Tim Gillis
Journal Contributor
In order to be voted into Congress these days, there are certain qualities an individual must have: a trustworthy face and a whole heap of money. But now that Rich Iott is in the picture as a Congressional candidate for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, the ballpark has opened up a little.
Originally from Ohio, Iott was President and CEO of the Seaway Food Town grocery chain until 2000, and has been an executive film producer since 2007. Additionally, he has served in the Ohio Military Reserve since 1982. And if these things are not interesting enough, Iott also likes to dress up as a Nazi and reenact World War II to learn and teach history.
In his defense, the Nazi reenactment group’s website, Wiking.org, does claim that the group does not hold the Nazi views and are not racist in anyway. It claims that the group is solely for educational purposes.
Iott has stated that he only does the reenactments to spend time with his son. Because taking your kid to an Ohio State game is overrated these days anyway, right? He also has set up an alter ego in his own mind, named Reinhard Pferdmann. Pferdmann, in Iott’s mind, is a courageous soldier who fought for the Axis powers during the war. The whole alter ego business caught me by surprise, and it seems like there might be a few screws loose in that head. I’d be the last person to call someone crazy, however, so I’ll let the media take care that.
When I first heard about this guy, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. After all, I didn’t want to automatically mark him up as a jackass based on one instance. I looked all around to try to and find something positive about him, but the more and more I looked, I kept finding interviews and more information that made Iott look like a blubbering fool who never gives a straightforward answer.
When asked by Fox News’ Laura Emerson to explain why he listed his occupation as a “soldier” for the state of Ohio, Iott denied remembering anything about it. He asked for verification of the document, and unfortunately for him, he was handed it within 30 minutes. When he realized there was no way out of the situation, he spewed out some garbage and began talking in circles: “Uh, no, actually, I can’t. I… am a soldier of the State of Ohio – I’m in the Ohio Military Reserve – And I don’t know – I don’t know how that was – got that way, to be honest with you.”
My point is that if someone wants to wear a Nazi uniform, it doesn’t affect my life. It is their choice and as long as they don’t harm anyone while they are doing it, they have the freedom to. That’s what is so great about this country after all. But for that man to try to become a leader of the country is absolutely absurd. The citizens of America are growing tired. We are tired of recession, tired of outrageous prices, and tired of being told what is going to happen by some rich bastard who won’t lose a wink of sleep if I starve to death tonight. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that I really just need a little bit of hope that just maybe there is an honest man or woman out there who does care. And I can tell you that if Iott does get elected, that would ruin the little bit of hope I have left.
If a person wants to run around in a Nazi uniform and shoot fake assault rifles then so be it. People get so worked up these days about how other people want to live their lives. If no one is being harmed in any way, then no one should stress about it.
This life is way too short and complicated enough without constantly freaking out about how other people live. But leading a country is a different situation. Given enough power, who knows what Iott, (or better yet Pferdmann) could do? I think David Kushma of the Toledo Blade said it best: “Give Iott the benefit of the doubt, not votes.”
