Ohio Democrats are calling on the president of the state Board of Education to resign after she compared President Barack Obama with Adolf Hitler on her Facebook page.
State Board of Education President Debe Terhar (R-Green Township) denied she was comparing Obama to the Nazi dictator and removed her Facebook page after she shared a Hitler reference posted by another group over the weekend. Groups opposed to Obama's gun control proposals have been comparing the president with Hitler.
Terhar, a Cincinnati Republican elected last week by the 19-member school board to a second term as its president, recently posted the picture with this commentary: “Never forget what this tyrant said: ‘To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.’ -- Adolf Hitler.”
The photograph apparently originated with the Facebook page of Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children, which features a variety of anti-Obama, pro-gun posts and photos, such as scantily clad women hoisting large guns, a polar bear with the words “Holy f*** I’m glad I’m white,” and another saying “Where’s Lee Harvey Oswalt when you need him?”
Terhar told the Dispatch that she was not suggesting that Obama was Hitler. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Terhar sought to clarify the statement. Terhar removed her Facebook page following the explanation, according to Cincinnati.com. Ohio Democrats have distributed a screen shot of the explanation.
In her explanation, Terhar said that she was reposting someone else's comment and did not share her own thoughts. She said that she would stop sharing thoughts on the social media site.
"I received a photo that had a quote attributed to a tyrant," Terhar wrote. "The quote referred to gun control. I did not research to check that the quote was accurate. Not sure everyone does. I also made no comment on the repost."
Terhar, a former Montessori teacher, was elected to a four-year term in 2010 representing a Cincinnati area district. She was elected earlier this month to a one-year term as board president. Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern has called on her to step down from the post.
“While there is always room for respectful differences in opinions, State School Board President Terhar’s Facebook posting crossed a clear line by connecting the President’s national discussion on guns to Adolf Hitler,” Redfern said in a statement. “President Terhar’s invocation of Hitler is dangerous and should not be tolerated by Governor Kasich and the rest of the State School Board.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly listed Terhar's name as Dede instead of Debe. We regret the error.
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