Speaking to members of an anti-immigration group over the weekend, GOP gubernatorial candidate Christian Fong made efforts to compare the actions of Chinese communists in the mid-20th Century to those of President Barack Obama.

According to The Des Moines Register:

Chinese communists swept to power in the last century without mentioning plans to nationalize businesses or institute forced abortions, Republican gubernatorial candidate Christian Fong told supporters of the Iowa Minuteman Civil Defense Corps on Saturday.

“They came in promising hope and change,” Fong said. “Sound familiar?”

This line of attack against the president is nothing new for some elements of the Republican base, but so far Fong has managed to strike a more moderate tone in his campaign, especially when discussing immigration.

In an interview with the Carroll Daily Times Herald earlier this month, Fong warned his party to be careful to “not sound so angry” when discussing immigration. And later in his speech to the Minutemen, Fong, the child of an immigrant from China and a woman from Nebraska, said the party’s message must be tempered with an acceptance of those who come into the country legally.

When he first entered the campaign in July, some of his positions were seen as potentially controversial to to Iowa’s conservative Republican base. He was even attacked by some in the social conservative movement for not openly condemning homosexuality as evil.

Insinuating that Obama will “nationalize businesses or institute forced abortions” appears to be Fong’s attempt to reach out to his party’s base and quiet down any criticism that still lingers about his political beliefs.