Via the Standard, enjoy as a ranting, wildly gesticulating mustachioed demagogue demonizes his political opponents without a whiff of irony.

“I think (Christie) is doing the same thing that Scott Walker is doing in Wisconsin,” Lee Saunders, secretary-treasurer of AFSCME, told The Associated Press. “It’s unacceptable to preclude us from the right to collectively bargain for our rights.”…

“I’m down here protesting all the pimps, thieves, prostitutes and racketeers,” [firefighter Lou] Venezia said, “and I’m not at Trenton State Prison, I’m at the Statehouse.”

Lesniak, D-Elizabeth, who was opposed by the NJEA in a tough primary election last week, pledged his support but urged Democrats to distance themselves from inflammatory genocide remarks.

“We cannot support equating Chris Christie and Steve Sweeney and Sheila Oliver with Nazis,” Lesniak said. “We support your rights totally, but we cannot be associated with those comments.”

I’m tempted to make a “new tone” joke, but I think the last sheen of ironic mirth wore off of those after all the death threats sent to GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin during the protests. Speaking of which, the AFSCME functionary raises a good point: Isn’t it Scott Walker who’s supposed to be Hitler in organized labor’s “Republican/Nazi” taxonomy? Given his size and slightly lesser stature, Christie’s really more of a Hermann Goering figure at this point, I’d say. Oh well. Room to grow.

Update: He’s now sorry for having made the Christie/Hitler comparison over and over and over again.