I love that episode, too. I don't recall it ever being clear if the references were literal historical, mythical, or what. And anyway, when we make references to history we are necessarily using our mythologized, cultur-dependent version of it. You refer to Napoleon the myth, more than Napoleon the human.
To me, the point is using common cultural stories or referents - historical or fictional is not relevant.
Ron Paul is a real person, and he did raise his arms in a famous historical moment. I think he even said "It's happening". But just like Bismarck with a bloody uniform, the point is not the literal reality but rather what that moment signifies in our common cultural frame of reference.
From another angle: Bismark meant something very different in 1870 Prussia, 1918 USA, and 1937 Germany. In fact even with a historical figure or event, you are stuck referring to the contemporary cultural associations.
I think this is actually wgat we do when we drop gifs into conversation: we pull up a moment from Friends or Seinfeld that all participants are familiar with, to lend their emotional tenor to the conversation. And if you don't get the original reference, you very quickly pick up on the meaning. (I had no idea that it was Drake doing the clever idea meme, but I knew just what that reply meant!)
Bottom line, references to history, to memes, or gifs are fascinating ways to communicate based on shared culture and I enjoy using them.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.