Maryland GOP Senate candidate offends Jewish leaders by comparing stem cell research to Nazi science, in front of Jewish leaders

Of course Michael Steele is the man who made up the fake "they threw Oreo cookies at me" controversy, so his civil rights radar is pretty much stuck on lying about incidents he's been involved in AND conveniently using civil rights as cover for his terrible record.

From the Baltimore Sun:

Discussing his position on embryonic stem cell research with Baltimore Jewish leaders yesterday, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele said he is "concerned about the destruction of human life" and made a comparison between the controversial science and experiments done on Jews during the Holocaust.

"You of all folks know what happens when people decide they want to experiment on human beings, when they want to take your life and use it as a tool," said Steele, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, to a crowd of about 40 at a Baltimore Jewish Council board meeting....

You, of all folks? Let's just say that "you of all folks" wasn't very pleased.

"If the lieutenant governor was drawing a comparison between stem cell research and human medical experimentation during the Holocaust, he must understand the pain this kind of analogy would inflict on survivors and their families," Art Abramson, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, said in a statement to The Sun. "We absolutely reject any comparisons between ethical and lifesaving medical research, and the horrors committed by the Nazis in their evil drive to create a master race. We welcome any clarification Lt. Gov. Steele can offer about his remarks."

Now get a load of Steele's response:

"When I was asked the question about stem cell research, I had just finished speaking at length about my first trip to Israel and the powerful memories I had of my visit to the Holocaust museum there," Steele said. "Those memories have had a lasting impression on me, but in no way did I intend to equate the two or trivialize the pain and suffering of more than six million Jews."

Uh, now he's going to lie about what he said by claiming he never compared the two? Of course he did. And rather than admit what he obviously did, and apologize for it, Steele takes his lead from George Bush - never admit you're wrong, never apologize.

The criticism continues:

Jewish Council board member Michele Lax said after the lunch that Steele's comments revealed a "total lack of sensitivity."

"I was just really shocked and outraged," said Lax, a retired attorney from Owings Mills. "I can't believe that he could make a comparison to the Nazis with embryonic stem cell research, which saves lives. It just shows you what his true colors are and how far right wing he is."

Sam Penn, a retired businessman and the board member who questioned Steele, said he thought the lieutenant governor's answer was "ludicrous."

"The Holocaust, they were killing people," Penn said. "Stem cell research, we want to help people."....

"Michael Steele's comments were offensive to both millions of Americans who stand to benefit from this research and to Holocaust survivors and their families," the congressman said. "Michael Steele has it backward. This is not about experimenting on humans. It is about saving lives."....

Curt I. Civin, a cancer research expert at the Johns Hopkins University, expressed disappointment with Steele, saying that it doesn't sound like he stands with the governor, who has indicated an openness to embryonic research.

"I certainly would reject any comparison between what stem cell researchers want to do and the Holocaust," Civin said. "What stem cell researchers want to do is learn about diseases. ... This is so unlike the medical horrors that were done during the Holocaust that I can't even begin to compare them. We're trying to save lives by doing this."

Douglas Greenberg, executive director of the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Institute, a group that was founded by director Steven Spielberg and has recorded the testimony of 52,000 Holocaust survivors, said he believes that politicians should never use the Holocaust to make a contemporary political point. He said he was pleased that Steele revised his remarks.

"What he originally said, whether he intended it to be or not, is an insult to those men and women who are still alive who survived these awful experiments," Greenberg said. "And also to the memory of 6 million murdered men and women and children."

Ladies and gentlemen, the man running for the US Senate from Maryland. Let's have a round of applause for another Republican profile in courage.