On the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, outraged fellow lawmakers by using a debate over a joint resolution in support of Armenian Genocide Day of Remembrance to launch a political attack.
GordonState of CO
Gordon specifically suggested that American soldiers calling Vietnamese citizens "gooks" during the Vietnam War was akin to the dehumanizing tactics (MP3) used by those guilty of the genocide of American Indians or jews in World War II.
Don't let a few key facts get in the way for Gordon.
Not only did American soldiers fight alongside one group of the Vietnamese people against another, but also as Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, shot back, “[The Vietnam War] was not a genocidal act against the Vietnamese people.” (MP3) Mitchell went on to chide Gordon for making such a suggestion. “No one, not the national leaders, not the soldiers that fought, not their commanding generals had genocidal intent, and I resent your implication – your attribution of that motive to American soldiers,” he added.
Gordon later apologized for insulting American soldiers and called his remarks “controversial” and “shortsighted.” (MP3) Or maybe we'll coin a new term. They were awfully "Brucelike".