Rush's Teachable Moment

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.

Rep. Tierney: Myopia or Hypocrisy?

Never let a tragedy go to waste seems to be the Democrats' new mantra. With lightning and sickening speed Democratic politicians and their message machine have tried to pin Saturday's assassination attempt of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) on the tea party and Sarah Palin. If politicians like Rep. Tierney and their media allies are to be believed, our country is in the midst of an age of vituperation and hatred like no other in our history. Our good congressman took to the pages of this paper (1/10) to state :

"Part of that blame goes to talk radio, shock radio and television talk shows that spew "venom" into the political debate,".

Now, it's possible that Mr. Tierney is just forgetful instead of following the playbook of the “veteran Democratic operative” who told Politico that that he/she believes that President Obama should “deftly pin [the Arizona shooting] on the tea partiers.”.If that's the case, I would like to remind him of a time when passions were every bit as heated as todays.

During the Bush(43) administration Democratic activists and politicians used rhetoric and imagery that would put to shame anything the tea party has been accused of employing. Here's a small sampling of signs that were proudly displayed at anti-war rallies in New York, Chicago and San Francisco: "Save Mother Earth, Kill Bush", "Hang Bush For War Crimes", "Bush is the Disease, Death is the Cure", "I'm here to Kill Bush (Shoot Me)". Or how about the guillotine that some Obamabot created for some Halloween fun and dubbed the "Bush Whacker" and brought to a campaign rally in Denver(10/26/08) so others could enjoy in the merriment of seeing our president's severed head? Sadly, this bloodlust for a president wasn't confined to the nutroots. Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president in 2004 fantasized of assassinating President Bush on the Bill Maher show (10/06). The transcript:

Maher: You could have went to NH and killed two birds with one stone.

Kerry: Or, I could have gone to 1600 Pennsylvania and killed the real bird with one stone.

I can't recall Rep. Tierney accusing his fellow delegation member of using hateful or dangerous language that could wind up with Kerry having the president's blood on his hands.

Perhaps Mr. Tierney also forgot that his own Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) put bullseyes on the districts of "targeted" Republicans when he blamed Sarah Palin for inciting violence by using similar imagery?

By Rep. Tierney's logic President Obama was responsible for nightstick wielding thugs from the New Black Panther party intimidating voters in Philadelphia because he said "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun. Because from what I understand, folks in Philly like a good brawl" at a campaign event. And I suppose Obama's Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina was equally responsible for the savage beating of Kenneth Gladney at a town hall event by SEIU goons because he promised "If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard"? In fact if the left were held to the same absurd standard they are trying to impose on the right then our president would be complicit in every violent act committed by a hispanic because he implored them to go out and "punish their enemies".

The left telegraphed their strategy when veteran democratic pollster Mark Penn opined "

what President Obama needed to reconnect with the American people was another Oklahoma City bombing"

and journalist Mark Halperin of Time postulated

“No one wants the country to suffer another catastrophe. But when a struggling Bill Clinton was faced with the Oklahoma City bombing and a floundering George W. Bush was confronted by 9/11, they found their voices and a route to political revival.”.

By trying to gain political advantage from tragedy Rep. Tierney is reaching into the depths of depravity. The would-be assassin has been described by former friends as a "left-wing pothead" who enjoyed reading the Communist Manifesto. That sounds more like the profile of someone who submerged himself into the bile of the Democratic Underground or the Dailykos where none other than Markos Moulitsas "targeted" Giffords, on his descent into madness . Democrats like Rep. Tierney should remember the old adage about how those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

The Violent Tea Party Fallacy

Michelle Malkin nails it:

How the Left Fakes the Hate: A Primer

If you can’t stand the heat, manufacture a hate-crime epidemic.

After years of covering racial hoaxes on college campuses and victim sob stories in the public arena, I’ve encountered countless opportunists who live by that demented mindset. At best, the fakers are desperately seeking 15 minutes of infamy. At worst, their aim is the criminalization of political dissent.

Upon decimating the deliberative process to hand President Obama a health-care “reform” victory, unpopular Beltway Democrats and their media water-carriers now claim there’s a tea-party epidemic of racism, harassment, and violence against them.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a tepid, obligatory statement against smearing all conservatives as national-security threats. But her lieutenants had already emptied their tar buckets. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Chris Van Hollen accused Republican leaders of “stoking the flames.” Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn accused the GOP of “aiding and abetting” what he called “terrorism.”

Yet, the claims that tea-party activists shouted “nigger” at black House Democrats remain uncorroborated. The coffin reportedly left outside Missouri Democratic congressman Russ Carnahan’s home was used in a prayer vigil by pro-life activists in St. Louis who were protesting the phony Demcare abortion-funding ban in Obama’s deal-cutting executive order. Videotape of a supposed intentional-spitting incident targeting Missouri Democratic congressman Emanuel Cleaver at the Capitol shows no such thing. Cleaver himself backed off the claim a few days later. He described his heckler to the Washington Post in more passive terms as “the man who allowed his saliva to hit my face.” Slovenliness equals terrorism!

The FBI is now investigating the most serious allegation — that tea-party activists in Virginia are somehow responsible for a cut gas line at the home of Democratic representative Tom Perriello’s brother. But instead of waiting for the outcome of that probe, liberal pundits have enshrined the claim as conclusive evidence of the tea-party reign of terror.

Need more reasons to treat the latest Democratic hysteria with a grain of salt the size of their gargantuan health-care bill? Remember:

In November 2009, Kentucky census worker Bill Sparkman was found dead in a secluded rural cemetery with the word “Fed” scrawled on his chest and a rope around his neck. The Atlantic Monthly, the Huffington Post, and liberal media hosts stampeded over themselves to blame Fox News, conservative blogs, Republicans, and right-wing radio. Federal, state, and local authorities discovered that Sparkman had killed himself and deliberately concocted a hate-crime hoax as part of an insurance scam to benefit his surviving son.

In mid-October 2008, news outlets from the Scranton Times-Tribune to ABC News to the Associated Press and MSNBC reported that someone at a Sarah Palin rally shouted “kill him” when Obama’s name was mentioned. In fact, the Secret Service (which was at the event in full force) couldn’t find a single person to corroborate the story — other than the local reporter for the Scranton Times-Tribune who made an international incident out of the claim. Agent Bill Slavoski “said he was in the audience, along with an undisclosed number of additional secret service agents and other law enforcement officers, and not one heard the comment,” the paper reported in a red-faced follow-up. Maybe the shouter is hiding with Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman’s real killer.

In late October 2008, a gaggle of liberal blogs spread the rumor that a Republican supporter of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s had shouted that Obama was “a nigger” during a campaign rally in Iowa. Video and firsthand accounts showed that the protester did not shout “he’s a nigger,” but “he’s a redistributor.” A lefty activist at the “progressive” Daily Kos blog confirmed the truth — but to this day, the crisis-manufacturing smear stands uncorrected and unretracted across the Internet.

In September 2009, supporters of Colorado Democratic congressman John Salazar falsely accused a town-hall protester of hurling a death threat at the congressman. Liberal blogs again disseminated the angry-tea-party-mob narrative. A week later, the local press quietly reported that Grand Junction police had investigated the incident — and determined the claim was “unfounded.” A police spokeswoman revealed that “people who witnessed the interaction between the man who made the complaint and the suspect confirmed they never heard any direct threats made regarding Congressman Salazar.” Witnesses included a Grand Junction cop “in close proximity when the interaction took place.”

In late August 2009, as lawmakers faced citizen revolts at health-care town halls nationwide, the Colorado Democratic party decried a vandalism attack at its Denver headquarters. A hammer-wielding thug smashed eleven windows and caused $11,000 in property damage. The perpetrator, Maurice Schwenkler, turned out to be a far-left nutball/transgender activist/single-payer anarchist who had worked for an SEIU-tied 527 group and canvassed for a Democratic candidate. Nevertheless, Colorado Democratic party chair Pat Waak continued to blame “people opposed to health care” for the attack.

Then, as now, being a Democratic party official means never having to say you’re sorry for smearing conservative dissent.

To add to that list we have a Congressional district office in Cincinnati that supposedly had a rock thrown through the window. The media portrayed this as another attack by the out of control tea partiers. The only problem, the office is on the 30th floor and the window was intact.

This is all about painting the opponents of the president in a negative light. When the facts aren't there, they simply make things up. President Obama and his minions in the mainstream media don't want to talk about how they passed a health care bill over the opposition of a majority of Americans. So they fabricate tales of out of control tea partiers for the likes of Ann Curry to grill John McCain about instead of talking about what's in the health care legislation that was just railroaded through Congress.

The truth is that it's much more likely that a tea partier will be a victim of violence than the perpetrator.

Ken Gladney was beaten by a goon squad of SEIU union members and required hospitalization.

A gentleman in California had a finger bitten off by a angry moveon.org sympathiser.

And now we can add Nevada to the list. Sarah Palin was supposed to be at the event. I don't know if her bus was the one that was hit.

Harry Reid Supporters Egg Tea Party Express Buses in Route

Supporters of Senator Harry Reid have just thrown eggs at the Tea Party Express bus caravan - striking at least one of the three buses (the red Tea Party Express bus) with multiple eggs.

About 35 Reid supporters had lined Highway 95 in front of the Nugget Casino in Searchlight where they were attempting a counter-demonstration the tens of thousands of tea party supporters who are gathering for the "Showdown in Searchlight."

Notice the disparity in numbers, 35 against tens of thousands. The American people are not going to forget who voted for the federal takeover of our health care system. The Democrats that deluded themselves into thinking that voting for this monstrosity was good politics are in for a rude awakening.