When "El Rushbo" called Sandra Fluke "a sl*t" he clearly crossed the line. If the uproar over his repulsive language doesn't chasten his tongue, hopefully the dent fleeing sponsors are putting in his wallet will. This episode should not only be a lesson in civility for Rush, but for all of us. While politics ain't beanbag as the saying goes, it shouldn't be bloodsport either. If our democracy is to survive we need to encourage ordinary Americans to stand up and speak up, not keep their heads down and their mouth's shut. Unfortunately, current discourse is dominated by the easy slur and selective outrage fed by the misconception that the ends will somehow justify the means.
Political opportunism aside, I believe to promote civil and thoughtful debate republican candidates should condemn Rush's comments about Ms. Fluke. Likewise, in the interests of fairness and decency President Obama and democrats should condemn the vile words Bill Maher used to describe Sarah Palin. I hope we can all agree that no woman should ever be called the c-word or a "dumb tw*t" simply because you don't like her politics. Sadly, the president remains silent and Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) who have been outspoken critics of Rush when given the opportunity refused to denounce Mr. Maher. The double standard also applies to the president's version of Karl Rove, advisor David Axelrod who is all over the airwaves trying to pin Rush's words on all republicans, yet he once compared former Miss California Carrie Prejean to a dog and is scheduled to be on Mr. Maher's show in the next couple of weeks. As of this writing Mr. Mahar's use of the c-word hasn't caused the president to call for the Super PAC run by his former deputy press secretary, Bill Burton to return the $1 million donation he made. Since President Obama has pledged that members' of his administration will attend fundraisers for the Super PAC he can certainly call for the return of the misogynist's money. The fact that he hasn't done so should tell you all you need to know about how much he believes in civility.
When the sturm and drang over sl*tgate is eclipsed be the next media frenzy let our discourse be the better for it. No more double standards. If something is beyond the pale judgement and condemnation should be swift and universal. Even a casual observer can see that our political process is broken and that the venom and vitriol used to shout down opposing viewpoints is largely to blame.Conservatives and liberals have very different views on what role government should play in our lives. That debate should be spirited and respectful. We need every American that has tuned out because of the hateful rhetoric to get involved in choosing our country's direction, possibly even running for office themselves. The first step is to listen to opposing views, even if they make you squirm, without shouting "sl*t", racist, teabagger etc.. Believe it or not it's possible to disagree without being disageeable.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Another Year, Another Downgrade
It's doubtful the message makers in the White House found any humor in the Daily Show's Jon Stewart comparing President Obama to a "tax credit Oprah". While the Comedy Central funnyman is right to diagnose Oprah style giveaways as a symptom of why Obamanomics is failing, we should look to Major Phil Cannella and George Donner to find the disease.
Major Cannella was never an A list celebrity, but his words live on as an example of how good people can bring disaster by slavishly following misguided policies. When your mission can be summed up as "It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it." failure can be the only result. As in Vietnam, President Obama's effort to "fundamentally transform America" will end badly.
In January the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal released their Index of Economic Freedom. In it the United States fell to tenth place, indeed we have slipped every year of President Obama's rule as we were ranked sixth in 2009. They attributed our loss of freedom to "rapid expansion of government, more than any market factor, appears to be responsible for flagging economic dynamism." An easy way to gauge the effect of Obamanomics is to compare the first ten quarters of the Reagan recovery with our current economy. Under Reagan the economy grew sixteen percent, under Obama just six. If we were to follow Reagan's policies today the country could be $1.2 trillion wealthier and ten million currently unemployed Americans would have jobs. Instead, President Obama continues implementing policies that promote fairness over growth while our country declines.
If not for his fateful decision to take the Hasting's shortcut the name of Mr. Donner would be lost to history. While it took getting snowbound for the settlers to resort to cannibalism, letting the well-healed feast on taxpayers is a feature of Obamanomics. In a report the Washington Post found "Obama’s green-technology program was infused with politics at every level" and their Robert Samuelson called the rejection of the Keystone pipeline "an act of national insanity.". Maybe Mr. Samuelson was unaware that Obama's billionaire crony Warren Buffet, who just happens to own the Burlington Northern railroad stands to reap a financial windfall with the pipeline's demise. The author Peter Schweizer finds that fifteen companies that are either run or owned by financial backers of President Obama received $16.4 billion in government guaranteed loans. So far the cost to taxpayers: Solyndra $527 million, Ener1 $118 million, Beacon Power $43 million and CBS news found there are eleven more Solyndra's that could cost taxpayers $6.5 billion.
As the socialist Amon Rubinstein said “On the whole, those systems that have put liberty ahead of equality have done better by equality than those that have put equality above liberty.". Come November we can keep a president devoted to seeing our economic freedom slip slide away taking growth and jobs with it. Or we can send him back to Chicago with Oprah, Rahm and Alinsky's ghost.
Major Cannella was never an A list celebrity, but his words live on as an example of how good people can bring disaster by slavishly following misguided policies. When your mission can be summed up as "It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it." failure can be the only result. As in Vietnam, President Obama's effort to "fundamentally transform America" will end badly.
In January the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal released their Index of Economic Freedom. In it the United States fell to tenth place, indeed we have slipped every year of President Obama's rule as we were ranked sixth in 2009. They attributed our loss of freedom to "rapid expansion of government, more than any market factor, appears to be responsible for flagging economic dynamism." An easy way to gauge the effect of Obamanomics is to compare the first ten quarters of the Reagan recovery with our current economy. Under Reagan the economy grew sixteen percent, under Obama just six. If we were to follow Reagan's policies today the country could be $1.2 trillion wealthier and ten million currently unemployed Americans would have jobs. Instead, President Obama continues implementing policies that promote fairness over growth while our country declines.
If not for his fateful decision to take the Hasting's shortcut the name of Mr. Donner would be lost to history. While it took getting snowbound for the settlers to resort to cannibalism, letting the well-healed feast on taxpayers is a feature of Obamanomics. In a report the Washington Post found "Obama’s green-technology program was infused with politics at every level" and their Robert Samuelson called the rejection of the Keystone pipeline "an act of national insanity.". Maybe Mr. Samuelson was unaware that Obama's billionaire crony Warren Buffet, who just happens to own the Burlington Northern railroad stands to reap a financial windfall with the pipeline's demise. The author Peter Schweizer finds that fifteen companies that are either run or owned by financial backers of President Obama received $16.4 billion in government guaranteed loans. So far the cost to taxpayers: Solyndra $527 million, Ener1 $118 million, Beacon Power $43 million and CBS news found there are eleven more Solyndra's that could cost taxpayers $6.5 billion.
As the socialist Amon Rubinstein said “On the whole, those systems that have put liberty ahead of equality have done better by equality than those that have put equality above liberty.". Come November we can keep a president devoted to seeing our economic freedom slip slide away taking growth and jobs with it. Or we can send him back to Chicago with Oprah, Rahm and Alinsky's ghost.
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