Time to choose
(An appeal to Conservatives to recognize just what their Party has come to represent, and to join us in a non-partisan effort to uphold and defend America's fundamental tenets of integrity, democracy, and accountability.)
* * *
You know, I must admit that I hadn't paid a whit of attention to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held yesterday. I mean, how many disingenuous talking points, fabricated rationales for international imperialism, and flat-out lies can one person take each week in 21st Century America?
Lord knows, we've already had to hear an avalanche of bullshit since Monday about "inherent" Executive authority, Katrina "relief" efforts, foiled terrorist plots, "compassionate" budget cuts aimed at the elderly and poor, Congressional ethics "reform," Vice Presidential directives to leak classified information for punitive partisan political purposes, Tom DeLay being appointed to not one but two key House sub-committees, inexcusable cronyism at NASA and the CPB, lies about White House ties to Jack Abramoff, overt "jury tampering" with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the dedicated, calculated, fabricated "justification" for the invasion of Iraq.
What finally piqued my interest in the CPAC, however, was the realization this morning that dangerous propagandist Ann Coulter was an invited, featured speaker at this gathering of the "best and brightest" conservative Republican minds. If you have a strong stomach, you can read some of her comments at RawStory (via The Psychotic Patriot); and even if you're prone to nausea, suck it up and look at the wildly applauded pronouncements of this shrill, divisive, know-nothing harridan of the Radical Right.
Because it's important for what it says about the Party in control of our nation.
I won't dignify this deplorable "pundit" by quoting her directly. In fact, I'd ordinarily not even link to anything the woman has written or said, so blood-curdling and heinous are her over-reported views. But the fact that someone of her ilk was not only invited to spew the unique form of vitriol for which she's known to a meeting of Conservative heavyweights, but cheered by those in attendance, is reason enough to remove this Party's leaders from power before they irrevocably corrupt our great democratic experiment.
Of course, if you're an intelligent, educated, reasonable individual (i.e. Liberal), you've already held these opinions of the GOP for some time now, and Coulter's irresponsible performance Friday doesn't reveal anything you didn't already know about the "ruling class." Given our suspicions about this Administration and its minions, the selection of Ann as an honored guest comes as no real surprise.
My appeal, then, is to Conservative and Moderate visitors of this site. Read those excerpts again. Close your eyes, and picture the laughter, the clapping, the ovations given to Coulter's venomous insensitivity and bigotry by the leaders of your Party. Let your thoughts expand to include the litany of obfuscation and treachery revealed about your President and Congressional officials this past week alone. Now open your eyes, look long and hard at your reflection in a mirror, and ask yourselves:
"Is this what I stand for?"
Is this representative of your vision for America? Is this indicative of your commitment to the founding principles of democracy, equality, reason, and compassion? Is Ann Coulter the face you want as spokesperson for the Grand Old Party? And is anyone who would legitimize her extremist views with applause and guffaws really qualified to make high-level decisions that affect your very lives, and the lives of those closest to you?
If your answer is "yes," than you truly are an enemy to be despised and destroyed, not just a foe on political terms, but a danger to the survival of simple human decency and common sense. Sorry, but I've reached a "zero tolerance" level with disciples of The Book of Ann.
But if your answer is "no" - and I suspect that there are a lot more of you out there than GOP mouthpieces would have us believe - then the time has come for you to step up and reclaim your Party from the terrifying zealots who've hijacked it since 1994. As I've said many times, opposition to this Administration is not a solely partisan issue. It is a struggle to protect the basic tenets of the American philosophy that has stood as a beacon of hope to the world for over 200 years - and that struggle includes you, too.
Don't you get it by now? It's not about R's and D's. It's about competence, not cronyism. It's about honesty, not stonewalling. It's about respect for the Constitution, not sidestepping it. It's about protecting human rights, not violating them. It's about confidence-building, not fearmongering.
It's about home defense and peace, not pre-emptive invasion and war.
Can it get any more obvious that those who control the Republican Party are not really interested in the "general welfare" of our nation, but instead are clever manipulators of popular myths and fears as a means of consolidating personal power? We on the Left don't mind if you have a Republican President every so often, as long as he's an individual who genuinely understands the responsibility of that office to the citizens of the nation, and not one who views the White House as an opportunity to grab everything in sight for himself and a small circle of friends.
So we need your support, Conservative America. Not with a political label attached, but in the name of pure and simple common sense. Not with a pre-requisite of some shift in Party loyalty, bit in the spirit of a loyalty we all should share, a loyalty to basic competence, honor, and legal behavior from those with the highest job titles in the land. Be honest - would you accept the things this group has done, the lies they've told, the rules they've ignored, the shit they've pulled, if it were your teenage child pulling it?
How, then, can you demand any less of the President of the United States and the leaders of your representative party?
The GOP made a truly significant choice yesterday by openly embracing Ann Coulter and her brand of bigotry, hatred, belligerence, and closed-mindedness as an official image of the Conservative vision for America. For the average Republican of good faith and good heart, the time has come to make a choice as well.
* * *
You know, I must admit that I hadn't paid a whit of attention to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held yesterday. I mean, how many disingenuous talking points, fabricated rationales for international imperialism, and flat-out lies can one person take each week in 21st Century America?
Lord knows, we've already had to hear an avalanche of bullshit since Monday about "inherent" Executive authority, Katrina "relief" efforts, foiled terrorist plots, "compassionate" budget cuts aimed at the elderly and poor, Congressional ethics "reform," Vice Presidential directives to leak classified information for punitive partisan political purposes, Tom DeLay being appointed to not one but two key House sub-committees, inexcusable cronyism at NASA and the CPB, lies about White House ties to Jack Abramoff, overt "jury tampering" with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the dedicated, calculated, fabricated "justification" for the invasion of Iraq.
What finally piqued my interest in the CPAC, however, was the realization this morning that dangerous propagandist Ann Coulter was an invited, featured speaker at this gathering of the "best and brightest" conservative Republican minds. If you have a strong stomach, you can read some of her comments at RawStory (via The Psychotic Patriot); and even if you're prone to nausea, suck it up and look at the wildly applauded pronouncements of this shrill, divisive, know-nothing harridan of the Radical Right.
Because it's important for what it says about the Party in control of our nation.
I won't dignify this deplorable "pundit" by quoting her directly. In fact, I'd ordinarily not even link to anything the woman has written or said, so blood-curdling and heinous are her over-reported views. But the fact that someone of her ilk was not only invited to spew the unique form of vitriol for which she's known to a meeting of Conservative heavyweights, but cheered by those in attendance, is reason enough to remove this Party's leaders from power before they irrevocably corrupt our great democratic experiment.
Of course, if you're an intelligent, educated, reasonable individual (i.e. Liberal), you've already held these opinions of the GOP for some time now, and Coulter's irresponsible performance Friday doesn't reveal anything you didn't already know about the "ruling class." Given our suspicions about this Administration and its minions, the selection of Ann as an honored guest comes as no real surprise.
My appeal, then, is to Conservative and Moderate visitors of this site. Read those excerpts again. Close your eyes, and picture the laughter, the clapping, the ovations given to Coulter's venomous insensitivity and bigotry by the leaders of your Party. Let your thoughts expand to include the litany of obfuscation and treachery revealed about your President and Congressional officials this past week alone. Now open your eyes, look long and hard at your reflection in a mirror, and ask yourselves:
"Is this what I stand for?"
Is this representative of your vision for America? Is this indicative of your commitment to the founding principles of democracy, equality, reason, and compassion? Is Ann Coulter the face you want as spokesperson for the Grand Old Party? And is anyone who would legitimize her extremist views with applause and guffaws really qualified to make high-level decisions that affect your very lives, and the lives of those closest to you?
If your answer is "yes," than you truly are an enemy to be despised and destroyed, not just a foe on political terms, but a danger to the survival of simple human decency and common sense. Sorry, but I've reached a "zero tolerance" level with disciples of The Book of Ann.
But if your answer is "no" - and I suspect that there are a lot more of you out there than GOP mouthpieces would have us believe - then the time has come for you to step up and reclaim your Party from the terrifying zealots who've hijacked it since 1994. As I've said many times, opposition to this Administration is not a solely partisan issue. It is a struggle to protect the basic tenets of the American philosophy that has stood as a beacon of hope to the world for over 200 years - and that struggle includes you, too.
Don't you get it by now? It's not about R's and D's. It's about competence, not cronyism. It's about honesty, not stonewalling. It's about respect for the Constitution, not sidestepping it. It's about protecting human rights, not violating them. It's about confidence-building, not fearmongering.
It's about home defense and peace, not pre-emptive invasion and war.
Can it get any more obvious that those who control the Republican Party are not really interested in the "general welfare" of our nation, but instead are clever manipulators of popular myths and fears as a means of consolidating personal power? We on the Left don't mind if you have a Republican President every so often, as long as he's an individual who genuinely understands the responsibility of that office to the citizens of the nation, and not one who views the White House as an opportunity to grab everything in sight for himself and a small circle of friends.
So we need your support, Conservative America. Not with a political label attached, but in the name of pure and simple common sense. Not with a pre-requisite of some shift in Party loyalty, bit in the spirit of a loyalty we all should share, a loyalty to basic competence, honor, and legal behavior from those with the highest job titles in the land. Be honest - would you accept the things this group has done, the lies they've told, the rules they've ignored, the shit they've pulled, if it were your teenage child pulling it?
How, then, can you demand any less of the President of the United States and the leaders of your representative party?
The GOP made a truly significant choice yesterday by openly embracing Ann Coulter and her brand of bigotry, hatred, belligerence, and closed-mindedness as an official image of the Conservative vision for America. For the average Republican of good faith and good heart, the time has come to make a choice as well.
posted by Bob P @ 2:00 PM
1 Comments:
Coulter is just a cartoon character, but she's a dangerous one because she uses humor (twisted humor, but humor nonetheless) to make extremism more acceptable.
You're right - Republicans should be distancing themselves from her. It's frightening that they actually legitimize her.
Btw, it's stunning to see the admin's 1-week "avalance of bullshit" all strung together like that. The arrogance and incompetence leave me breathless.
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