From Thom Hartmann’s blog today:

Are We Seeing a Repeat of the Brownshirts?

You Need to know this! An ugly scene took place outside the Kentucky Senatorial debate Monday night. A man who appears to be supporter of Republican candidate Rand Paul was captured on TV by a local news affiliate literally stomping the head of a member of MoveOn.org into the pavement. The MoveOn volunteer, Lauren Valle, went to the hospital and was still there last night, according to another MoveOn member.

According to a local TV station, Valle had attempted to approach Rand Paul before the debate took place, dressed in a blonde wig and with a “RepublicanCorp” sign seemingly to mock him. Attendees around Valle are heard screaming, “get the cops” as cameras captured her being dragged to the pavement by her sweater. Once on the ground a man wearing white sneakers stomped on her head. The police say they are reviewing news footage and they “are hoping someone can identify who the person is” who committed the assault.

I know Glenn Beck irresponsibly throws around the word “Nazi” – he did it again yesterday – to describe liberals. But it’s worth noting that Hitler’s early supporters, during his beer-hall days when he was running for office, were famous for beating up supporters of his political opponents. If you read William Shirer’s “Rise And Fall of the Third Reich,” you’ll find eerie parallels – from the authoritarian candidates like Paul and Miller, to the violent rhetoric of Palin and McCain, to the brutal supporters of these candidates – with Hitler’s early unpaid volunteer supporters who proudly called themselves “the Brownshirts.”

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UPDATE: Assault perpetrator identified.

Full story in Huffington Post here.
“A spokesman for the Lexington Police Department said on Tuesday afternoon that “Mr. Profitt is currently being served with a criminal summons ordering him to appear before a Fayette County District Court Judge.”