Is it possible that Republicans truly believe that President Obama is both a socialist, and a fascist, who wasn't born in the United States, and that providing affordable health care to American families is a plot to destroy America? Could they possibly believe that Dick Cheney kept America safe, or that George Bush was protecting the American way of life? And is it possible that they consider their incendiary rhetoric simply innocent speech, and don't recognize that during this time of severe hardship, they could very easily incite insurrection within the country? It's not likely.
Thus, it is way past the time for anyone who truly loves America to realize that the Republican leadership is a threat to our way of life — and as always, I want to emphasize the huge distinction between true conservatives, and those currently running Republican Party.
The current Republican leadership is a vastly different breed than anything we've ever seen in America before. Even during the Civil War, though wrongheaded, the insurrection of the South was led by people who truly believed in their ideals. But this group of insurrectionists have no ideals. This is a group that is perfectly willing to tear America apart for no other reason than to promote their own power and personal greed. In short, they're nothing less than common thugs engaged in a nationwide protection racket against the people of the United States.
In the recent contest in New York's 23rd Congressional District, we just saw that, contrary to Reagan conservatives' eleventh commandment of "Thou shall not speak badly of another Republican," this group was more than willing to eat their own, against the will of the vast majority of Republican voters, for what they consider "party purity." Where have we seen that before?
And the mere fact that the GOP is willing to espouse outrageous propositions, then use incendiary rhetoric to incite reactionary wingnuts to try to shove their agenda down America's throat, clearly demonstrates how dangerous the GOP has become as a political entity. It shows that they hold the intelligence of the American people in absolute disdain, and that they believe that propaganda, if repeated often and loudly enough, will overwhelm America's common sense. And again, it also betrays a chilling and grossly irresponsible willingness to throw America under the bus in an attempt to regain power, during a time when the country needs solidarity more than ever.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dave Nalle
So this is not just an exercise in hyperbole.
Yes it is. It's that and not much more. Except for your blatant violation of Godwin's Law, of course.
You seem to have no grasp on the nature of the GOP, its past actions, its intentions or really anything that happens in the real world. You seem to have instead been programmed with an agenda of hate and misinforamtion, perhaps by the socialist propagandists at thinkprogress.org.
Let me just do one thing to help you out and set you straight on the NY-23 situation. It was not the GOP leadership which opposed Scozzafava. The GOP leadership picked her, backed her and raised money for her. Hoffman's candidacy was backed by radicals who are largely independents and openly hostile to the GOP. Listen sometime to what those people say about Michael Steele and about the GOP leaders who picked Scozzafava. Glenn Beck, for example, is outspoken about not being a Republican and attacks traditional Republicans on a regular basis.
What you saw in the Scozzafava debacle was the GOP assaulted by the extreme right, and the end result was that the GOP was proven right and the extremists were proven wrong.
As for the rest of the claptrap about corporatism and hypocrisy, take the beam out of your own party'e eye before going after the splinter in the GOP's eye.
Dave
2 - Christine
There are 686,515 sex offenders in the United States. If the GOP could turn out (excuse the pun) all of those sex offenders before a camera, they could use that photo op to make the case that these sex offenders represent a majority of the American people. And that's exactly what they're doing, but instead of using sex offenders, they're enlisting FoxNews to gather up every social bigot and wingnut they can find to squeeze before the camera.
This is one of the most hateful articles that I've ever seen on BC. This puts some of the Rush Limbaugh hyperbole, who I personally can't stand, to shame.
3 - Wattree
Dave, you said:
"Let me just do one thing to help you out and set you straight on the NY-23 situation. It was not the GOP leadership which opposed Scozzafava."
Let me set you straight, Dave. The radical wingnuts are actually the ones who are running the GOP. That's why Scozzafava had to be pulled. When I refer to GOP leadership, I'm not referring to Michael "the puppet" Steele, I'm referring to Limbaugh, Beck, and Palin. I thought that went without saying, since any fool should know that.
4 - Silas Kain
Bill Maher made a very good point last night on Letterman. He said (paraphrasing here)the Democrat Party is moving to the right and the Republicans are just extremist, religious fanatics who belong in a loony bin.
He's right. And, for the record, he's not as progressive as "conservatives" make him out to be. He is more consistent with Goldwater than the majority of self-loathing, sexually frustrated Hitlerians currently controlling the GOP.
5 - zingzing
hitlerians? that's a good one. gonna write that down. i mean "right" that down. just in case.
in case of... (we'll see what they come up with)
6 - Wattree
I'm very sorry you see my position as hateful, Christine.
I don't hate anyone, and if you continue to read me you're going to fnd that out pretty quickly.
I'm a bottom line person,and I call my column "Beneath the Spin" because I specialize in saying those things that everyone else find it convenient to ignore, because that's generally where the truth lies.
I anger Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, young, old, Jews, Gentiles, rich, poor, liberals, and conservatives, because my oly agenda is to follow the truth wherever it leads.
I may not always be correct in my assessment of the facts, because I have long since recognized that I corner the market on neither intellect nor wisdom. But what you can always depend on getting from me is the unvarnished truth, as I see it.
One of the publications that I write for, and will be running this article this article next week, is ultra conservative. I get along with it's readers quite well, because they know that even though they may disagree with me, that I'm never vindictive.
Therefore, if I write something that you disagree with, please educate me. Because I would rather be educated than to win a debate, any day. Test me on that.
7 - Christine
Wattree: well other than the sex offender reference...
Thus, it is way past the time for anyone who truly loves America to realize that the Republican leadership is a threat to our way of life â€" and as always, I want to emphasize the huge distinction between true conservatives, and those currently running Republican Party.
Even though you breifly laid out a distinction there, I hardly think that Palin, Beck and Limbaugh are running the GOP. And most intellegent people do know that. Even us conservatives!
The rest of your article is a serious critique of the GOP, which is fair game, however, which is it the few or the entire GOP? Sounds like an attack on the entire group considering you started with Bush and Palin wasn't even known then.
Comparing the GOP to hitler reminds me of those few hate mongers that brought their stupid hitler signs to the Tea parties. So how are you different?
Lastly,
So it is past time for all Americans to put their difference aside to fight an internal enemy that is much more insidious than al Qaeda.
Is the GOP, then, worse than hitler and al Qaeada? Wow, that is quite an indictment. Need I say more?
8 - Dave Nalle
Let me set you straight, Dave. The radical wingnuts are actually the ones who are running the GOP. That's why Scozzafava had to be pulled. When I refer to GOP leadership, I'm not referring to Michael "the puppet" Steele, I'm referring to Limbaugh, Beck, and Palin. I thought that went without saying, since any fool should know that.
Limbaugh, Beck and Palin are hardly the GOP leadership. None of them holds any official position and Beck claims he isn't even a Republican. Once again, you are confusing the most extreme elements of the conservative right with the Repoublican Party. They are not the same thing. The Republican party is diverse and includes some people from that part of the political spectrum, but far more who are moderate or more traditional conservatives. This is not a theory or speculation, it is fact. Check out polls of the actual beliefs of people in the GOP sometime.
At the same time that Scozzafava was being supported by the GOP leadership they were also supporting equally moderate candidates like Chris Christie in New Jersey. No one tried to interfere with Christie's candidacy and he won his election to a far more significant office.
The Scozzafava situation was entirely about abortion. That's it. Pro-lifers went after her and made up most of the other complaints and roped in others based on their distortions. Their plan failed and they've lost some credibility as a result.
If anything this strengthens the moderate elements in the GOP like Michael Steele.
Your article and your subsequent comments show a fundamental ignorance of the Republican Party and recent political events.
I'll leave others to take you to task for your heinous bigotry and ridiculous hyperbole.
Dave
9 - zingzing
"Is the GOP, then, worse than hitler and al Qaeada? Wow, that is quite an indictment. Need I say more?"
welcome to our world.
and, no.
10 - Christine
Zing: welcome to which world? and, no????????????????
Not following, but you know me I take everything literally other than when it is followed by a LOL.
11 - Wattree
Dave,
When you mentioned Godwin's Law, my first reaction was, "Who the Hell is Godwin, and why should I care about his law when it comes to expressing my opinion?" So I looked him up, and I was right to ask myself tha question.
First of all, his law is ridiculous, and who is he to make a law that I should follow anyway? Let me give you another law - let's call it Wattree's Law. Never give else more credit for their ability to think than you reserve for yourself.
And BTW, there's a codicil to Godwin's Law:
"However, Godwin's Law itself can be abused, as a distraction, diversion or even censorship, that fallaciously miscasts an opponent's argument as hyperbole, especially if the comparisons made by the argument are actually appropriate. A 2005 Reason magazine article argued that Godwin's Law is often misused to ridicule even valid comparisons."
But I must admit, I am disappointed with myself that I'd never heard of it before. So I guess I owe you a vote of gratitude for adding to my education.
Thank you.
12 - Dave Nalle
Wattree, the codicil certainly doesn't apply here, because your argument is all hyperbole with very little validity. I'm not going to dignify it by explaining how ridiculous your hitlerian comparison is, but the fact that you make it suggests a distorted view of reality or a lack of historical knwoledge.
Dave
13 - Christine
Wattree: Pardon my gramatical and spelling errors. I usually have the honor of Clavos' and Dave's editing! And it is way past my bedtime.
14 - zingzing
christine, in right-ous land, obama=hitler.
hitler.
15 - zingzing
"and no" means we don't answer your question affirmatively. although i would say that you people (you peoplle!) are the cause of a lot of the terrorism that does happen. if only you'd fucking calm the fuck down. we don't have to kill these people, we have to understand them. stop bombing them. stop waging war. stop fucking up our world. what the hell is wrong with you? you're just as bad as they are. so cut it out. you aren't terrorists, but you act like them.
if we could get rid of the war-mongering conservatives, we'd be at peace. and do you know what peace is? it's GOOD. so stop fucking up this shit, assholes.
16 - Wattree
Dave, Christine:
maybe if you read an earlier article of mine yu may have a better take on my view the current the GOP. I have a deep understanding Republicanism. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that I've explored conservatism and the GOP (in which I always make a distinction) thoroughly than most Republicans.
My son and daughter's Godfather was a Rabid Reagan conservative - an Irish conservative - and they don' come more conservative than that. Larry (now deceased) was so conservative that he thought unemployment insurance a slippery slop towards socialism. He didn't even call the USSR communist - he called them Bolsheviks - and he considered Richard Nixon a closet liberal who sold out to China.
While he loved Reagan, he thought Ron was wishy-washy and had spent a little too much time in Hollywood. He considered Nancy the true conservative
We used to get a pint of gin and discuss (argue) these issues deep into the night - every night. So I think I know just a little bit about the GOP and the conservative movement.
So I think that you just don't understand my definition of conservatism. If you get the chance,read this article, and I think you'll understand where I'm coming from a little better.
17 - zingzing
i do get a sense of joy from this.
18 - Jet Gardner
I very much liked this article (no surprise), and the fact that our rather large and vocal resident right has begun screaming "HERETIC!!! BLASPHEMER!!!" at the top of their lungs is no surprise.
As I've said many times before, I used to be a Republican until the religious right bought the GOP lock, stock and barrel.
19 - Arch Conservative
Is it possible that a black man could so wholeheartedly support the Democrat party, which has, through welfare, oppressed more black Americans than the GOP could ever dream of oppressing?
Apparently it is.
I think Watree assumes that being a Republican and being a conservative are on in the same in the USA circa 2009. He couldn't be more wrong though.
In fact, a large part of the reason Obama won, aside from the novelty of his skin color, the antipathy toward Bush, the Acorn fraud and the illegal alien vote, was conservatives abandoning John McCain and the GOP.
Many conservatives were greatly dismayed by Bush's spending and Mcamnesty the Maverick's positions on a whole host of issues and the GOP paid dearly for it.
I'm hoping that they got the message and will now do whatever it takes to prevetn Barry and Pelosi from turning us into France West.
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
We all need to work harder to install fear in those on both sides of the aisle in Washington.
20 - Christine
Wow, that is one of the calmest comments by Arch! And Zing, you are right we all need to calm down and that includes refraining from accusing the other side of being "hitler" and likened to Al-Qaeda. Both sides have their corruption, greed and extremists, yet having the good of each side balances out our country. A good thing.
Wattree, I tried to get access to that article..."page not found".
21 - Mark Saleski
I'll leave others to take you to task for your heinous bigotry and ridiculous hyperbole.
happy irony day everybody!
22 - Arch Conservative
I don't see where Christine called or even compared Obama to Hitler zing.
I did however See Silas comparing the GOP to Hitler.
The way I see it Obama is not Hitler..he's more of a pathetic skinny, Chavez wannabe.
23 - Jet Gardner
Am I the only one who sees clearly that if you argue with Arch [gross and insulting expletive deleted by me] Conservative, you are validating his opinions disguised badly as fact?
To argue with him/it is to argue with a brick wall and just as productive.
24 - Christine
Thanks Arch, in fact in a few of my articles I condemned the "hitler" signs coming from some of the Tea party events. And even condemned it here too on this thread!
25 - Dave Nalle
Wattree, your link to your other article doesn't work. But if you are redefining conservative or Republican you might want to do that in the article itself, as it's very confusing.
Dave