You may have heard conservatives joke liberals and the media will label anyone they do not like a Nazi.
On Tuesday, the joke became a reality when a member of the Democratic so-called “Squad” did just that.
In a tweet, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) shared a portion of a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) by The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles.
“Michael Knowles is a Nazi hellbent on keeping only white men alive and in power,” Bowman wrote. “We cannot allow him and others to push their evil agenda and we must stand up for the transgender rights.”
He added, “CPAC has made one thing clear this year – they support a future run by Nazis like Knowles.”
Michael Knowles is a Nazi hellbent on keeping only white men alive and in power.
— Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (@JamaalBowmanNY) March 7, 2023
We cannot allow him and others to push their evil agenda and we must stand up for the transgender rights.
CPAC has made one thing clear this year – they support a future run by Nazis like Knowles. https://t.co/pxH2yccecd
During his speech, Knowles said, “There can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism. It is all or nothing. If transgenderism is true, if men can become women, then it’s true for everybody of all age.”
“If it is false, then for the good of society, and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely — the whole preposterous ideology,” he added.
His comments quickly sparked a firestorm and led to some outlets misrepresenting his speech. Rolling Stone’s initial headline declared, “CPAC Speaker Calls for Transgender People to Be ‘Eradicated.'”
99% of conservative punditry is saying horrific shit and then feigning outrage when someone quotes you pic.twitter.com/mINRfXmw5W
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) March 5, 2023
Were Knowles’ comments a little bombastic? That is an understatement. The word “eradicated” can evoke thoughts of genocide.
Yet that is not what he had in mind. His argument stems from his belief that the Left has been progressively pushing to restructure society, and it is not enough to simply stop the leftward drift. Instead, conservatives need to take back the culture and defeat the theories of progressives, not through battle or genocide, but through winning the debate and legislation.
Knowles revels in setting off liberals with his conservative social and political commentary. And the controversy that ensued after his speech is, to a certain extent, what he was looking for — though he genuinely believes conservatives need to win the argument over transgender issues, too.
But he is not “hellbent” on keeping white people alive or in power. You would think his commentary would be overflowing with calls only to elect white people, suggesting white people are superior to Black people, or questioning people of color’s right to live and participate fully in society if Bowman’s claim was true. And yet, if you listened to his commentary or surveyed his Twitter feed, that is not what you would find.
Knowles responded to Bowman’s tweet writing, “A sitting Democrat congressman called me ‘a Nazi hellbent on keeping only white men alive and in power’ because I said society should treat ‘transgenderism’ as we did before 2015.”
A sitting Democrat congressman called me "a Nazi hellbent on keeping only white men alive and in power" because I said society should treat "transgenderism" as we did before 2015.
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) March 7, 2023
Bowman should be censured for these outrageous and defamatory remarks. @SpeakerMcCarthy @HouseGOP https://t.co/xOxOexrwxd
If Bowman wants to push back against Knowles’ argument, he should do so based on its merits, not making up lies to discredit him. The former is a more honest method of trying to win the debate.
But calling people Nazis, regardless of whether they actually are, is an easier way to try to discredit an idea. It’s just a despicable lie in this case.
