GOP Rep. Eric Burlison, Mad Over Dropped Newsmax, Invokes Holocaust
That DirecTV no longer carries the right-wing channel is apparently as urgent a cause as resisting the Nazis’ rise to power.
Just a few days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) compared the urgency of DirecTV dropping conservative channel Newsmax to the lack of resistance that some Germans showed during the Nazis’ rise to power.
During a speech on the House floor Tuesday, the freshman congressman felt compelled to invoke an often-quoted confession by German pastor Martin Niemöller after complaining about companies who “choose to silence conservative speech.”
“And now they’re going after Newsmax,” Burlison huffed.
“You know, there’s a famous quote about what happened during the Holocaust…when the Nazis first came for some and people said nothing, and then eventually they’ll come for you,” Burlison said clumsily, not even bothering to give an accurate quotation of the piece. “And I say this not as a Republican or a Missourian, but as a concerned citizen for a country who has these rights that were here because of the blood that was shed by thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of patriots from the time of the American Revolution until today.”
If Burlison’s comment sounds familiar, it’s because Daily Caller reporter Brianna Lyman called attention to the same piece of writing during a Newsmax interview about DirecTV over the weekend.
Over the weekend, Newsmax also invoked the Holocaust while complaining about DirecTV canceling them.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) February 1, 2023
In that instance, a Daily Caller reporter said Fox News needed to "speak up and speak out" against DirecTV before also citing the "First They Came" poem about the Nazis. https://t.co/JVlzVsBmTg pic.twitter.com/R2ho3M2raA
Since DirecTV cut Newsmax loose last week, network hosts pleaded for the government to come to its aid. Ultimately, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said the matter will indeed be the subject of congressional hearings.
Despite Burlison’s insistence that conservatives’ voices are being muzzled, it didn’t take DirecTV long to replace Newsmax with another right-wing network that offers commentary programs from the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Dana Loesch.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.