Ellison's Analogy

Imagine for just a second the following scenario: A hypothetical co-chair of the Republican National Committee makes the following public and idiotic analogy:

"Africans who were in the holds of slave ships in the later 18th and early 19th centuries are really little different than European immigrants below decks in steerage on steam ships at the end of the 19th and into the early 20th century."

Imagine further that this hypothetical co-chair had a long and sordid history of anti-black rhetoric, was a member of an anti-black organization, and was an apologist for its racist leader.

All hell would break loose! Reaction would be instantaneous. The media would scream that he must resign, and then suggest that his remarks are but another indication of the "white supremacist" tendencies of the GOP. Democrats would call for a congressional investigation, and the leaders of the GOP would immediately move to condemn the remarks and distance themselves from the moron who made them.

Now, let's consider Keith Ellison, the actual, real-life co-chair of the Democratic party. Here's what Ellison said this week about sanctuary cities and illegal immigrants:

"I am one of the people who thinks you should give people sanctuary. And if you ask yourself,  What would I do if I was a gentile in 1941, if my Jewish neighbors were under attack by the Nazis? Would I give them sanctuary?"

Ellison is either too stupid or too anti-Semitic to recognize that his analogy is idiotic. In fact, it's flawed on so many levels that it's also breathtakingly notable. There is NO analogy between illegal immigrants and Jews in Nazi Germany—NONE! The Jews of 1941 were: (1) legal citizens of Germany, who (2) had every legal right stripped away; (3) had no recourse in the courts and no protection offered by the government, and (4) were destined to be sent to concentration camps and then murdered by the millions. Compare this to illegal immigrants to the United States who: (1) are here illegally; (2) when apprehended, are given due process under the law including the right to appeal; (3) are often allowed to stay if special circumstances exist, and (4) in the worst case, are sent back to their country of origin where they have every opportunity to lead long and productive lives.

Ellison makes this analogy not as an interested observer but as a man who is virulently anti-Israel and skates right on the edge of anti-Semitic behavior. See here and here for a few additional comments on Mr. Ellison.

As one commentator put it. When Ellison asks:

"And if you ask yourself What would I do if I was a gentile in 1941, if my Jewish neighbors were under attack by the Nazis? Would I give them sanctuary?"

he (Ellison) might very well answer

"I'd turn them over to my Nazi overlords 'cause that's what my Mentor Louis Farrakan would do!"

Heh.

But back to the reaction to Ellison's remarks. Oh wait, with the exception of FoxNews, the reaction and news coverage so far has been minimal and muted. The trained hamsters of the media have decided to look the other way, and leading Dems (BTW, Ellison is a leading Dem) have not as yet commented. Disgusting? Of course. Surprising? Not at all.