Patriot v Fascist

Here’s now a neo-Nazi would try to smear Democrats as commies, and how a patriot would respond. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) went after Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) during a House Rules Committee hearing on a resolution that “denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America.”

Reschenthaler was one of the 147 Republicans who voted to throw out the results of the election based on Trump’s Big Lie about widespread voter fraud. This lie motivated a violent pro-Trump mob to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. After hours of refusing to order them to leave, Trump PRAISED the mob of thugs saying, “You’re very special. We love you.” (Yes, like Hitler’s 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, this is exactly how fascism raises its ugly head to stoke hate and violence.)

Key excerpts:

Waters: “The American public is going to wonder why Republicans are wasting our time today with this divisive resolution instead of focusing on the real threats to our economy and democracy. What is this all about? Is it about saying you want to cut Social Security? You want to cut Medicare? You don’t care about the debt ceiling? Please.”

Reschenthaler: “You can’t condemn socialism? In your opening remarks, you were talking about Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi. You know what they all have in common, right?”

Waters: “Trump,” she said flatly to a few laughs in the room.

Reschenthaler: “Trump? North Korea, China and Russia?”

Waters: “He loves Kim Jong Un, who is condemned in the resolution. Regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump said Kim ‘wrote me beautiful letters, and they’re great letters and we fell in love.’ You sure you want to hear the rest of this?”

Reschenthaler: “Do you denounce that?”

Waters: “But Trump loves him. That’s your leader.”

Reschenthaler: “Do you denounce the genocide and starvation in communist China?” 

Waters: “Trump is your leader. He speaks for you. He says he loves him.”

Reschenthaler: “Stalin. Tens of millions died. Do you want to denounce that?”

Waters: “I’m sorry, I don’t deal with yes or no questions."

Reschenthaler: “Why don’t you explain your support of Stalin.”

Waters: “No, why don’t you explain it? Your Republican leader, Donald Trump, is friends with, supports Putin. Kim Jong Un, he loves him. And he led this country in being basically undermined by Jan. 6, including … telling his supporters to go after our own police officers here and use the American flag. I haven’t heard one denouncement on the Republican side. Nobody has denounced that. Are you afraid of Trump? Do you agree with Trump? Ask him the questions, don’t ask me.”

Reschenthaler:  “Do you denounce the killing fields of Cambodia or not?”

Waters: “Don’t ask me silly questions. I told you, I’m a capitalist. I’m not like Donald Trump. I’m not like Republicans who claim to support this democracy but at the same time refuse to condemn those who attempted to destroy this democracy. You need to talk to your leader, Donald Trump, about what he’s doing, about why he loves Putin so much, why he loves Kim Jong Un so much.You ask him the questions.”

Reschenthaler: “For the record, you’ve refused to denounce Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, Hugo Chavez. That’s amazing.”

Waters: “For the record, you refuse to denounce Donald Trump. You refuse to denounce the insurrection that tried to destroy our democracy. You refuse to denounce the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, QAnon, the KKK. You refuse all of that. When you do all of that, then we can talk.”