Does A Former YAF Chair Support WWII Era Anti-Jewish Laws?

On December 22nd, 2005 former YAF Chair-at-large Craig Burgers wrote a post celebrating Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The post is titled "Berlusconi Rejects Political Correctness".

The article is about controversy surrounded a gesture by Italian soccer team Lazio's Paolo Di Canio giving a gesture interpreted by some to be a Fascist salute, common during the Mussolini era. Defenders claimed it was a Roman salute.

Burgers celebrates Berlusconi's "politically incorrect' decision to defend the soccer player

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's Prime Minister, sought to make light of the controversy over Paolo Di Canio's use of the Fascist salute at a football match on Sunday, saying the Lazio striker was simply an incorrigible exhibitionist.

Interestingly Burgers cuts out a paragraph of the article and focuses on a paragraph that quotes Berlusconi, going from the main story of the article to a quote that's pro-Mussolini and a defense of laws against Jews

"Fascism is finished, Communism continues," he snorted. Mussolini's era hadn't been so bad, he added, explaining that Fascist racial laws against Jews were only introduced to help the Axis war effort....

This seemingly non sequitur cut raises some questions. YAF has made it quite clear they do not support politically correctness, with the national site having an article calling it the "New Marxism". That said, emphasizing Berlusconi's defense of the anti-Jewish laws shows an appreciation of the "politically incorrect" sentiment.

The current article is unavailable in whole from the Independent without subscription, but LexisNexis allows us to see the next paragraph.

'Fascism in Italy was never a criminal doctrine. There were the racial laws, horrible, but because one wanted to win the war with Hitler,' Mr Berlusconi told foreign journalists.

The political correctness that Burgers celebrates is two-fold. First, he celebrates the defense by Silvio Berlusconi of a possible Fascist salute and Berlusconi's defense of World War II Era laws against Jews set up to appease Hitler and help him win the war.

In another post on November 24th, 2005, Craig Burgers says "God bless Silvio Berlusconi. He is one of my favorite Italians, next to Congressman Tom Tancredo of course. Here are some selected quotes courtesy of the BBC:"

Among the selected quotes Burgers loves is a one of Berlusconi to German member of the European Parliament Martin Schulz

"I know that in Italy there is a man producing a film on Nazi concentration camps - I shall put you forward for the role of Kapo (guard chosen from among the prisoners) - you would be perfect."

Other pro-Berlusconi articles can be found on April 10th. These may have been written by Craig Burgers as well, though no name appears.

There is even more to know about Craig Burgers. He is a National Director of the National Young Americans for Freedom, and he lists Confederate President Jefferson Davis as one of his top five heroes.

Burgers is also an active member of the Republican Party. The Ingham County Republican Party lists him as a member of the Executive Committee, as well as having run him as the 2006 candidate for the Ingham County Board of Commissioners in the 8th district (he lost).