Ohio House candidate Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wuerzelbacher is out with a Web video blaming the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide on gun control.
"In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated. In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1938 to 1945, 6 million Jews and 7 million others, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated," Wuerzelbacher says in the video as he shoots at apples on a target range.
"I love America," he closes with a smile.
The controversial video, posted Monday and first reported on by the New York Observer, drew a quick rebuke from the National Jewish Democratic Coalition.
"Using the memories of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust to make a political point is never appropriate, under any circumstances," said NJDC head David A. Harris. "For Ohio Republican House candidate Samuel Wurzelbacher to imply that these innocent lives were taken because of gun control laws is simply beyond the pale. Wurzelbacher — who is just the latest in a long line of Republicans who seem to think it is acceptable to use the Holocaust for political gain — must apologize and remove this offensive video immediately."
Wuerzelbacher, a Tea Party favorite who became somewhat of a celebrity during the 2008 presidential campaign for questioning then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on taxes, is running against Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) in a heavily Democratic district in northern Ohio. He's the second Kaptur foe in as many elections to land in hot water because of the Holocaust — her 2010 opponent gained national attention for having participated in Nazi reenactments.
