Rich Iott

{{Nazism}}'''Rich Iott''', more commonly known as "that [[Nazi]] reenactment guy," is a former grocer and direct-to-video schlock producer from [[Ohio]] who rose to lesser fame for arguably surpassing the batshit-levels of [[Sharron Angle]] and [[Carl Paladino]] during the 2010 midterm elections. He stood as a [[Republican]] candidate for Ohio's 9th Congressional district, which consists mostly of Toledo. Toledo being one of Ohio's few "[[Blue state|blue]]" strongholds, he was basically screwed from the start. 

What happened next didn't help. He ran on a typical [[wingnut]] [[Tea Party|Teabagger]] platform: Deport all the [[Illegal immigration|illegals]], [[Secure the border|finish the dang fence]], [[Homophobia|keep the gays out of 'Murrica]], [[Obamacare]] is [[health care rationing]]. What he's most remembered for, of course, was the revelation that he had been a long-time participant in a Nazi military reenactment unit.<ref>
Katla McGlynn, [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/colbert-rich-iott-nazi_n_759503 Colbert Knocks GOP Repudiation Of Rich Iott's Nazi Uniform (VIDEO)]. ''HuffPost'', 12 October 2010.</ref> ''The Atlantic'' first broke the story, in which he staked out his "I am ''not'' a Nazi" position (though he failed to sing the "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqoX7Z7OJ0 I Was Not a Nazi Polka]"):

{{quotebox|When contacted by The Atlantic, Iott confirmed his involvement with the group over a number of years, but said his interest in Nazi Germany was historical and he does not subscribe to the tenets of Nazism. "No, absolutely not," he said. "In fact, there's a disclaimer on the [Wiking] website. And you'll find that on almost any reenactment website. It's purely historical interest in World War II."<ref>Josh Green, [https://archive.ph/u5PN5 "Why is This GOP House Candidate Dressed as a Nazi?"] ''The Atlantic'', 8 October 2010.</ref>}}

Iott later said in an interview with Anderson Cooper on [[CNN]]:

{{quotebox|[[Holocaust|They were doing what they thought was right for their country]]. And they were going out and fighting what they thought was a bigger, you know, [[The Evil Jew|a bigger evil]].<ref>Jillian Rayfield, [http://web.archive.org/web/20101014133836/http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/rich-iott-defends-nazis-he-dresses-up-as-they-were-doing-what-they-thought-was-right-video.php Rich Iott Defends Nazis He Dresses Up As: 'They Were Doing What They Thought Was Right' (VIDEO)] Archived from ''Talking Points Memo'', 12 October 2010.</ref>}}

Historians were skeptical about the version of history portrayed by the Wiking reenactment unit, which whitewashes the actions of the unit:

{{quotebox|"These guys don't know their history," said Charles W. Sydnor, Jr., a retired history professor and author of "Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death's Head Division, 1933-45," which chronicles an [[SS]] division. "They have a sanitized, romanticized view of what occurred.

"What you often hear is that the [Wiking] division was never formally accused of anything, but that's kind of a dodge," says Prof. Rob Citino, of the Military History Center at the University of North Texas, who examined the Wiking website. "The entire German war effort in the East was a racial crusade to rid the world of 'subhumans,' Slavs were going to be enslaved in numbers of tens of millions. And of course the multimillion Jewish population of Eastern Europe was going to be exterminated altogether. That's what all these folks were doing in the East. It sends a shiver up my spine to think that people want to dress up and play SS on the weekend."}}

House Whip [[Eric Cantor]] repudiated Iott's behavior, but Weeper [[John Boehner]] thought he was just peachy and ''backed his campaign''.<ref>Jonathan Allen, [https://www.politico.com/story/2010/10/nazi-reenactor-funded-by-boehner-043553 Nazi reenactor funded by Boehner]. ''Politico'', 13 October 2010.</ref> In a victory for sanity, he lost his election. Considering what would happen to the Republican party 6 years after he lost, his candidacy in hindsight was either a lot more tragic or darkly amusing.

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iott, Rich}}
[[Category:Failed Tea Party candidates]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Ohio]]

Categories: Failed Tea Party candidates, Living people, Ohio