Did the Inglorious N.O.P. Bust a Cap in Health Care Reform?
This is not your grandfather's Grand Old Party. Now revealed as a cabal of quitters, liars and philanderers who propagandize a new brand of Hatriotism, there's nothing grand about it.
In their desperation to replay an election they lost last year, they have left no lie unchampioned. They use the public airwaves for fear-mongering, hate speech and race-baiting. Let's get real. The "birther" drive is as old as D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, and it has absolutely no relationship to the majesty of Abraham Lincoln. Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan are surely spinning in their graves with fury over what is being done and said in their names. It's a sad, sad state of affairs when "Mr. Conservative" Goldwater would be considered a liberal by today's narrow standards.
The Republican Party is now led by a collection of drug-addicted gas bags like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and inarticulate, intellectually lazy quitters like Sarah Palin. It is less big tent and more tent revival where those who do not ascribe to and vote in lock step with their narrow dogma are labeled traitors...and you know what they do to traitors, don't you?
This "Just Say N-O Party," its adherents and hate media champions should be ashamed. Just plain ashamed.
Is President Obama, whose campaign for "real change" showed courage and electrified the nation, really going to capitulate on the public option in health care reform based on the biggest bald-faced lie of all -- a one-liner on Facebook by none other than Caribou Barbie? We thought he had more grit.
If Congressional Democrats (Liberal, Progressive or Blue Dog) fail to pass a public option, they will prove Palin right: that her team could have won if she had been cut loose to gin up the hate machine. Indeed it will be Obama's Waterloo, and it is not worth sacrificing all of the hard work and gains that millions of Americans have made to repair the damage of a decade of Bush/Cheney -- and elect those very same Democrats to office. Grow a spine. Or you are all lame ducks.
Are Democrats and the President really going to let this very small, ignominious group kill the public option and perpetuate a fraud of toothless health care reform? This minority of Americans composed primarily of one generation so desperate to hang on to the delusions of the Eisenhower era that they have been using the same sophistry and fear tactics to rally against de-segregation, one man one vote, Civil Rights and Medicare? They are the same misogynists who rallied against the Equal Rights Amendment and who to this very day condemn women in the workforce as the thread that unraveled the fabric of their America. These are the same lemmings who goose-stepped to war based on lies, not against the terrorists who actually attacked us but against a country that promised the biggest economic advantage to an elite few.
How dare Republican Senators like Chuck Grassley promulgate the obscene suggestion of "death panels" when they voted for the same end-of-life consultation as part of the 2003 Medicare bill under the Bush administration? By doing so, he and his colleagues have just given Sarah Palin the keys to that tiny but noisy, hate-filled island kingdom that is today's Republican Party.
Yes, the hypocrisy of the N.O.P. knows no bounds. The same folks who now rally around "states' rights" were champions of federalism when a white Republican was President. These people who freely call Obama a Nazi are the very same ones who staunchly declared that anyone who merely questioned President Bush on Iraq or any of his social warfare policies was committing treason. For the last two weeks, they have attended health care town hall meetings arguing about immigration and abortion and every other third rail issue. The only rational explanation is that all of this chest thumping and verbal flagellation is a facade for something deeper, more pathological, more insidious. And indeed it is shameful.
From a branding perspective, is this really how the Republican Party wants to be defined? I voted for Reagan. I voted for GHW Bush. Then the Evangelicals began slowly strangling the party in their vice-like grip. Is there any wonder that conservative stalwarts like Peggy Noonan, David Frum, Colin Powell and like-minded pundits such as George Will and David Gergen are beginning to distance themselves? God bless them. Voices of reason who speak from the roots of the GOP.
A good deal of blame needs to be laid at the feet of the Democrats and President Obama. They failed to get out in front of the health care issue, allowing it to be hijacked by the ersatz "Conservatives for Patients Rights" who launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign early and set the tone of lies and distortions which was picked up by the right wing echo chamber.
Yet, we are all complicit. Individually, we have dismissed these statements as just looney gas baggery. But hate speech -- true hate speech -- should never be tolerated in any form. We used to have standards that demanded truth in advertising, a balanced presentation on political issues and respectful discourse.
Mainstream media has done little more than loop tapes of the noise and most licentious statements which has done nothing more than stir the muddy waters and further propagate the worst of the mongering. They should be ashamed as well.
I'm a member of the media. I'm also a member of the marketing and advertising industry. I grew up on stage. You cannot tell me we cannot speak truthfully, with balance and respect and still be entertaining. Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert do it every night.
Follow Kimberly Krautter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kimbrlykrautter
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The republicans are the party of hate? Right, just look at how the comments written by liberals. They seem to have a hard time spelling republican. Plus they cannot disagree with Bush or his policies with using %^&* in their words to bet by the moderator.
The democrats have a large majority in congress. They believed they had a mandate. What they are starting to realize, though not admit, was conservatives got upset with Bush and congress for the spending. Not a fiscal conservative in congress. The conservative voters stayed home. But when democrats chose to rahm down legislation concerning 17% of the GDP people decided to make their voices heard.
Anything that concerns this much money should be studied and debated not rahmed thru. We just do not know the consequences or the costs.
And it is not only healthcare. How many other bills were being crammed down our throats at the same time. America is not working yet we are considering cap n trade and other climate treaties.
A healthbill that has not even been written and articles are already appearing about fat people. Are these people taking money out of our pocket and should we stand for it. Or should we make them pay.
No wonder the town halls were a surprise to democrats
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What a fantastic piece, Kimberly. And thanks for the embedded links.
I got cold chills as I read the Esquire article on Mr. Austin. I highly recommend it:
http://www
"Hatriotis
Great piece. I'm anxiously awaiting the moment the President finally gets it and says this is a moral imperative. We need to create a system that rewards people for taking care of themselves and staying as healthy as they possibly can while also taking care of those of us who have to use the disease care system we have now. How we get that from 535 people who have a select few bright minds among them is the challenge of our generation.
No(real)Op
Great article, I agree if the Dem's don't grow a pair, they are going to be lame ducks. We didn't vote them in, to be shouted off the stage by tools that are not articulate enough to understand that they will benefit by healthcare being reformed and prices will come down if there is competition. Just because the entire nation didn't understand how Civil Rights or Woman's Suffrage were important, that didn't stop them from happening, so take a page from LBJ's book, and grow a spine, a pair, drink some testosterone and just make it happen. I could have sworn the people gave you a mandate in November, so don't let Hope and Change fade because of a few Glenn Beck followers.
Nice.
They will never be ashamed, because they're soulless monsters
I've always tried not to look at them that way because I've been worried about underestimating them. But it's true. It's absolutely true. Michelle Bachmann is a Grade-A example. At this point I'm just not sure if the Democrats are also soulless monsters with different talking points.
There was absolutely nothing the Democratic party or President Obama could have done to prevent the Republican party from behaving the way they are. From the moment Obama became the Democratic nominee, the Republican party began its smear campaign and that will continue no matter what the subject happens to be. Those Republicans who are in Washington DC have nothing to lose by reaching out to the hatemongers in this country and frankly I think it makes them feel better when they see people with guns strapped to their hips, screaming and waving signs that are full of hate, lies and division. It is up to us, the everyday people, to make sure that the party of NO does not have the power to stop progress from taking place in our nation.
The fact of the matter is the media is the predominant part of the problem and we can blame the FCC for that. When the FCC loosened regulations and restrictions of the 1974 newspaper broadcasting cross-ownership ban, they allowed the airwaves to be monopolized by a few, clogged with hate speech, and objective reporting died a certain death. Now here's something for the American people to fear from the government: allowing a foreigner to purchase American media http://www
they're getting back into it---just wait---they gotta be doing something right --cuz--hannity is squealing about it every day
While I would agree that the majority of blame for the lies and distortions in this issue can be laid at the feet of the health care lobby and the politicians that they so lavishly buy off, I feel that the MSM has once again dropped the ball.
As this dirty little campaign was developed by people like Rick Scott and his ilk, the media did nothing to refute the lies. In my state, we were deluged by TV ads running 24/7 to kill health care reform. Little, if anything, was done to refute the fear-mongering. Instead, the MSM picked up the most "dramatic" footage from any gathering and played it on a non-stop loop for days. It was amazing to watch how this warped coverage of the town hall meetings cast a pall over the country, with many of us believing that the health care reform bill was "DOA". Instead of emphasizing that these town hall disruptive people were the minority, they were made to seem in control of the conversation.
Only now are we being shown town hall meetings where supporters outnumber the protesters! Oh well, better late than never, I suppose. No kudos to the MSM, a "lagging indicator" if I ever saw one!
"less big tent and more tent revival" Kimberly, for my money this is the best and most evocative description of the GOP I have seen in months. The allusion to the evangelical shysters is a gem.
I enjoy how the left picks out the most extreme protester and tries to charachterize the whole grass roots movement by that one person. Just remember: you can't judge the whole parade by one clown. Love you guys!
huh? after reading this article, your comment makes no sense, what so ever.....
yeah...but Republican's love to put on the sideshow to distract everyone from the steaming pile of $hyt the elephant always leaves behind.
See Kimberly Krautter's Profile
Joe did you read the entire post? I cite 40 years of these tactics AND I provide links to 3 Esquire articles that catalog a littany of offenses not only by fringe groups but by elected GOP officials and TV/Radio personalities.
Check out the links in (I believe) paragraph 9 "deeper, more pathological, more insidious. And indeed it is shameful." There are three links under each of the three words/phrases. Hopefully you will then understand and connect the dots.
Thank you for readin, though. And for taking time to comment. Cheers-Kimberly
I am a new fan. Excellent article and the links were right on.
I have a theory, but since I have no training or expertise in theory, you may discard it.
Pres. Obama, the Democratic leadership of congress, and many members of congress have given the Republicans more than enough rope with witch they can hang themselves. Ample opportunities have been afforded to a congressional Republicans to work on a bi-partisan solution to Health Care. Now, after a long recess, they have served notice that the GOP will not participate in, support, or vote for any bill concerning health care. The Obama administration, the democratic leadership in congress, and all concerned committees can (and I predict will) write and pass a comprehensive health care reform bill that will include a public option and could very well provide for a large single payer plan.
""Just remember: you can't judge the whole parade by one clown."" I judge the parade by whether the parade members denounce the clowns or tolerate them, or show their willingness to appease those in the crowd who love the clowns, even though they know the clowns are clowns.
""Love you guys!"" no you don't!
We know the difference between grass roots and freshly laid sod!
Excellent retort! Touche' - take that Joe.
See Bill Swadley's Profile
I wouldn't bother answering the seagulls. They're mostly cowards who won't really engage.
I suspect that the GOP doesn't much care at this point how it is defined or branded as long as they can have the major seats on the flak shows and lead the evening news cycle. They aren't interested in facts, in bipartisanship, or in parity/equality. They are interested only in one thing - regaining power. And they don't much care how they regain it. If it means terrorizing the citizens of this country so be it. The only message they have is Power to the GOP. We spent the last 8 years being terrorized by these folks - the election of Obama was a repudiation of those tactics, but the GOP has embraced hatriotism. Nationalism of any sort, in my opinion, is a double-edged sword: yes it can rally a nation to do great and wondrous things like send a man to the moon but it can also enflame the miserly soul of the bigot whose greatest strength comes in persecuting the "other". In the eyes of the GOP, we have become the "other", the enemy, the "false" America. People toting locked and loaded weapons to presidential events on health care are not protecting their 2nd amendment rights - they are engaging in terrorism disguised as patriotism, and that is, as Kimberly so aptly termed it, hatriotism.
Excellent comment. fanned!
Fanned! Great post!
I especially like your point about the people bringing guns to Presidential events. You are right; they are not "protecting" their 2nd amendment rights,...
Kimberly,
You are correct that a small group could derail health care reform, but, IMHO, you may be looking at the wrong group.
The far right minority may be the loud, but in the halls of Washington, what REAL power do they have? They carry weight with the GOP, and the far left will include the Dems in their ranks. It's not to hard in the early stages of any legislation to identify which members will vote along party lines.
The real power lies with the 20 or 30 House members and 4 or 5 Senate members who fill the center of the aisle when the vote counts are close. They are the people who are enticed, negotiated with, placated and shown favor in order to tip the scales one way or the other.
The "far" on either side only illustrate the distance that would be necessary to achieve compromise. with them.
Legislation is like archery...
In politics, that small minority of "as yet undecided" votes is the target and they tend to emerge from closed door meetings to announce their positions.
The show goes on...
The "as yet undecided" are not fooling many people. If they drag out the issue, delay, obfuscate, teeter back and forth on the matter, take polls of their constituents, make speeches on the floor of the House and Senate, go on vacation, hold town hall meetings, postpone and delay some more, that will give the smarmy lobbyists plenty of time to come up with a lot more money to pad their pockets!
Did I see the other day that there are now SIX health care lobbyists for every single representative in Congress?? The amount of money being pumped to these people is staggering! Millions upon millions of dollars...
Rapid Ray
while I rarely agree with you that is one very good well thought out comment
Wow, someone sounds bitter and full of...Hate. Obama's "Hope and Change" should have been called "Bait and Switch". Can you say "voter remorse?"
See Kimberly Krautter's Profile
Harsh truth is not the same as Hate expressed as photos defaced to look like Hitler or "Heil Hitler" yelled at rallies. Hate is bald faced lies that scare innocent grandmothers. Bitter. You betcha. But I'd rather use the power of the pen to teach folks that you cannot reason with bullies.
Absolutely no buyers remorse here.
Kimberly may be upset, but I'm outright ashamed of these people.
They use effigies and deliberately disruptive behavior with the expectations that we will either be coerced into a state of fear or somehow miraculously see the error of our ways and repent.
The bring weapons to a peaceful gathering on a specific topic of discussion to intimidate their fellow countrymen and use the pretense that the right to bear arms is why they are there at all.
The do not want to discuss anything, they just want to be the focus of attention so as to draw it away from the task at hand.
They argue against "socialism" , yet they all contribute or collect "Social" Security, with the exception of those who are out of work and collecting unemployment "benefits".
I'm still waiting for the inevitable "will of God" approach to support their positions and expect us to forget that they "bear false witness". Nothing more enlightening than presenting the invisible man who can neither be questioned or reproached to win an argument.
These are the people who rose up against Michelle Obama when she said "for the first time in my life, I am proud to be an American". They should be ashamed of themselves for their fascist behavior.
If this nation were a human body, these people would be our appendix, They serve no real purpose and should be removed when they pose a threat to our health.
Good post! I like the appendix analogy! We should remember that the appendix is an appendage that is slowing evolving and will be absent in later generations, kinda' like the little toe in humans. It is useless and will go the way of all useless things. We can only hope that the evolution of these people who perpetuate the lies to scare Granny will suffer the same fate!
Peace! :-)
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