“Now we’ve got a new bunch of Hitlers”

Linda Ronstadt has taken up the rhetoric of her new mentor and hero Michael Moore:

Don’t get her [Ronstadt] started on the recent presidential election. “People don’t realize that by voting Republican, they voted against themselves,” she says. Of Iraq in particular, she adds, “I worry that some people are entertained by the idea of this war. They don’t know anything about the Iraqis, but they’re angry and frustrated in their own lives. It’s like Germany, before Hitler took over. The economy was bad and people felt kicked around. They looked for a scapegoat. Now we’ve got a new bunch of Hitlers.”

Here’s what happened earlier this year that created quite a stir:

More temperate remarks got Ronstadt into hot water in June, when while performing at the Aladdin Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, she dedicated an encore of Desperado to Michael Moore, controversial director of the anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Ronstadt had cited Moore at many previous concerts without any problems, she says, and she learned of unrest at the Aladdin after hearing TV reports that concertgoers had thrown drinks and ripped down posters.

Hey Linda: “You’re no good, you’re no good, you’re no good, baby you’re no good.” (Recognize those lyrics?)