L. Brooks Patterson under fire for comparing Gary Peters attack ad to Nazi propaganda

The Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday said it was "deeply disappointed" that an Oakland County official used a Nazi reference in a blog entry about Michigan's 9th Congressional District race.

Betsy Kellman, the regional director for Michigan for the Jewish civil rights group, said the Holocaust analogy used by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson did "not contribute to legitimate debate" about the race between Democratic Rep. Gary Peters and Republican challenger Rocky Raczkowski.

In Tuesday's blog entry, Patterson, a Republican and Raczkowski supporter, accused Peters of lying in a television ad that focuses on a federal lawsuitfiled against Raczkowski by a Texas-based concert promoter. The ad features three district residents saying they don't trust Raczkowski as a result of the lawsuit, which accuses him of fraud and theft.

"Peters knows that is a lie. But as we learned during the Nazi era under the tutelage of the Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, 'Tell a lie, tell it big, and tell it often, and people will begin to believe it.'" Patterson wrote. "So let's take a closer look at Herr Peters' campaign ad."

Kellman, in a statement she posted on the blog site in response, said the Anti-Defamation League was "deeply disappointed to read Patterson's recent blog post equating one of Congressman Gary Peters' campaign advertisements to Joseph Goebbels' extensive propaganda campaign to dehumanize Jews.

"Goebbels glorified the Nazis and created a climate that allowed (the) mass murder of six million Jews. In no way is Congressman Peters' comment about his opponent's business relationships similar to Goebbels' work. ... Holocaust analogies grab the reader's attention but they do not contribute to legitimate debate about the positions of Congressman Peters or Rocky Raczkowski."

Contacted by The Associated Press Wednesday night, Kellman said she had nothing further to say beyond what was in the statement.

Patterson, in a written statement to the AP, said the blog entry "should offend no one."

"I merely made reference to one of the greatest liars in history," he said. "I invite everyone to read my blog to see if I overstepped my bounds. I suspect Gary Peters yet again is trying to distract voters from his abysmal record."

Peters ousted veteran Republican Rep. Joe Knollenberg two years ago in the 9th District, which is set entirely inside Oakland County north of Detroit.

Republicans are eager to take back the seat from Peters, a former state lawmaker and lottery commissioner from Bloomfield Township. Their hopes are riding on Raczkowski, a Farmington Hills businessman, ex-state representative and Army officer.

Raczkowski said Wednesday he didn't know Patterson planned to address the TV ad in his blog and that "Brooks answers for himself."

He also said he considered himself to be particularly sensitive to talk of World War II-era Germany, because his parents were imprisoned by the Nazis in Poland.

"Anyone that knows me knows that I have such distaste and disdain for the Nazis and anything the Nazis did," he said.

As for Peters, campaign manager Dan Farough said: "Rocky and his campaign will say anything to change the subject from the theft, fraud and conspiracy suit against him, but comparing his opponents to Nazis goes too far."

The issue also came up this year in the California governor's race when candidate Jerry Brown compared a rival's campaign tactics to Goebbels' propaganda.

Brown's comments sparked criticism from the ADL, and he later said he regretted referencing Goebbels.