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Chicago Mayoral Race: Carol Moseley Braun Likens Rahm Emanuel's Ad Demeanor to Hitler

By Lynette Holloway on Feb 15th 2011 11:54AM
Filed under: News, Politics

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Chicago Mayoral Race: Carol Moseley Braun Likens Rahm Emanuel's Ad Demeanor to Hitler

Carol Moseley Braun's crusade to become the second black mayor of Chicago took another hit after the beleaguered candidate likened front runner Rahm Emanuel's ad persona to Adolf Hitler.

The former state senator, who served as ambassador to New Zealand, compared Emanuel's televised ad campaigns to a character in 'The Producers' who described Hitler as a kind man.

The comment came on Sunday during a campaign event on the South Side attended by Cornel West, the esteemed Princeton University professor and author who endorsed Braun's candidacy.

"The joke in it was, he was a kind man, a gentleman,'' Braun said, referring to Mel Brooks' movie, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "We are getting the kind man, the gentle man on television.''

On Monday, Braun tried to minimize the media backlash, saying, "I was celebrating Mel Brooks' comedy," according to ABC-7 Chicago News. "I was celebrating the fact that Mel... and... why am I defending this? This is ridiculous."

Emanuel, who is Jewish, told ABC-7 that he was not offended by Braun's reference to the film, which incidentally was made by a Jewish director.

"Look, she's already said it was -- the way it's being interpreted is not the way she meant it. I take her at her word," Emanuel told ABC-7.

Still, the comment may have dealt another blow to Braun's candidacy. It comes on the heels of a swift fall in a Tribune poll following comments she made about another candidate, Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins, accusing her of being "strung out on crack.'' The poll showed Emanuel had 49 percent of voters support; Gery Chico, 19 percent; and 10 percent for Braun. Braun, who once was second runner up, held as much as 39 percent of vote at one time.

Watkins criticized Braun during a candidate's forum at Trinity United Church on Chicago's South Side for returning to politics after "being missing in action'' while the city struggled economically, according to a video provided by the church.

Braun shot back, "Patricia, the reason you didn't know who I was for the last 20 years is because you were strung out on crack. I was not strung out on crack. I don't have a record.''

After the incident, Braun tried to shift attention to one of her campaign platforms: public safety. But the specter of apparent name calling keeps rearing its head. Now, during these last critical days of the election, perhaps the focus will stay on the much-needed public safety strategy.


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