Pritzker blasts Rep. Miller over pro-Hitler remark
‘Hitler got nothing right,’ says guv, decrying ‘vile, evil streak’ in Republican Party
A protester takes center stage at the U.S. Capitol after right-wing extremists stormed the building, halting official congressional confirmation of the presidential election. (Twitter/Igor Bobic)
By Ted Cox
Shortly before right-wing protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, halting formal certification of the presidential election, one of the newest members of the Illinois congressional delegation stirred them up at a rally by saying, "Hitler was right on one thing. He said, ‘Whoever has the youth has the future.’”
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller of Oakland, who succeeded John Shimkus in Congress this week, was quoted speaking at a rally supporting President Trump outside the Capitol: “If we win a few elections, we’re still going to be losing unless we win the hearts and minds of our children. This is the battle. Hitler was right on one thing. He said, ‘Whoever has the youth has the future.’”
The remarks drew immediate condemnation from Gov. Pritzker. Speaking at the first coronavirus briefing of the year at the Thompson Center in Chicago, Pritzker paused to say, “I want to address the unfathomable and disgusting remarks that the newest member of the Illinois congressional delegation made — Mary Miller. Let me be clear. Hitler got nothing right. This reprehensible rhetoric has no place in our politics. Illinois Republicans cannot allow this to stand and must condemn this vile, evil streak in their party.”
U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Channahon, one of the few congressional Republicans to take issue with President Trump’s persistent attempts to undermine the election results, tweeted: "I outright condemn this garbage." But other Republicans, led by more than a dozen in the Senate, including Ted Cruz of Texas, planned to contest the election results in a joint session of Congress and sought public support — support they paid for directly when protesters stormed the Capitol and halted formal confirmation of the Electoral College vote declaring Joe Biden president-elect.
Miller has sided with Trump on the 2020 presidential election, calling it “tainted,” without evidence of fraud. Trump also spoke at the rally outside the Capitol, repeating his false claims that he won the election.
Kinzinger labeled the entire scene “a coup attempt,” and Pritzker tweeted: “Donald Trump has incited a violent coup attempt. And his enablers share responsibility for this, pure and simple.”
Although Congress returned, and as of midnight was working its way toward certifying the Electoral College vote, Pritzker called for Trump’s removal, issuing a statement saying: “Two weeks is too long for Donald Trump to remain in office, where he can continue to incite more untold violence.
“I say this after careful thought and reflection on my responsibilities as an American and as governor of Illinois,” he added. “We are in the middle of a deadly pandemic that continues to need the full time and attention of our state resources. We are working to oversee a massive vaccination effort that will require the full focus of our state agencies and first responders.”
Pritzker said he felt compelled to call in the Illinois National Guard to defend the Illinois Capitol as the General Assembly prepares to return to Springfield for the lame-duck session, adding, “There is no doubt in my mind that his efforts to encourage a coup represent high treason to this democracy, our Constitution and all Americans. He poses a danger to our nation. He must be impeached and removed from office immediately. And every person in a position of public trust, elected or otherwise, who enabled the systematic dismantling of our democratic norms and failed to speak up or take action bears some responsibility for the culmination of four years of spreading bile.
“This violence is the natural conclusion of Donald Trump’s efforts to unleash the forces of hate and divide our nation. It must end.”
Chicago journalist Robert Loerzel tracked Miller’s original quote to the book "Hitler Youth: The Hitlerjugend in War and Peace 1933–45," by Brenda Ralph Lewis, and repeated it in its entirety on Twitter: “Whoever has the youth has the future. My teaching will be hard. Weakness will be knocked out of them. A violently active, dominating, brutal youth — that is what I am after."
Pritzker called on Miller to visit the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, “where she can learn just how wrong Hitler really was.”