COLUMBUS – Despite polls that show the majority of Americans feel the steps taken to prevent COVID-19 infections in their area are appropriate, there have been objections to the closing of non-essential businesses in Ohio and other states and some of the backlash has taken a nasty tone.
Governor Mike DeWine, the president of the Ohio Senate and officials from both parties are condemning comments on Facebook by the wife of state Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Powell) comparing Health Director Dr. Amy Acton’s coronavirus response to the actions of Nazi Germany.
I am deeply concerned by the anti-Semitic sign at Ohio’s Statehouse during a recent protest rally. The sign was vile and disgusting. While even disgusting speech is constitutionally protected, it still demands condemnation.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) April 23, 2020
Brenner vowed in a comment on the post – which has since been removed – that he would not allow the state’s shutdown due to the coronavirus to resemble Germany under the Third Reich. When millions of Jews were exterminated in concentration camps.
Acton is Jewish and DeWine defended her while blasting the post as “a slur on a good, compassionate, and honorable person who has worked non-stop to save lives and protect her fellow citizens.”
“I, along with the Republican caucus, strongly disapprove of these comments and believe that any such comparisons or analogies are not only absurd but also harmful. This is a time for cooperation, not inflammatory and overblown rhetoric,” Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) wrote in a statement.
Brenner took to social media to defend himself, claiming he was misquoted by the online news site reporting the story.
“I would never, ever say what I am accused of saying. I understand that while people may differ on policy issues, the manner in which it was reported was upsetting, inflammatory and hurtful…I apologize to Dr. Acton, because I’m sure she was offended by the comments as they were reported,” Brenner wrote.
It was too little too late for leading Democrats in the Statehouse.
“Only sick logic could connect Ohio’s policy of saving thousands of lives during this crisis with Nazi Germany’s final solution of destroying 6 million lives,” Rep. David Leland (D-Columbus) said.
The comments were posted on Tuesday, which is Holocaust Remembrance Day, a set aside to commemorate the Nazi genocide of Jews during World War II.
“To make this comparison any day of the year, let alone on Holocaust Remembrance Day, is outright reprehensible. For anyone to think this was acceptable behavior is alarming, most of all a state senator elected to serve Ohioans of all religions and backgrounds,” said Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron).
DeWine also minced no words when asked about an anti-Semitic sign on display during a Statehouse protest Saturday, calling it “vile and disgusting.”