WASHINGTON — Mary Miller, the newly sworn-in member of Congress from Oakland, told those taking part in a rally Wednesday outside the U.S. Capitol that Adolf Hitler “was right on one thing.”
Her comments were captured on a video and posted on Twitter by a woman in the crowd. The comments have prompted a host of negative responses.
“If we win a few elections, we’re still going to be losing unless we win the hearts and minds of our children. This is the battle,” Miller is heard saying in the video. “Hitler was right on one thing. He said, ‘Whoever has the youth has the future.'”
Miller represents the 15th Congressional District, having replaced John Shimkus who chose not to seek reelection.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker addressed Miller’s remarks in his Wednesday COVID-19 press conference.
“Let me be clear. Hitler got nothing right. This reprehensible rhetoric has no place in our politics,” Pritzker said. “Illinois Republicans cannot allow this to stand and must condemn this vile and evil streak in their party,” Pritzker said.
He went on to add that if Miller “was the least bit interested in history” she would visit the state’s Holocaust Museum and Education Center to learn “just how wrong Hitler really was.”
The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also called for her resignation.
“We knew there is a white supremacy problem brewing within the ranks of the GOP that has recently ebbed to the top, including all the way to the presidency, but even by those standards, this is stunning,” said Ahmed Rehab, the group’s executive director.
Miller, an ardent Donald Trump supporter, had previously announced she would oppose certification of the election results that had Joe Biden elected president.
“Everyone acknowledges that fraud did take place in this election,” Miller said in a news release issued Wednesday morning. “The point of contention is just how much fraud took place. We need to have zero tolerance for fraud, and we need to have confidence in our elections. The argument that there might not be enough fraud to change the outcome is irrelevant. America is not a banana republic. We can and should do better.”
Miller said her objection to the certification of the election goes beyond what happened last November.
“The objection here is about future elections,” Miller said. “We need meaningful election reforms in this country, and my hope is that by highlighting the numerous problems with the last election, we can get the reforms we need.”
Scott Perry, Herald and Review, Decatur, Ill.