% or more...
sure blame the regular guy for This.
90% of wealth in the hands of 10% who tell you what you need and what you get... how demacratic that is....

March 05 2011 at 7:49 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
gjcatman

HHH,mmmmmm Hitler was a member of the National SOCIALIST Party, he turned on the unions after they served thier purpose of raising him to power......

March 04 2011 at 2:05 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
Donna

When will people get it, it is union busting, the workers have accepted the governors terms, which weakens the Democratic Party funding and support in the 2012 election.

March 04 2011 at 1:12 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Donna's comment
bobgedeon

I'm pretty far Right and I disagree with the abolishment of organized labor. My question is.... is Public schooling constitional?

March 05 2011 at 3:30 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply

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