Last week, former and now very anti-Republican Matthew Dowd went low--even for him--when he likened concerns with inflation to the priorities of the Nazi Party in 1930s Germany.
I will remind folks again that Hitler rose to power with 1/3 of voters in Germany with a message on inflation, etc. The voters in Germany, as well as the media and many politicians, paid attention too late to the threat he was to their democracy.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) June 8, 2022
Our friends at Twitchy picked up on some of the best responses calling Dowd out on the terrible analogy, which came from all sides. Even CNN's editor-at-large, Chris Cillizza, called him out by stating the obvious.
Rule 1 of politics: Never compare things -- except the actual Nazis -- to Hitler https://t.co/hsGza6LJAY
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) June 9, 2022
Putting aside this isn’t even true, the laziest, most intellectually pathetic form of argument is claiming someone bad also spoke against something bad, which inflation is. https://t.co/JbnY0ZdbMr
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) June 9, 2022
I will remind folks again that if you find yourself making a Hitler analogy about U.S. politics, or nodding your head in approval along to someone else making a Hitler analogy about U.S. politics, you really screwed up somewhere along the way. https://t.co/JqDbhDwv2C
— Jeff B. is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) June 9, 2022
It's not merely that Dowd was using the comparisons about the Nazis. He appears to be trying to liken the Nazis' rise to power to Republican messaging of inflation for the upcoming November mid-term elections, now less than five months away.
Why are Republicans focusing on inflation? Well, they want to win elections, of course, and it's looking really good for them this year. Historic trends show that the president's party almost always loses seats in Congress during his first mid-term election. This year it's particularly bad for President Joe Biden and the Democrats.
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Inflation is a winning message for Republicans, as poll after poll shows that people are concerned and it's the top issue for many Americans. Polls also show that Republicans are the more trusted party to fix inflation and the economy. That's not entirely surprising, considering that RealClearPolitics (RCP) has Biden at just a 34 percent approval rating on the economy, while 60 percent disapprove.
The comparison is ugly and absurd, especially when it spits upon the concerns of the American people. So, what did Dowd do? He doubled down, of course.
one party used the fears and frustrations of a group of white working class voters during a time of economic turmoil and high inflation to overthrow a democracy, and too many other voters were more concerned about inflation than the potential loss of the democracy. 1932 Germany.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) June 10, 2022
His tweet from Friday came just after it was revealed that inflation hit another four-decade high. It was so bad it was even worse than predictions.
The response from President Biden and his administration were as terrible as you'd expect. The president took to blaming Russia's Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine from February for inflation and rising costs, even though those issues have been with us long before.
In addition to also trying to blame Putin, White House economist Cecilia Rouse acknowledged that "I know this doesn't sound like a plan, but first and foremost he respects the independence of the federal reserve." In order words, it's still on somebody else.
I would ask folks in the news media to consider this when they do their jobs: every single American knows there is inflation and is concerned, while too few Americans understand our democracy is endangered and aren’t concerned. That should give direction on what to discuss more.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) June 10, 2022
As for the coverage of the January 6 select committee hearing show trials from Thursday night, Dowd is demanding the media cover that more so than inflation. As NewsBusters has covered, the mainstream media outlets have been covering the hearings just plenty, even at the expense of news stories such as a murder plot against Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The narrative on the Left, and whatever political philosophy Dowd identifies as, if he even has one, is to shame people into caring about January 6 when they just don't anymore. No wonder Republicans are projected to win big in November.
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