Thousands of conservative protesters from across the country converged on the Capitol Saturday morning to demonstrate against President Obama's proposals for health care reform and voicing opposition to big government, what they say is over-the-top spending.
Carrying signs depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler and the Joker, and chanting slogans such as "'No big government" and "Obamacare makes me sick," approximately 60,000 to 70,000 people flooded Pennsylvania Ave, according to the Washington DC Fire Department.
Oh yes, and signs like this one:
and this one:
really make me think that health care reform is all that's on their minds. And oh yeah, 9/11. And taxes. And losing their freedoms, and and....
What, you may ask, does overt racism, Nazi accusations, and the perpetuation of outrageously false accusations against the President have to do with health care reform, much less 9/11?
Well, Maureen Dowd finally gets it, at least:
(Joe) Wilson’s shocking disrespect for the office of the president — no Democrat ever shouted “liar” at W. when he was hawking a fake case for war in Iraq — convinced me: Some people just can’t believe a black man is president and will never accept it.Let's say that again: some people will never accept a black president. It's not that they've been duped into thinking that health care reform is a bad idea, and will get with the program once it's explained to them how they'll benefit from it. It's not basic ideological differences, unless you admit that their ideology is based upon racism and wholly devoted to opposing an African-American president in everything he does. It's not simple political opposition, the same species of rightwing looniness that FDR, Kennedy, and Clinton had to endure, because none of them were ever accused of being a foreign national, an animal in the zoo, or called a liar in a Joint Session of Congress.
No, nothing could draw together crowds of overweight, Confederate flag-waving, historically ignorant (here's a hint, idiots: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union fought each other in World War II!), sexist, uninformed, uneducated, and unwashed people--spouting off a fool's mishmash of wingnut ideas, attempting to join together the tragedy of 9/11, tax protests, the bank bailout, anti-choice agitation, and opposition to health care reform--and all of them white, unless it's all really about race. Let us not forget, lynching were a family affair not too long ago; people would bring their children and picnic baskets to the events.
Bill Clinton was excoriated nightly by the media, and daily by the man or woman on the street, but no one ever repeatedly asked to see his birth certificate, and refused to believe it valid when produced. FDR was called a traitor to his class, accused of all manner of evil things, and his wife reviled constantly, but no one ever said that his or his wife's ancestors were in the monkey cage at the zoo. No one ever heckled George W. Bush when he lied his way into war with Iraq, called him a liar to his face and before the nation.
No, all of this hatred, vilification, and disrespect has been reserved for America's first African-American president.
Sometimes, I wish Texas and some other parts of the Deep South really would secede--SEE YA! Just leave those ignorant, backwards fools behind. Unfortunately, we're stuck with them, and the president is stuck with a 21st Century version of Kipling's famous poem. President Obama now has the Black Man's Burden, and what has he gotten for it so far? Not much more than "the blame of those ye better, the hate of those ye guard." Let us hope that at least some of our own "half-devil and half-child" citizens wake up soon, and realize that we're all in this together.
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4 comments:
"No, all of this hatred, vilification, and disrespect has been reserved for America's first African-American president."
What about all the hatred, vilification, and disrespect that was thrown at George W Bush? All the comparisons to Hitler, etc. You guys loathed Bush and called him stupid every chance you got even though he was elected TWICE. Something Mr Obama might not be able to match.
I have no problems with Obama's race. I don't like his policies and neither should you. So far he's done nothing with a majority in both the house and senate. So far he's kept all of George Bush's policies that the left hated. Gitmo is still open, we just re-passed the patriot act, health care is dead thanks to the "Ram it down the throats of the American poeple" approach.
He isn't doing anything. Wow! Impressive.
Hmmm, let's see:
Who from the left carried firearms to GWB rallies? No one, for no progressives were admitted: rally attendance was strictly limited to the party faithful AND to those who had signed a loyalty pledge to Bush. By the end of his term, Bush was only able to appear before military audiences, who by law could not protest or show disrespect to the President.
Who couldn't correctly pronounce the word "nuclear," despite an education at some of the finest academic institutions in the world? GWB.
Who from the left openly called for secession during Bush43's term? No one.
As for President Obama's having done "nothing," here's a short list of his accomplishments in office so far (the full list can be found here):
1. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women
2. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
3. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier's family
4. Limits on lobbyist's access to the White House
5. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in longer than their enlistment date
6. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
7. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
8. New federal funding for science and research labs
9. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect
10. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
11. New funds for school construction
12. US Auto industry rescue plan
13. Housing rescue plan
14. $789 billion economic stimulus plan
15. US financial and banking rescue plan
16. The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed
17. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards
18. Cash for clunkers program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulated auto sales
19. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
20. Closed offshore tax safe havens
21. Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back
22. Ended the previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry's predatory practices
23. Lower drug costs for seniors
24. Ended the previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings
25. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
26. Improved housing for military personnel
27. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals
28. Established a new cyber security office
29. Improving benefits for veterans
30. The FDA is now regulating tobacco
31. Making more loans available to small businesses
32. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court
That said, I don't agree with all of the President's policies: I think he should give up on "bipartisanship" and go full steam ahead (i.e., use reconciliation) on health care reform, and start a second, bigger economic stimulus bill. Gitmo is still open, yes, because it's created terrorists out of formerly innocent civilians; what to do with them is going to be a vexing problem going forward. [more]
[cont]
As far as "ramming it(health care reform)down the throats of the American people, I think the only throats that need to be rammed are the Republican ones in Congress. A clear majority of Americans do support health care reform, the issue is NOT dead, and, I can promise you, when the rest of the citizens get sick, or see a family member suffer a serious illness, they'll want health care reform, too.
GWB, in my opinion, earned every bit of disrespect shown him. Bush's callous uncaring, swaggering arrogance, excessive and often illegal secrecy, cynical fear-mongering, duplicitous lying, and sheer incompetence earned him every bit of my disrespect and disgust, and I believe that he will in fact go down as one of the worst presidents the republic has ever suffered.
Furthermore, I think it's extremely hypocritical of conservatives to be so disrespectful of President Obama after eight years of mealymouthed statements like "you have to respect the office, even if you don't respect the man." Guess that only applies to Republican presidents, huh?
Finally, the lack of progress on major initiatives such as health care reform are in my opinion attributable as much or more to a lack of leadership in the Senate as to the President's own failings. Senate Majority "Leader" Harry Reid, as I've often said before, desperately needs to grow a pair. But I'll take President Obama's "nothing" over all of Bush43's so-called "accomplishments" any day.
That's pretty funny. 21 or your 32 points involve either increasing spending or raising taxes. If that isn't a cliche I don't know what is.
I was not, am not, and will never be a fan of President Bush. I never thought of him as Hitler but I certainly never thought of him as a brilliant president. I just find the outrage about Obama amusing. It seems that if you don't like his policies or just think the man is a little too slick and slimy you must be a racist.
I don't care for Obama, I didn't care for Bush, and neither of them deserved or deserve all the far left/right crap that was thrown at them.
Obama, however, needs to quit worrying about campaigning 24/7 and grow a pair. I think this is the worst time to raise taxes and expand the government. We're all sitting on the edge as it is. That being said, if he thinks he has a plan then DO IT. Move forward, lets see some action. The worst you can do is screw up and be voted out. If you do screw up you should be voted out.
IMHO
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