The Thomas Jefferson quote Barbra Streisand used for her November 8 statement regarding Bush's re-election first appeared on Democratic Underground by a poster claiming to be Elizabeth Edwards:
"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt. If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake."
The quote comes from a letter written by Jefferson to John Taylor following the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, a set of four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress under the John Adams administration. The laws were designed to control the activities of foreigners in the U.S. during a time of impending war with France, but in effect, the Acts were used to restrict the growth of the Jefferson Democratic-Republicans, not to be confused with today's modern Republican party.
The Acts backfired. Only one alien was actually deported and only ten people were convicted of sedition.
Confusing a law enacted by a war-time Congress with a vote cast by a war-time electorate, Streisand has taken Jefferson's quote out of context. She is essentially accusing the GOP of electoral tyranny and in doing so, she is blinding herself to the reality that more and more Americans find the Democrats' left-wing politics repulsive.
This post first appeared on Reporterette.com
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Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
super Reporterette, very good point, thanks! not sure why the pic isn't showing up
2 - Eric Olsen
hmm, now it is
3 - Eric Olsen
the Sedition Act also plays a key role here
4 - Voxxy
Perhaps the Democratic-Republicans were not to be confused with today's Republican party, but if Jefferson were around today, he would be a Republican.
5 - bhw
Make that a slave-owning Republican.
6 - RJ
And JFK would be a Hawkish, tax-cutting, anti-abortion Democrat.
History is funny that way...
7 - bhw
That's "over-sexed, hawkish, tax-cutting, anti-abortion Democrat" to you, bub.
8 - boomcrashbaby
she is blinding herself to the reality that more and more Americans find the Democrats' left-wing politics repulsive
Barbar's politics are not motivated by appealing to the majority. I'm sure she would love nothing more than to not be penalized in her career for being politically active and adhering to her values, but we all know that isn't the reality of the situation.
Barbara's politics stem from situations/people within her immediate family. She will adhere to those values at the cost of her career, although it is an unfair price to put on someone. She is of that character.
9 - Al Barger
Yeah, yeah, Bush is Hitler, blah, blah, blah.
What at least passingly interests me though is the specific choice of quote, picking something based on a metaphor about "witches." Does she not get how obviously this would be turned back on her, or is it a dare- like Michael Jackson naming his album Bad?
10 - Eric Olsen
or song "Out of the Closet"?
11 - jack e. jett
yeah yeah yeah
we all know that any celbrity democrat has NO right to speak his or her mind.
but those country and wester asswipes like tobe keith, and brookes and dunn...we better listen up to their verbiage cuz they iz so smarts and all.
jack e. jett
12 - fixer
I doubt it's taken in any context except that the reign of idiots will pass, be patient and they will do themselve in. After all they are idiots and they always do. It's pertinent today because of the circumstances of war and huge debt and witches in the whitehouse.
American Taliban may hate the truth, but the truth will always be there to bite them in the end.
13 - fixer
Oh, by the way. Right on Jack. Great point.