After Firmly Standing By What He Said, Steve Cohen 'Apologizes'. Hopefully It'll Keep J Street Happy

[Turborama]

So, after http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4703427">telling us for a couple of days that he meant what http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x233136">he said, it seems Steve Cohen has succumbed to the pressure and offered an apology.

Cohen Statement on Health Care Debate
Thursday, 20 January 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today released the following statement on the health care debate:

“There has been considerable media attention regarding comments I made during Special Orders on the House floor as part of a colloquy Tuesday evening. While I received no comments or responses from my colleagues on the floor at the time or, for that matter from anyone until midday on Wednesday, someone posted a small portion of the speech on the internet. Taken out of context, I can understand the confusion and concern. In speaking about the Republican message of “government takeover of health care” that has been drummed into the heads of Americans and the media for more than a year, I referenced the non-partisan, Pulitzer prize-winning Politfact.com judgment that named the Republican message as the “2010 Lie of the Year.”

While I regret that anything I said has created an opportunity to distract from the debate about health care for 32 million Americans, I want to be clear that I never called Republicans Nazis. Instead, the reference I made was to the greatest propaganda master of all time. Propaganda, which is called “messaging” today, can be true or false. In this case, the message is false.

I would certainly never do anything to diminish the horror of the Nazi Holocaust as I revere and respect the history of my people. I sponsored legislation which created one of the first state Holocaust Commissions in America and actively served as a Commission member for over 20 years. I regret that anyone in the Jewish Community, my Republican colleagues or anyone else was offended by the portrayal of my comments. My comments were not directed toward any group or people but at the false message and, specifically, the method by which is has been delivered.

It is disappointing that my comments have been used to distract from the health care reform debate. It is my hope that we can return our focus to the matter at hand—health care for 32 million Americans.”

Why did I mention J Street?

Well, because they are big supporters of Steve Cohen and raised http://jstreet.org/campaigns/jstreetpac-raises-over-30000-rep-steve-cohen">over $35,000 from over 300 JStreetPAC supporters for his re-election campaign.

They also issued a public letter asking him to apologize.

J Street Statement on Rep. Steve Cohen’s Comments

Posted by: Amy Spitalnick | January 19th, 2011 4:50 pm

J Street strongly opposes the use of Holocaust imagery and Nazi metaphors in American political debate. We have spoken out strongly in the past when it was used by those who we oppose politically, and we also ask our friends to refrain from using such language.

We call on Congressman Cohen to apologize for these remarks, and urge him and all American political leaders to refrain from the use of such imagery in the future.

http://www.jstreet.org/blog/?p=1378

Hopefully the apology he gave will suffice and J Street will be happy.

BTW, just caught this http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/20/5886955-steve-cohen-makes-a-statement">on Maddow's blog, it's the kind of crap Cohen has to put up with where he lives....

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. This is why I "hate" this country

"left wngers" are forced to apologize, while Glen Beck happily goes on about shooting them liberals in the head.

Congressman I know you are right... but I also wonder... in a serious manner, how many very serious death threats did you get?

[meegbear]

2. I'm keeping his quote in my sig ...

I still believe it's true.

[JustAnotherGen]

3. I'm teary eyed

Reading that campaign sign. That's just horrible. :-(

[Poboy]

4. Why the fuck did he apologize? Damn. This is why we will continue to LOSE.

[OHdem10]

5. Pressure from ADL.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. As I speculated above

I am betting a few very serious death threats, apart of the usual pressure from places like the ADL

[Turborama]

7. My asumption is that he probably took what J Street said on board.

I like J Street but they didn't need to get involved. Unless they themselves were pressured to by their funders, of course.

[gateley]

8. Just sent him an e-mail expressing support, that there are a LOT of us who

know he's speaking the truth.

EDIT to say the e-mail didn't go through because I'm not in his district (which always irks me), so I'm going to call. Here's his phone # if you'd like to let him know that we appreciate his truthfulness.

Memphis
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

DC
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

EDIT #2 -- Just called his office in DC and the woman who answered said "thank you SO MUCH - I will definitely pass that along!". So, I spoke for many of us and said "most of the members on a large Democratic message board I frequent feel the same way, so again, let him know there are a lot of us who understand what he meant and agree."

[Turborama]

15. Thanks Gateley

You did a good thing there and definitely spoke for me. It's good to hear your efforts were appreciated like that.

[madfloridian]

9. That Memphis group attacked him for supporting the hate crimes bill.

They got really nasty. He went to the church to try to mend things. I think Harold Ford's DLC ran an opponent against him.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/aug/29/e29cohen/

Really ugly stuff.

"Tempers flared and emotions erupted Tuesday at a meeting between U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen and a group of black ministers, stemming from the freshman congressman's support for a federal hate crimes bill.

More than 100 ministers and guests showed up Tuesday for the weekly meeting of the Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association, where Cohen had been invited to speak. During a volatile question-and-answer forum that followed, many loudly commented that Cohen, who is white, can't adequately represent the primarily black Ninth District.

"He's not black and he can't represent me, that's just the bottom line," said Rev. Robert Poindexter of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. "I don't care how people try to dress is up, it always comes down to race and he can't know what it's like to be black."

[elleng]

10. Trying to inform the 'players' that I disagree with disagreements w Steve Cohen,

phoned him, and trying to write 'J Street.'

What he said was correct, and no apology was needed, IMO.

[JDPriestly]

11. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer, pages 247-248

of the 1960 edition. (Chapter 8, Life in the Third Reich: 1933-37, The Control of the Radio, Press, Films

I myself was to experience how easily one is taken in by a lying and censored press and radio in a totalitarian state. Though unlike most Germans I had daily access to foreign newspapers, especially those of London, Paris and Zurich, which arrived the day after publication, and though I listened regularly to the BBC and other foreign broadcasts, my job necessitated the spending of many hours a day in combing the German press, checking the German radio, conferring with Nazi officials and going to party meetings. It was surprising and sometimes consternating to find that notwithstanding the opportunities I had to learn the facts and despite one's inherent distrust of what one learned from Nazi sources, a steady diet over the years of falsifications and distortions made a certain impression on one's mind and often misled it. No one who has not lived for years in a totalitarian land can possibly conceive how difficult it is to escape the dread consequences of a regime's calculated and incessant propaganda. Often in a German home or office or sometimes in a casual conversation with a stranger in a a restaurant, a beer hall, a cafe, I would meet with the most outlandish assertions from seemingly educated and intelligent persons. It was obvious that they were parroting some piece of nonsense they had heard on the radio or read in the newspapers. Sometimes one was tempted to say as much, but on such occasions one was met with such a stare of incredulity, such a shock of silence, as if one had blasphemed contact with a mind which had become warped and for whom the facts of life had become what Hitler and Goebbels, with their cynical disregard for truth, said they were.

About William Shirer (in case you don't know who he was):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_L._Shirer

If you want to know more, you can buy the book online.

[Turborama]

13. Thanks for that teaser, looks like a fascinating read

I'm going to add it to my Amazon wishlist. :hi:

[Turborama]

12. Silly me! I forgot to add the link to Cohen's site which has the statement

Here it is: http://cohen.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1400

[cali]

14. and this was the inevitable denoument

and that's why it's dumb to go there.

[sabrina 1]

16. Democrats always end up apologizing no matter how right they

are.

I remember when Durbin gave a passionate, moving speech on the floor about this country's torture policies, comparing Bush's torture chambers to gulags.

They jumped all over him. The Rightwing Noise Machine took of and didn't stop round the clock attacking him. Repubicans everywhere expressed outrage at the very idea that America's torture chambers should ever be compared to gulags. You know what when the U.S. tortures people, it's different!! It's not even called torture, it's called 'enhanced interrogation'.

We emailed and called in support of what he had said. We supported him on internet boards, took on the rightwing loony fringes and hoped that with all the support he was getting he would not apologize. But, they won. He cried as he issued his apology. We who had supported him were attacked by the right and told they hoped we realized now how right they were and what traitors we were etc. etc.

I have given up on the 'left' in this country. There are no strong leaders willing to stand up and fight.

The bullies win every time.