RWNJ NC Lawmaker: Lincoln Was A ‘Tyrant,’ Just Like Hitler (TWEETS)


It has been amply demonstrated that as long as Republicans hold the gavel in Congress or in state legislatures, some of the most extremist people ever to set foot in a legislative chamber are empowered. We got a lovely example of this in my home state of North Carolina earlier this week. Four Republicans in the state house tried to introduce a bill would have unilaterally declared the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality null and void. However, this bill was a bridge too far even for a caucus that rammed through the notoriously homophobic House Bill 2 last winter. The Republican leadership in the chamber announced within 24 hours that the bill would not see the light of day.


One of the bill’s authors is Larry Pittman, who represents a large slice of Cabarrus County, northeast of Charlotte. Pittman is a tea partier from central casting. This is a man who wants abortion providers publicly hanged and wants to repeal the state constitution’s ban on secession, among other things But apparently Pittman still felt the need to establish his bonafides. That’s the most benign way to explain why he publicly declared that Abraham Lincoln was as much of a scourge as Adolf Hitler.

When word got out that Pittman was one of the people behind the attempt to nullify marriage equality, critics descended on his Facebook page in droves. When Pittman tried to defend his bill, he revealed just how ignorant he is of basic civics.

“It would not be a reinstatement. It would be upholding the law of this State in spite of the opinion of a federal court that had no business interfering.”

I have to wonder if Pittman slept through his civics classes while he was in high school in New Bern. Any ninth-grader would know that federal law takes precedence over state law, and that a state has no power to simply declare a federal law or court decision void. One commenter tried to remind him of this fact.

“Memo: the Civil War is over. The Fed won. Get over it.”

Pittman’s response?

“And if Hitler had won, should the world just get over it? Lincoln was the same sort if tyrant, and personally responsible for the deaths of over 800,000 Americans in a war that was unnecessary and unconstitutional.”

I had to read this twice in order to believe it. Pittman just claimed that the Civil War was no different from the Holocaust. Apparently he figured out that he stepped in it, because that comment has since been deleted. However, Nick Ochsner of WBTV in Charlotte managed to get a screenshot.

I know what you’re thinking, folks–why would a Republican lawmaker trash the first person from his own party to win the White House? Well, in some parts of the South, the Civil War is considered an invasion. Indeed, in a number of circles, it is called “the War of Northern Aggression.” The Confederacy’s attempt to secede was based on the 10th Amendment–which is the same amendment that Pittman used to justify his attempt to nullify marriage equality.

Plus, there’s something else to consider. As any student of American history knows, the Republican Party was more or less nonexistent in much of the South for the better part of a century after the Civil War, in part because “Lincoln” was a four-letter word in much of the region. However, in a shameful act of political opportunism, the GOP openly courted conservative Southern Democrats who felt chagrin at the national party’s embrace of civil rights, rather than tell them to go fly a kite. That’s how you get a Republican lawmaker slamming Lincoln as a bloodthirsty tyrant.

State Democratic Party chairman Wayne Goodwin rushed out with a burning statement condemning Pittman for having “no sense of decency, no sense of shame and no sense of historical fact.” He also called for his Republican counterparts to denounce Pittman’s remarks. In an epic tweetstorm on Thursday, Goodwin pointed out that Lincoln probably wouldn’t get to first base in today’s GOP.

Goodwin would also do well to find and fund an opponent for Pittman in 2018. According to Daily Kos’ excellent database of presidential results by legislative district, Donald Trump only carried Pittman’s district with 53 percent of the vote, which makes it very winnable on paper.


As of Thursday night, there has been no response from what passes for leadership in the state GOP. To their credit, though, some individual Republicans have condemned Pittman’s remarks. One of them is fellow Republican state representative Chuck McGrady.

Another is veteran Republican operative Brent Woodcox.

Woodcox got it partially right. Pittman doesn’t just need to be out of the GOP. He needs to be out of politics, period. Pester Pittman on his Facebook page, and email him at LarryPittman at ncleg dot net and tell him to resign.

(featured image courtesy Pittman’s Facebook)

 

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.