The Stupid-vs-Stupid Republican Primary in Arizona: JD Hayworth Says US Never Formally Declared War On Hitler's Germany
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Or, do you remember when he said we are all Georgians? Or, do you
remember when he kept saying that he was worried about Iran training
members of Al Qaeda in Iraq? I don't think McCain ever did get the
difference between a Shiite and a Sunni straight in his mind. So, now
it's McCain vs J.D. Hayworth in the Republican primary in Arizona.
It's a stupid vs stupid race. Republicans love stupid politicians. So,
they are obviously having a hard time making up their minds. My guess,
though, is that Hayworth will probably pull ahead in the Republican
primaries with his claim that we never formally declared war on
Germany:
"MEDIAite
J.D. Hayworth: �U.S. Never Formally Declared War On Hitler�s Germany�
by Glynnis MacNicol | 7:11 pm, May 24th, 2010
Yesterday, brought us media pundits stumbling through basic
citizenship questions, today brings us John McCain nemesis J.D.
Hayworth stumbling through basic U.S. history questions�sort of.
Hayworth is making some headlines for telling an audience member at
local GOP gathering that technically speaking the U.S. never declared
war in Nazi Germany. Cue collective gasp (and a lot of Texas textbook
jokes). But does he have any wiggle room? Here�s what he said in full
in response to an audience member who remarked on how the U.S. no
longer formally declares war in modern conflicts:
I would also point out, that if we want to be sticklers, the war that
Dwight Eisenhower led in Europe against the Third Reich was never
declared by the United States Congress�Recall, the Congress passed a
war resolution against Japan. Germany declared war on us two days
later. We never formally declared war on Hitler�s Germany, and yet we
fought the war. [And later, when an audience member disagreed] I think
we should check it. Perhaps we made the rationalization � since there
was the Axis alliance � that the attack of Japan was tantamount to the
attack of the Third Reich. But as I recall in my history, Germany
declared war on the United States, not vice-versa.�
Obviously, the U.S. went to war against Nazi Germany. Maybe Hayworth
was trying to say the U.S. didn�t declare war unprovoked and got
overzealous? Regardless, here�s where Hayworth (or at least his
spokesperson) seems to think the wiggle room comes in. Following Pearl
Harbor the U.S. Congress resolved to declare war against Japan, and
shortly thereafter proceeded to attack Japan as best it could with its
damaged fleet. The rules of the Tripartite Pact required that Nazi
Germany declare war on any country that attacked Japan, which they did
on Dec 11, 1941. Later that same day in a message to Congress,
Roosevelt requested �the Congress to recognize a state of war between
the United States and Germany, and between the United States and
Italy.� And Congress resolved �that the state of war between the
United States and the Government of Germany which has thus been thrust
upon the United States is hereby formally declared.�
The language of the two war resolutions is more or less identical,
except for two lines: Japan �committed unprovoked acts of war against
the Government and the people of the United States of America� and
Germany �formally declared war against the government and the people
of the United States of America:� Either way, in the lines that
followed war was officially �declared.�
Hayworth is now attempting to split some hairs by saying he was
referring to Roosevelt�s �message,� regarding Germany but the outcome,
and the wording of the outcome, is the same. Probably in the future
Hayworth should just stick with the basic facts and not attempt any
frivolous interpretation. Video below."
http://www.mediaite.com/online/j-d-hayworth-we-never-formally-declared-war-on-hitlers-germany/