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By Paul Zummo Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Looks like Robert Byrd is taking some well-deserved flak for his silly comparison of the Republicans to Nazis. The Washington Post reports.

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Byrd's remarks showed "a profound lack of understanding as to who Hitler was" and that the senator should apologize to the American people. He called the comparison "hideous, outrageous and offensive."

"With his knowledge of history and his own personal background as a KKK member, he should be ashamed for implying that his political opponents are using Nazi tactics," said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Spokesmen for Byrd have tried to excuse his rhetoric by claiming that his screed "was meant as a warning to heed the past and not as a comparison to Republicans." But no matter how you cut it, Byrd's unfortunate comparison seriously cheapens the Holocaust and what the Nazis stood for. There is absolutely no justification for such absurd hyperbole, and considering the Senator's own personal history of Klan membership and opposition to civil rights, this is a topic he would be wise to avoid.