Tea Parties and Racism

Let's be honest. Racism exists. It exists in every group of people on the planet. There's not one element of our society where you won't find some racism. Blacks. Whites. Hispanics. Jews. Republicans. Democrats. Conservatives. Progressives. Californians. Floridians. New Yorkers. Texans. Marxists. Libertarians. Those who love Lady Gaga and those who despise her (please include me in the latter). Actors. Plumbers. Christians. Atheists. Canadians. Americans. Racists can be found in every group, but you don't label the entire group based on fringe elements of society.

So to smear an entire group as racist, unless they are Klan members or former Klan members like Democrat Senator Robert Byrd, is twisted and disingenuous to say the least. To select a group who you disagree with based on ideology, like the Tea Parties, and instead claim you disagree with them because there might be racists in their group, that's sick, subversive and undemocratic. But don't expect that to stop the leftists in the media or the Democrat Party under the newfound "unity" of Barack Obama.

Clearly, the agenda of Axelrod, Gibbs, the Journolist Group, the Kos Kids, and every other progressive or Democratic operative is to paint those who disagree with them as racist in an attempt to undermine their legitimate criticisms and to energize the Lefty base to come out and vote in the midterm elections. I hope it fails miserably.

To be on the Left is to never be called racist, not because there aren't racists there (again, see Robert Byrd, Rev. Wright, or Helen Thomas), but because conservatives see people as individuals. We understand that every individual is different, and we save our concern and name-calling  for dangerous ideologies like radical Islam or Communism.

While I abhor racism though, I encourage racists to express their racism openly. Not violently, but openly. The more vocalized racism is in our society, the easier it is to refute. Politically correct lefties want racism hidden. They encourage censorship and political correctness. I'm not sure what this solves, and I would welcome any progressive or Democrat to explain why it's better that racism gets subverted (kind of like Communism does these days) rather than be displayed out in the open.

Of course, all this name-calling and finger-pointing by the Left really proves is that 1) they are so threatened by the tea parties philosophy that they feel the need to demonize an entire group rather than tackle the arguments head-on, and 2) it takes way more courage to be on the right, because you will be attacked in cheap, petty, and unfair ways that progressives will never have to experience.

The funny thing is our president is African-American, the attorney general is African-American, our most successful TV personality is African-American, our most revered and highest paid athletes are African-American, the head of the Republican Party is African-American, the previous secretary-of-state is African-American, and frankly you'd be hard-pressed to find a nation with more African-Americans in such high-profile and successful positions. But rather than celebrate these achievements, rather than singling our nation out for being among the least racist, we are still wringing our hands, asking white males to apologize, and attempting to rewrite our laws in the name of "social justice."

Which just proves how far we've come. Charges of racism today have never rang more hollow or been hurled at more people who have no racist motives whatsoever. In other words, we need less talk about race, not more.

And if you disagree with me, you're probably a race-baiter.

Rush and the Left: E Pluribus Unum

Last week a megalomaniac in Colorado launched a balloon and called 911, claiming his six year old son had climbed inside. We all know now it was a hoax, and the media helped sensationalize it every step of the way. But that was hardly the biggest hoax that the media perpetuated last week. In fact, it was nothing compared to the fraudulent charges that so-called news organizations launched against talk show host Rush Limbaugh for simply seeking to buy an NFL franchise.

Rush Limbaugh, of course, is not the most popular person in the world. The way he presents the conservative case, though usually accurate and always entertaining, can be abrasive and off-putting to some, even conservatives on occasion. But you don't have to agree with Rush to come to his defense when the media attacks his character based on unsubstantiated allegations and false charges. That's what occurred last week when CNN, MSNDNC, and dozens of pundits started making up racist quotes that Rush Limbaugh never uttered.

Think about that. The media took on a mob mentality, making up facts to stop an American citizen from completing a private transaction in the free market. That's the stuff of authoritarian regimes and Pravda. It's banana republic in nature, showing a complete disregard for truth, justice, and reason. It's the exact type of abhorrent behavior that the Left accused the Bush administration of despite the facts in the Valerie Plame case. Now we see that the Left was merely projecting how they would use their own power.

Rush has been on the air for 15 hours a week, almost every week, for the last twenty years. In the age of YouTube, with all that audiotape, they couldn't find any evidence of incendiary, racist remarks to back up their claim that Rush was a bigot. So they made them up. Or they took quotes out of context where Rush was clearly being sarcastic. In one case he was quoting a liberal columnist.

But perhaps the worst part of all this is that no one in the media has expressed shame over their coverage. Even the retractions and apologies have been snarky. They may have missed the exact quote or even made it up, but still in their minds that doesn't prove that Rush isn't racist. In today's poor state of journalism, if the truth doesn't back up their agenda, the truth falls by the wayside.

These are dark days for America, brought to you by the most intolerant people our nation has produced - progressive Democrats. I don't think I'm understating that fact. I have never seen an angrier, more cowardly bunch than the progressive thought police. They undermine our freedom to act as individuals every step of the way, attacking not our ideas, but the very essence of our being. Disagree with their limited world view and you will be demonized, often labeled a racist, divisive, or an ignorant bigot.

The Left orchestrated a smear campaign against Rush, because they disagreed with him. Rather than debate his views point for point, they attacked him personally. They actively set out to destroy his pursuits outside of politics, to ruin him for his audacity to speak his mind. If it can happen to Rush, it can happen to anyone who finds themselves speaking truth to power. The Left's goal is to intimidate all conservatives into silence, not to debate but to suppress debate.

This runs completely contrary to the founding of this nation, but that's no surprise given the Left's hostility to America's founding principles. These people would shred the Constitution tomorrow if they could get away with it, because it's the only thing that prevents them from establishing a government that controls which rights are granted to the people, as opposed to a state where people grant power to the government.

If there's a phrase that best describes the democratic foundation of our country, it's "E Pluribus Unum," a latin inscription that means "Out of many, one." It's been a part of our national fabric since the founding, a motto that appears on the official seal of the United States as well as all of our coins.

Out of many, one. We are one nation made up of many ideas, many backgrounds, many religions, and many political persuasions. We don't agree on everything, but we elect a government that represents all of us, takes all differing opinions into account. We don't demonize those that disagree with us. We don't try to punish those that don't share our views. We take our debate to the open floor. We honor the traditions of this country and we make adjustments slowly after lengthy debate. America is a marketplace of ideas, and may the best ideas win.

E Pluribus Unum. This ideal is why we have succeeded like no other nation before us. It is the call to accept others, to work with others, to value individuals for their contributions to society rather than walk over individuals for fear their contributions may run counter to society.

Unfortunately, the Far Left in this country, the Obama administration, and to some extent the Democratic Party in general, no longer holds this to be true. We are supposed to be of one single mindset - to support the president as he passes his progressive agenda. Dissent and risk being called out as racist, homophobic, a hate monger, un-American, or standing in the way of progress. You will be vilified. Your motives will be questioned. For a political ideology so focused on diversity, progressives sure seem to have a problem with diverse points of view.

You might say the Democratic Party believes the motto reads backwards, "Out of one, many." They believe we are one collective, where the rights of the individual are infringed upon in the name of "the greater good." To defend the rights of many individuals is to break from the necessary conformity the Left desires to attain their collective Utopian vision. When the Left refers to the many, they refer only to the cosmetic ethnic makeup of the country. They don't wish to celebrate America as a whole. Instead they divide it up so that there's a celebration for black America, a celebration for gay America, a celebration for Islam or Jewish America. They fragment us and pit us against each other, try to make us envy one another, in the hopes we'll be too distracted to notice the loss of our liberties, negotiated behind closed doors.

So the Left pits minorities against Rush Limbaugh, organized by race-baiters like Al Sharpton. The Left pits a Van Jones or Anita Dunn against Glenn Beck. The leftist administration pits the media that they can influence, the media in line to receive huge amounts of money from the government (like General Electric, owner of NBC) against the independent-minded Fox News. They pit unions against tea party protesters. All of it is orchestrated from the highest levels of the left wing machine, whether it's Rahm Emanuel, the Center for American Progress, or MoveOn.org. If you don't believe me, just take a look at this video where Juan Williams, a liberal Democrat, starts to wake up to the truth behind the politics of personal destruction as left wing attack dogs try to paint him as "a house n**ger." Remind me again why conservatives are considered the divisive ones.

First they came for the banks. Then they came for the insurance companies. Then they came for Rush and Glenn Beck and Fox News. How long do you want to wait to stand up before they come after you?

You're Racist, America, So Get Behind the President

Are you against socialized medicine? Then you're a bigot. A redneck. A close-minded hate-monger. And you're probably racist (or a self-hating uncle tom). You are clearly a sore loser still bitter from last November's election. Get over it and stop using fear tactics to defend the status quo. The Republicans had eight years and they blew it. They have no plan and we have to do something. America voted for change.

There you have it in a nutshell. That's the "eloquent" argument most Democrats make for President Obama's health care reform. You may have noticed that none of these counterpoints have anything to do with health care policy. Republicans are dissecting the 1016 page bill, talking about the details of the legislation, while Democrats are talking about Republicans. Why do you think that is?

The answer is simple. The president and the Democrats are losing the health care debate and probably can't win it. At least not in America. Maybe in Switzerland. But fortunately, here in the states, we have enough informed citizens who are aware of the Constitution and individual rights: most importantly life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So if your policy works against the truths our founders held to be self-evident, as Obama's state control of health care does, it's going to be a tough sell. Hooray for America!

Enter Barack the Magnificent. If the public ain't buying it, better give them a better show. Obama has attempted just that. He's bussed in his union supporters and community organizers to shill for him at overstaged town hall events as far away as Montana. He's pre-selected town hall questions from contributors to his campaign. He's told his paid astroturf protesters to get in the faces of real American protesters, in some cases leading to violence. He's demonized insurance companies and doctors. And he's conducted closed-door negotiations with drug companies, ensuring their support for his legislation by promising not to reduce or negotiate payments they receive from Medicare.

He's got almost all the lobbyists from the AMA to the AARP on his side, not to mention the trial lawyers and unions, and yet he pretends he's fighting against the special interests. Did you ever think you would see the day when liberals would champion the big pharmaceuticals over the will of the people? It's happening under Obama, as Democrats sell out on all the principles their party held sacred under Clinton, from balancing the budget and reducing deficits to defending free speech. Yes, that's right. Protesters are dangerous, radical militants now that it's President Obama and not the Bush administration being protested.

The White House seems to have two strategies when it comes to defending their health care agenda, policies that would easily pass, I might add, if a majority of the public supported them. After all, the Dems easily control Congress. If Democrats in more conservative districts felt that their constituents were behind them, they would jump on the Obama bandwagon. Instead, they are seeing real anger and frustration at a president who hasn't delivered anything close to what he promised during the election - transparency, fiscal responsibility, and bipartisanship. Words. Just words.

These two strategies are the strategies of scoundrels, but we all know what political machine Obama hails from. They are to demonize and ridicule anyone who disagrees with the president and keep the public in the dark on the details of health care reform. One day the Secretary of Health, Kathleen Sebelius, is out there saying a public option isn't necessary, and the next day she is saying she was misquoted. One day the president is out there saying he will sign health care reform without a public option, the next day he is saying it's essential to bend the curve of health costs. One day Medicare is the model for Obamacare, the next day Medicare is the problem that necessitates health care reform. If you are confused at home, that's the intention.

There's a better chance state-controlled health care will gain support if its spoken in broad terms that keep you in the dark on the details of the "state-control" part. There's a better chance it will pass if there is more misinformation than information, so that you're not sure whether anything you've heard is true. The less you know, the less likely you are to oppose it. The less you know, the more it becomes an issue of trust. If you are confused, it must be because the Republicans and right wing "extremists" confused you. That's the strategy.

Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod know this. They know Obama won the election because he effectively convinced America that he is above politics, that he is someone the American people can trust, that he can bring change to all that is broken. These platitudes and slogans still sell better than any of Obama's policies, including health care reform. Obama the Symbol polls better than Obama the Liberal Salesman. So they are doing everything they can to make this a referendum on Obama the Symbol.

That's why Obama smiles and makes the talk-show rounds. He tells wild tales of health care failures and makes pretty promises of hope. Look at the president and his beautiful family. How can you not trust him? Are you going to believe the Republicans, the ones who got us in this mess? Are you a racist? Don't you want to bring the change that Obama wants to bring to health care?

Barack Obama said it's not about him, but believe me. It's all about him. The nitty-gritty details of the legislation are too convoluted and infringe on too many liberties to pass without a celebrity spokesman smiling all the way to the bank. Eliminate Obama from the equation and my guess is support for these reforms sinks to around thirty percent.

This is the future of every policy Obama is going to push as president. Whether it's closing Gitmo, cap-and-trade, state-control of health care, immigration, or reforming social security, expect Axelrod and Emanuel to make every debate about our dear leader. You are either with him or against him, for hope or against hope. And if you're against him you're a greedy, close-minded, hate-mongering, racist. So much for pragmatism.

If the debate is never about the policy or the details of the legislation, then we are no longer living in a democracy. We are living in a banana republic, a cult where charisma matters more than reason. The executive branch is becoming more powerful than ever with a complicit media that has decided to paint dissent as extremism. I ask you, who are the real extremists? Those who want to slow the process down, listen to a plurality of voices, and analyze our best options? Or the ones telling you to stop thinking and do what the president wants now?

If we continue down this path, the rights of the individual will be crushed by the whims of authoritarian hero-worship. The best way to prevent this is to stand up against state-controlled health care right now and make articulate arguments against tyranny. Even if it means being labeled an extremist or a racist.

The race card is the new McCarthyism of the 21st century, the last refuge of a scoundrel. And the scoundrels at the White House are playing it. Hmmm. Maybe Obama was paying attention to Rev. Wright's sermons after all.