2010 elections

I Am Not A Witch...I'm Aqua Buddha?: The Most Iconic Moments From The 2010 Campaign

Jillian Rayfield | November 2, 2010, 11:56AM

Scenes from the 2010 midterms.

From the moment "Tom Campbell"'s eyes glowed red in Carly Fiorina's "Demon Sheep" ad, we knew this campaign season was going to be chock-full of bizarre and memorable memes. And we were right -- sheep, witches, and chickens were just a few of the iconic moments from the 2010 midterm elections.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Stranger Than Fiction? TPM Casts The 2010 Midterms Movie]

So here are TPM's favorites...

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Nazi Reenactor

After Joint Campaign Stop, Nazi Reenactor Hedges On Boehner For Speaker

Brian Beutler | October 30, 2010, 2:53PM

House Minority Leader John Boehner took on the conventional wisdom that it's bad politics to associate with Nazi reenactors by campaigning recently with Ohio congressional candidate Rich Iott. That's about the only public support Iott's received from the GOP since his SS scandal broke.

Returning the favor, Iott, who's running in Ohio's 9th congressional district, now won't say whether he'd support Boehner for Speaker.

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Rich Iott

Nazi Reenactor Iott Accused Of Exaggerating His Own Military Record

Jillian Rayfield | October 22, 2010, 2:00PM

Rich Iott

Ohio Congressional candidate Rich Iott (R) likes to spend his free time as a Nazi reenactor, replaying the experiences of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a unit in the German army during World War II.

So what about his own military record?

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Young Guns

Meet The GOP's Young Bums: TPM Rounds Up The GOP's Worst Next Big Stars

Eric Lach | October 20, 2010, 11:41AM

Clockwise from top left: Blake Farenthold, Rich Iott, David Harmer, Allen West

Republicans promote their "Young Guns" Congressional candidates as "the best opportunity to move our country in the right direction." Founded in 2007 by Reps. Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan, the "Young Guns" program aims to recruit and promote "a new generation of conservative leaders." But before even getting to Congress, a number of this year's "Young Guns" and "Contenders" have found themselves fending off scandals, struggling to explain past actions and in one particular case, being outed as a ducky pajama enthusiast.

Let's review some of the most embattled "Young Guns."

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Nazi Reenactor

Boehner-Chaired PAC Still Backs Nazi-Reenacting Republican House Candidate

Brian Beutler | October 18, 2010, 10:45AM

Rich Iott

The Republican party has all but given up on its Nazi-reenacting candidate Rich Iott. But that doesn't mean they've cut him off entirely.

The Freedom Project, chaired by House Republican Leader John Boehner, is a Political Action Committee dedicated to electing Republican candidates. And look who they still support: Rich Iott.

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Rich Iott

Iott Accuses Opponent Of Orchestrating 'Coordinated Attack' On His Nazi Reenacting (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | October 13, 2010, 5:28PM

Ohio Congressional candidate Rich Iott (R) accused his opponent, Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, of being behind the "coordinated attempt at character assassination" related to his Nazi reenactment hobby.

Iott also made the bold claim that "this coordinated attack has shown so much more about you and your character than it does about me."

Iott has become the subject of national attention in recent days, and Republicans have scrambled to distance themselves from him, even as Iott defends his hobby of dressing up like a Nazi as a member of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a group of Ohio World War II reenactors.

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Rich Iott

Rich Iott Defends Nazis He Dresses Up As: 'They Were Doing What They Thought Was Right' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | October 12, 2010, 12:33PM

Ohio Congressional candidate Rich Iott got grilled by Anderson Cooper last night on his rather unusual hobby of dressing up as a member of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a unit in the German army during World War II.

Iott defended the members of the unit, who he said "wanted to fight what they saw as a bigger threat to them than Germany," so they joined up with the Nazis to fight the eastern front of the war against Soviet forces. "I don't think we can sit here and judge that today. We weren't there the time they made those decisions," he said.

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Stephen Colbert

Colbert On Cantor's Repudiation Of Iott: This Will Cost Iott The Jewish Vote (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | October 12, 2010, 10:11AM

Last night, Stephen Colbert defended Ohio Congressional candidate Rich Iott, who said his Nazi reenactment was simply "a father-son bonding thing." Colbert said: "That's right. Fathers bond with their sons in all kinds of ways. Building a boat, fixing the car, solving the Jewish problem."

Colbert also slammed Eric Cantor, who is Jewish, for "[running] away from a fellow Republican" and repudiating Iott. "Thanks, Eric Cantor. Without your support, now Iott's gonna lose the Jewish vote."

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2010 elections

Jon Stewart Talks Nazis, Whores, And Other 'Unforced Errors' Of The Election (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | October 12, 2010, 10:10AM

Jon Stewart looked at the "unforced errors" of this campaign season last night, including a moment when an associate of Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown was caught on tape calling his opponent Meg Whitman a "whore," or, as Fox News' Martha MacCallum called it, "a name that is usually reserved for prostitutes." Jon was confused: "Desiree? Cinnamon? Lucinda J. Knobgobbler?"

Stewart also talked about Ohio Republican Congressional candidate and Nazi reenator Rich Iott: "You know, Ronald Reagan's first rule: Never attack a fellow Republican. His second rule: Never dress up like a Nazi."

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Rich Iott

GOPer Slams Cantor For Disowning Him Over Nazi Reenactments (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | October 11, 2010, 4:01PM

Republican Congressional candidate Rich Iott

All year, we've been hearing from Tea Party candidates who think Washington politicians have lost touch with average Americans. As a Nazi reenactor, Ohio Tea Party Republican congressional candidate Rich Iott has some harsh words for one of those professional politicians who just happens to be a Republican: House Minority Whip Eric Cantor. On CNN this afternoon, Iott, who was recently outed as a Nazi reenactment enthusiast, called Cantor out for repudiating him on Fox News Sunday yesterday. Iott even compared Cantor to a Democrat.

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Eric Cantor

Rep. Cantor 'Repudiates' Nazi-Reenacting GOPer (Video)

Eric Lach | October 10, 2010, 4:19PM

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Appearing on Fox News Sunday today, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) backed away from Ohio Republican Congressional candidate Rich Iott, whose penchant for Nazi reenactments was discovered by reporters on Friday. Yesterday, TPM reported that Iott has been recently scrubbed from the GOP's 'Young Guns' website.

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Rich Iott

Republican Responds To Revelation Of His Nazi Reenacting Past

Eric Lach | October 9, 2010, 8:44PM

Rich Iott

Rich Iott, the Tea Party Republican running against Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), has responded to the publicizing of the fact that one of his hobbies is dressing up and pretending to be a Nazi in reenactments.

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Republicans

Republicans Scrub Nazi-Impersonating House Candidate From Young Guns Website

Brian Beutler | October 9, 2010, 4:21PM

Rich Iott

That didn't take long.

We learned yesterday that the Republican running against Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) has the unique hobby of donning an SS costume to honor fallen Nazis. Until last night, the GOP included the candidate, Rich Iott, on a list of promising potential members called Contenders -- a notch below their so-called Young Guns. Now he's gone, without a trace.

You can get away with a lot in conservative politics these days, but it turns out spending your weekends dressed as a Nazi, celebrating the brave Waffen 5th SS Panzer Division is still a bridge too far.

Screengrabs of the cached version of the Young Guns site from October 3, and the site as it currently reads, appear below. Click on them to enlarge.

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OH-09

Ohio Tea Partier Spent Weekends Playing Nazi Games (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 8, 2010, 10:40PM

Rich Iott

The Atlantic's Josh Green reports that millionaire businessman Rich Iott, the Republican nominee challenging Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D) in Ohio's Ninth District, has an unusual hobby: He likes to pretend he's a Nazi.

Iott, a tea party-backed candidate, spent time fighting another battle before he hit the campaign trail against Kaptur as a member of the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division, a group of Ohio World War II reenactors.

According to their website, the Wikings strive to "salute" the "idealists" from occupied northern Europe who saw the Third Reich as "the protector of personal freedom and their very way of life" and signed up to fight for the Wermacht and "gave their lives for their loved ones and a basic desire to be free."

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