Decades ago, Ronald Reagan said that if you’re explaining, you’re losing. And that maxim holds especially true today. For instance, politicians probably shouldn’t parse the technical and historical differences between the poison gas murders committed by Bashar Assad in Syria and Adolf Hitler in Germany. It’s just not a winning strategy.
Rep. Kevin Cramer must have missed that memo. The North Dakota Republican tried defending White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s recent comparison of the two mass murderers. CNN reports that he said the similarity was “not without some validity.”
But that’s the sort of blathering that just won’t do. If Cramer wants to mount a credible challenge against Democrat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in 2018, something needs to change. He could start by listening to the Gipper.
Most politicians wisely stayed up wind from egregious comments. Spicer had vice signaled that Assad was worse than Hitler “who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” And it was impossible to repair.
Without another option, Spicer apologized yesterday. “This was mine to own, mine to apologize for,” he said, “and mine to ask forgiveness for.” Notably, the top flak didn’t try dodging, deflecting blame, or explaining what he meant. Spicer took it on the chin and moved on.
But Cramer did the opposite. He foolishly tried disarming the comment.
“I can’t even believe that anybody in the media, much less all of the major networks, led with this story,” Cramer said over the North Dakota airwaves. After admitting that Spicer “made a poor illustration,” he doubled down saying the comparison “is not completely, it’s not without some validity.”
And while it’s true that Hitler never used chemical weapons on the battlefield, the Nazi madman used Zyklon B gas to murder millions of Jews, disabled individuals, and others deemed undesirable. That’s a historical distinction that makes no political difference. By revisiting the issue, Cramer let it explode in his face.
Whether or not Cramer has shell-shocked North Dakota voters remains to be seen. But going forward the congressman would be wise to follow advice from Reagan and decline future references to Hitler.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
