"Joe The Plumber" with his shotgun in his web video. (Photo: YouTube)

Ohio congressional candidate Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher shot back against critics of his campaign video that said gun control laws contributed to the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide with a post on the conservative blog site RedState.com. Mr. Wurzelbacher's post, entitled "I Can See Russia From My Backyard," blamed controversy over the video on an "onslaught of lies and distortions" spread by a "far left" media "propaganda machine," specifically ThinkProgress.

"Last week I released a video on the 2nd Amendment stating well-documented, historical facts about totalitarian leaders and their implementation of gun control laws prior to exterminating millions of their own citizens in 1911 Turkey and 1939 Nazi Germany," Mr. Wurzelbacher wrote. "Within hours, this far-left, anti-gun, liberal propaganda wing of the Center for American Progress organization–'Think Progress'–posted a false story with the blazing headline: 'JOE THE PLUMBER: GUN CONTROL CAUSED THE HOLOCAUST. As of this writing, that headline, or a similar variant thereof, is mentioned on the internet over 500,000 times....But none of these 'journalists' checked to see if that is what I actually said."

Mr. Wurzelbacher's video was first reported by The Politicker. It was subsequently picked up by ThinkProgress and a slew of other media outlets. The clip also provoked angry responses from Jewish groups in Ohio and Washington. In the clip, Mr. Wurzelbacher discusses the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide while shooting produce.

“In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917 one-point-five million Armenians, unable to defend themselves were exterminated,” Mr. Wurzelbacher says in the clip. “In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated.”

Mr. Wurzelbacher's spokesman, Phil Christofanelli, subsequently defended the clip to The Politicker by saying it's a "historical fact" gun control was a contributing factor in the Holocaust and that "it would seem the argument" would also apply to slavery in the United States.

“They always use gun control before abusing the rights of people, so, yeah, that’s our position and that’s what was said in the video. And there’s nothing offensive about it, it’s just historical fact,” said Mr. Christofanelli. “It’s a historical fact that Hitler implemented gun control before the Holocaust and that’s just a fact that was pointed out in the video.”

In his blog post, Mr. Wurzelbacher doesn't back down from any of the claims made in his video.

"The fact is, this video was to let voters know what I believe about gun rights," he wrote.

Though he stands by the clip, he claims the attention it received was part of a campaign to smear him. He cites past Saturday Night Live skits as other examples of the media misrepresenting conservative politicians.

"The mainstream media has become a propaganda machine. Their strategy is to create a fictional narrative and exploit it to identify, isolate, and destroy their target," Mr. Wurzelbacher wrote. "Case in point: Sarah Palin never said she could see Russia from her backyard– that was a Saturday Night Live skit. Same with attributing 'strategery' to George W. Bush–that was Will Ferrell."

Mr. Wurzelbacher concluded his blog post by encouraging readers to support his congressional campaign against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur.

"So why am I telling you all this? It’s pretty simple: you see, the gun hating liberals want to re-write history, and they need people like me to shut up. I, for one, will not," he wrote. "Please go to my website and support to my campaign so I can fight to preserve our 2nd Amendment and all the freedoms that make America the greatest country in history."

"Joe The Plumber" with his shotgun in his web video. (Photo: YouTube)

The National Jewish Democratic Council wants an apology from Ohio congressional candidate and 2008 election supporting actor Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher for his campaign video blaming the Holocaust on gun control. This evening, David A. Harris, president and CEO of the NJDC released a statement demanding Mr. Wurzelbacher apologize and remove the clip.

"Using the memories of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust to make a political point is never appropriate, under any circumstances. For Ohio Republican House candidate Samuel Wurzelbacher to imply that these innocent lives were taken because of gun control laws is simply beyond the pale," Mr. Harris said.

Mr. Wurzelbacher's video featured footage of the candidate on a shooting range discussing his belief gun control was a contributing factor in the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust.

“In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917 one-point-five million Armenians, unable to defend themselves were exterminated,” Mr. Wurzelbacher says in the clip. “In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated.”

Mr. Harris described the clip as one of several recent examples of Republicans exploiting the Holocaust including Congressman Allen West suggesting Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels would be "very proud" of Democrats for turning public opinion against the GOP, Newt Gingrich comparing liberals to Nazis and Michele Bachmann likening the debt crisis to the Holocaust.

"Wurzelbacher--who is just the latest in a long line of Republicans who seem to think it is acceptable to use the Holocaust for political gain--must apologize and remove this offensive video immediately," said Mr. Harris.

However, Mr. Wurzelbacher seems unlikely to comply with Mr. Harris' demands. This afternoon, his campaign spokesman, Phil Christofanelli, defended the video to The Politicker.

“They always use gun control before abusing the rights of people, so, yeah, that’s our position and that’s what was said in the video," Mr. Christofanelli said. "And there’s nothing offensive about it, it’s just historical fact.”

 Mr. Wurzelbacher also defended the clip in a series of Tweets this afternoon.

"Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf that his agenda would not be possible unless the people were disarmed. (Facts, Liberal hate them & ignore them)," he wrote.

Joe The Plumber (Photo: Getty)

Ohio congressional candidate and living 2008 campaign artifact Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher released a video yesterday in which he cited gun control as a contributing cause for the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. After The Politicker published a story about the clip, we noticed many angry responses from people who were offended by Mr. Wurzelbacher's claim gun control can be blamed for the Holocaust. We reached out to Mr. Wurzelbacher and got a call back from his campaign spokesman, Phil Christofanelli, who said "there's nothing offensive" about the video and discussed how gun control may have led to slavery in the United States too.

"Joe is a student of history. He knows that the founders read John Locke and they understood that the 2nd Amendment was always the people's last defense against tyrannical government," he said. "They always use gun control before abusing the rights of people, so, yeah, that's our position and that's what was said in the video. And there's nothing offensive about it, it's just historical fact."

Mr. Christofanelli said Mr. Wurzelbacher isn't the first person to suggest gun control was partially responsible for the Holocaust.

"It's a historical fact that Hitler implemented gun control before the Holocaust and that's just a fact that was pointed out in the video," Mr. Christofanelli said. "There's an entire organization called 'Jews For The Preservation of Firearm Ownership' who put forward the argument for years that gun control was a contributing factor to the Holocaust."

In addition to the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, Mr. Christofanelli also said gun control may have contributed the enslavement of African Americans.

"Well, blacks weren't allowed to own guns in the south, that's a historical fact as well," said Mr. Christofanelli. "So, it would seem that the argument would apply there as well."

"Joe The Plumber" and his shotgun in his new web video. (Photo: YouTube)

Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher, the 2008 campaign microcelebrity and Ohio congressional candidate, has an interesting theory about the Holocaust. Yesterday, Mr. Wurzelbacher released a campaign web video in which he blamed the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide on gun control laws.

"In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917 one-point-five million Armenians, unable to defend themselves were exterminated," Mr. Wurzelbacher says in the clip. "In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated."

Mr. Wurzelbacher's video features footage of him on a shooting rage blasting fruits and vegetables with a shotgun. As the clip draws to a close, Mr. Wurzelbacher, gun in hand, proclaims, "I love America."

The description of the video describes gun ownership as "our last line of defense" from tyranny and poses a rather existential question about Mr. Wurzelbacher's produce shooting hobby.

"If you hunt or just like shooting guns, the 2nd Amendment will always be a good thing. History also tells us it's our last line of defense in the face of an out-of-control government," the description says. "And killing fruits and vegetables is... what?"

Update (4:31 p.m.): We spoke to Mr. Wurzelbacher's campaign spokesman, Phil Christofanelli, who said "there's nothing offensive" about this video and suggested gun control may have also helped cause slavery in the United States.

Watch Mr. Wurzelbacher's video below.

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Joe The Plumber (Photo: Getty)

WASHINGTON -- As demonstrators affiliated with Occupy Wall Street protested on the street outside the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, The Politicker spotted 2008 election star, Tea Party activist and Ohio Congressional candidate Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher standing in front of the Mariott Wardman Park hotel where the conference is being held.

"This is America and they're allowed to protest, everybody is," Mr. Wurzelbacher said.

Mr. Wurzelbacher said he didn't step outside the hotel to see the demonstrators.

"I just came out just to catch a breath of fresh air real quick and head back in."

Though Mr. Wurzelbacher supports the Occupiers right to protest, he said they should follow the example of the Tea Party movement and stay within the limits of the law.

"I do believe, you know, like the Tea Parties and whatnot, they definitely should exercise getting the permits that are required, following the laws that are in place," Mr. Wurzelbacher said. "I don't think anybody gets any special treatment."