Topic: WorldNetDaily
Hank Williams Jr. got some attention this week for claiming that John Boehner playing golf with President Obama was like "Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu." As ESPN dropped Williams' theme song from "Monday Night Football" in response, Williams rushed to apologize.
Of course, going Godwin on Obama is old hat for WorldNetDaily. We've detailed numerous instances of WND columnists repeatedly sliming Obama by likening him to Hitler and other Nazis. Needless to say, Joseph Farah never punished his writers for making the comparison -- if anything, he gave them bonuses.
Not only is that WND's stock in trade, it defended the practice. A Dec. 3, 2009, WND column by Jerry Kane begins by claiming, "Critics who denounce and slander their colleagues for comparing Barack Obama's meteoric rise to power with that of Hitler's are out of ideas or have too much time on their hands." Kane then defends likening Obama to Hitler: "The cult of personality and hysteria for a charismatic orator are frightening parallels between Obama and Hitler. Like Hitler, Obama too is a phenomenal political figure, extraordinary in American politics. No American politician has made such an impression on Americans. He receives excessive admiration and adoration from his admirers reminiscent of hero worship but with a messianic twist." Kane then plays with words by insisting, "Commentators do not say Obama is Hitler, but they do suggest that a dictator can rise in America and bring about a totalitarian state." Kane ignores the fact that those making the comparison -- like the website that published him -- are doing so for denigration purposes, with the intent to undermine his presidency.
Don't expect Williams' punishment to have any chilling effect on WND. Expect quite the opposite -- they'll whine about freedom of speech and ramp up the Obama-Hitler comparisons even more.
