GOP candidate speaks at Hitler bday party

The photo is priceless.

Not sure why this asshat Republican congressional candidate thinks that this is good for his candidacy or career, but it sure is one way to get some notoriety.

From the Times Northwest of Indiana:

Tony Zirkle, who is seeking the Republican nomination in Indiana's 2nd District, stood in front of a painting of Hitler, next to people wearing swastika armbands and with a swastika flag in the background for the speech to the American National Socialist Workers Party in Chicago on Sunday.

"I'll speak before any group that invites me," Zirkle said Monday. "I've spoken on an African-American radio station in Atlanta."

Sure, because that's FAIR AND BALANCED, right?

Even his local GOP county chair is distancing himself:

Porter County Republican chairman Chuck Williams on Tuesday denounced Zirkle's appearance at the gathering.

"He certainly doesn't hold the view of the of the Republican Party," Williams said. "I don't know why you would stand up in front of a picture of Adolf Hitler when millions of Americans fought against that kind of oppression."

Zirkle compared his speech to other politicians appearing at Bob Jones University.

Ugh, talk about foot in mouth syndrome! What's hilarious is that he's compared Bob Jones University to a Nazi gathering. Everytime McCain appears at Bob Jones university, Democrats should repeat that comparison.

The event was not the first time Zirkle has raised controversy on race issues. In March, Zirkle raised the idea of segregating races in separate states. Zirkle said Tuesday he's not advocating segregation, but said desegregation has been a failure.

Zirkle received 30 percent of the vote in the 2006 primary, losing to incumbent Chris Chocola, who was defeated in the general election. Zirkle said Tuesday that winning the election is not his primary goal.

I can't believe this guy got a third of the primary vote, but apparently that's Indiana for ya, and Obama is trying to win the state in the Democratic primary and the general election. That's the backdrop. I just can't believe that someone would go and speak to the modern day Nazis. But I suppose it is better that the do it in public than privately hold meetings and pass legislation that would harm communities of color. Death by a thousand cuts and all.

Trent Lott took flak for what he said at Strom Thurmond's birthday party: "When Strom Thurmond ran for president [of the dixiecrat party], we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either."

Thurmond had run on a segregationist agenda, and Lott had voted against things like the Voting Rights Act, the continuation of the Civil Rights Act, and against making Martin Luther King's birthday a holiday.

We don't need more politicians like Lott, and I'm glad he left the Senate. I wish more elected officials and candidates would make their opinions known sooner so that they never make it into office or get kicked out, if they hold similarly offensive views.