IARC Asks Democratic Senator to Apologize
Thursday, March 3rd, 2005 Press Releases by IARCContact: Dino Teppara, IARC Spokesman
Washington, D.C.
(202) 347-1223
March 3, 2005
Today, Indian American Republican Council (IARC) Chairman Dr. R. Vijayanagar called on U.S. Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) to apologize for comparing the tactics of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party to Senate Republican plans to stop the immoral and unconstitutional filibustering of President Bush’s judicial nominees.
“We are so disappointed in the statements by Senator Byrd,” said Dr. Vijayanagar. “A discussion of the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler, and Nazism should take place with the utmost care to present these evils in their true light. By making flippant comparisons, we fail to recognize the evil nature of the Nazi regime and we insult both those who survived the horrors of the Holocaust and those that did not.
“For more than a thousand years, India was and continues to be, a home for people of the Jewish faith. Just last year, an Indian American became the first Jew to become President of an American synagogue. Being a religiously diverse community, we are troubled by Senator Byrd’s comments and believe he must apologize.
“Moveon.org trivialized the Holocaust when it compared Adolf Hitler to President Bush. No one should ever be compared to Hitler. He was a monster who unleashed never before seen evils unto the world. Senator Byrd continues with a liberal tradition of simply comparing Republicans with fascism, Nazism, or Hitler whenever the mood strikes them.
“This isn’t the first time Senate Democrats have shown intolerance. Last year during a fundraiser, Senator Hillary Clinton called Mahatma Gandhi a gas station owner. Senator Harry Reid, the current Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate, referred to Justice Clarence Thomas as ‘an embarrassment to the Supreme Court.’ Now, Senator Byrd, formerly a member and Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, who once referred to African Americans as ‘mongrels,’ compares the motives of Senate Republicans to the evil cruelty of Adolf Hitler.
“The liberal media may give Senator Byrd a pass, just like they’ve done before with him and other Democrats. But across Middle America, we simply will not remain quiet anymore.”
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