Most Americans believe in American Exceptionalism, that there is something about America that makes our nation not just our home, but gives it a special place in history. Others, like Kansas State Senator and US Congressional candidate Steve Fitzgerald, seem to believe that what makes the US exceptional is mostly that the rest of the world is a wasteland of terrible, horrible people.
From CNN:
"We are being told that Western civilization is the problem in the world," Fitzgerald said, according to video provided by a Democratic operative. "Outside of Western civilization there is only barbarism."
Fitzgerald’s concern? That the US is sliding into barbarism. The means by which we are doing so? Women’s health care.
"It was a firestorm. I got calls from everywhere, 'How dare you? How could you? How could you compare it to Dachau?'" he recalled. "I said, you are right, 'Dachau really wasn't one of the bigger killing camps and these guys numbers are way beyond anything that they did.'"
But then Fitzgerald expounded on his argument, telling the Republicans that history is littered with people taking advantage of and dispatching the lives of others, citing slavery and the treatment of American Indians.
"Ask the blacks about slavery. Ask the American Indians," he said. "Ask -- well, of course, the Indians were doing it to each other. The whites were doing it to each other. But if you go all back in history, we have never had much compunction about killing each other, especially if you couldn't fight back."
He added: "Outside of Western civilization is only barbarism. Abortion is not compatible with Western civilization. And we need to make that clear, we need to make it recognized, we need to make people understand we are talking about humanity."
Fitzgerald’s comments come as no surprise to most Kansans, as the Senator from Leavenworth has gone down this road before — Fitzgerald has prior referred to Pro-Choice Republican Barbara Bolier as “The Devil”, and invoked concentration camps before as a way to attack Planned Parenthood.
Fitzgerald has been extra furious recently, as Republican Steve Watkins, who is seen by most as the personal favorite of Washington DC based Republicans, came under attack due to his spouse’s status as a former Planned Parenthood volunteer of the year (note: link to VERY conservative site), which has been a sticking point for the Senator, who has repeatedly attacked Watkins as an unworthy candidate.
Watkins, for his part, has sought Kansans For Life’s endorsement and has avowed he is 100% anti-choice, despite past experiences.
For Fitzgerald, this issue is such an affront that he will tell anyone who listens that this cannot be the way forward for Kansas Republicans.
The race on the Republican side is a clown car of candidates — with no one certain at all how it will shake out. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Paul Davis continues to break fundraising records. The Democratic candidate, who last ran for Governor in 2014, won the 2nd congressional district during his race while falling short of defeating Sam Brownback. Davis hopes to repeat that result and win the second district a second time, sending him to Washington DC.