GOP candidate: Violent overthrow of the government is 'on the table'

A Republican congressional candidate in Texas who once likened the US government to Nazi Germany went even further Thursday when he said a violent overthrow is "on the table."

Stephen Broden, a candidate for Texas' 30th District, backed away from some but not all of his past controversial remarks when he was confronted by WFAA.

In a 2009 interview with Fox News, Broden said that depopulation was the real agenda of the new health care law.

"This administration is trying to figure out how to deal with that stress and so they are doing end-of-life counseling in order to depopulate that particular group of people," he said.

Broden told WFAA that he no longer held that belief. "The direct answer to your question is, 'No,'" Broden told the news channel. "I don't think that they are trying to get senior citizens to die prematurely. I think they are entertaining end-of-life counseling based on economic viability."

In June of 2009, Broden implied that the Obama administration had orchestrated the financial problems in this country for political gain. But he now concedes that the crisis is real. "I think they are authentic crises facing this nation," he said.

That same month, the candidate seemed to compare the US to Nazi Germany.

"Let me tell you that is something that happened in Germany when the Jews were walking into the furnaces and they didn't even try to stop or fight their way," he remarked. "They walked in because they did not believe that this was happening. They didn't believe that humanity could be so evil. I am submitting to you tonight that is where America is right now. They are our enemies and we must resist them."

WFAA asked Broden if he believed Obama was like Hitler. "No. I do not," he said. He went on to clarify that it was also not accurate to say the US was like Nazi Germany. "There was a principle there that I was trying to connect with our current situation."

But there was one 2009 remark that Broden wasn't backing away from. "We have a constitutional remedy here, and the framers said, if that don't work — revolution."

The Texas Republican still believes that revolution is an option if elections don't bring change.

"Our nation was founded on violence; the option is on the table," Broden said. "I don't think that we should ever remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms."

"We have a right to get rid of that government and to get rid of it by any means necessary," he concluded.

Jonathan Neerman, head of the Dallas County Republican Party, told The Dallas Morning News that he disagreed with Broden.

"It is a disappointing, isolated incident," he said.

This video is from WFAA, uploaded to YouTube Oct. 21, 2010.