Hey Joe Scarborough: I Found a Courageous and Honorable Republican!

After Republicans shed gallons of crocodile tears over Alan Grayson's blunt description of their health care plan, I posted a video of John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Virginia Foxx and Jean Schmidt individually refusing to condemn some pretty over-the-top rhetoric promulgated by Rush Limbaugh. In a nutshell, Limbaugh compared Nancy Pelosi to Adolph Hitler and described ObamaCare as being Nazi policy.

Look... I'm a partisan. I do advocacy press. With a dash of activism thrown in to spice up my day. But I was honestly disappointed when the most powerful Republicans in the United States refused to stand up to the Viagra-smuggling, opiate-addicted, sex-touring, American embarrassment that happens to have the nation's most popular political talk show. Rush Limbaugh is a scourge on humanity and in a sane world, would be locked away in a place he could do himself and others no harm.

Instead, virtually every elected Republican (I have many more videos coming soon) has refused to even mildly distance themselves from Limbaugh's obscene right-wing rants.

There was one exception. One decent, courageous and honorable Republican in the House. And I found him.

His name is David Reichert. Ironically, he was the incumbent who defeated one of my favorite Democratic challengers in 2006 and 2008. I would have named my son "Rush Limbaugh Stark" if it would have gotten Darcy Burner a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2006 or 2008... Alas, Dave Reichert kept his seat...

And now I realize that things could be a lot worse for the constituents served by the Congressman representing Washington's 8th Congressional district.

 

Comments

[Imzadi]

Thank you for this article. It gives me hope that there are some reasonable and honorable elected people right of center.

I was not aware of David Reichert, and I am glad I am now.

[amyhasopinions]

I love him for this. I probably wouldn't love where he stands on a lot of issues, but as a human being and a fellow citizen, I love him.

I wish all politicians spoke and talked like him. And that they'd have more influence over people than political shock dj's and news show guys do right now.

I'd have way less heart burn on my lunch breaks. :-)

[tessleaf]

What a breath of fresh air David Reichert is. Thank you Mike for posting this, and thank you for posing the questions.

It seems like an obvious, easy question to answer - particularly the way you framed the question.
How hard can it be to decry exploiting the Holocaust for political gain?

Using the Holocaust to score political rhetorical points blasphemes the memory of the six million who died. Using the Holocaust as a point of reference, is the last refuge of the losing high school debate team. Using the Holocaust reveals that one doesn't have a sound argument and can only pull out all the stops.

Which is why, when you DO have a sound argument, stick with it.

I loved Rep. Grayson calling out the GOP - except for when he invoked the Holocaust.

Anyway, thanks for being a citizen journalist.

[Rog49Thomas]

In the Bible, Abraham asked God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. And then haggled over the number of righteous Abe would have to find in the cities so they would be spared.

Ten was the final number.

Mike has found 1.

Any bets on finding 9 more? For the record, Abe didn't.

[Rog49Thomas]

BTW this took three posts to get through the censors' solicitude for offenses to the public.

Is it that we're not allowed to give the Biblical citation?

G 18;32 for those who care.

G contains the story of creation.

I am allowed to say creation here, aren't I?

[dsgeorge]

Cantor is from Virginia, Reicher from Washington....that tells you all you need to know.....THIS gop is marginalized because the political rhetoric is spewed from one region - the south. People like Rep Reicher are being weeded out of the party because they are considered "liberal" by the mainstrem GOP - and by mainstream I mean the likes of DeMint, Colburn, Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter, Cantor, Palin et al.

[wblack]

“In a nutshell, Limbaugh compared Nancy Pelosi to Adolph Hitler and described ObamaCare as being Nazi policy.”

You seem to be forgetting that Nancy Pelosi called free American citizens peacefully attending a Tea-Party Racists and Nazi’s … These innocent Americans were defamed, and condemned with no charges filed, no crimes committed, no presentation of evidence or right to face their accuser. I realize you may not be very familiar with the rights afforded a citizen, so I am trying to be helpful here. There were no hate crimes committed and no acts of racism, no evidence that any of them had invaded Belgium and the Low Countries of Western Europe, yet here we have Nancy Palosi condemning them without cause.

You know, there are countries where this sort of thing was the norm: Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany.

Perhaps Rush was not that far off the beam after all.

As far as Obama Care is concerned -- it is a socialist policy which would enslave not only doctors, but all medical professionals as well as scoop up billions in profits from the absorption of the Health care industry -- a coup which makes the theft of GM from its rightful owners look like a kid stealing candy.

[Json]

Do you actually believe what you wrote?
If so, you should do some research and you would find out that Pelosi did not call them nazis. She said they were "un-american" and she wasn't referring ALL the people at the town halls. Just the ones holding racist signs and the ones shouting nonsense so that a real discussion couldn't occur.

[wblack]

1.Who gave Nanci Pelosi the right to call any free, innocent, American citizen exercising their right to peaceful demonstration, un-American?
2. Who are you, or Namci Pelosi for that matter, to decide what is permissible to shout?

I personally saw no racist signs anywhere.

I have not yet seen one photo of a sign that is actually racist in intent, and can be proven to have been carried at that particular rally.

I'll remind you that the right of free speech protects even speech that is un-pretty and un-popular. Calling someone un-American because you disagree with their speech or don't like it is wrong, end of debate.

[Dbos]

Not a History major are you?

[LiberTLover]

And not a reality major either, apparently, lol.

[max hp]

Now, THAT was funny!

lol.

[Dbos]

Were all surprised by a logical republican. Doesn't that speak volumes in and of itself?

[IDIOTA]

How refreshing and rare.

[krechsd]

If Congressman Reichert was the poster child of the Republicans, they would quickly retain their status as a legitimate party. However, that would require Repubs to embrace honesty and integrity, and the good of the country before personal interest. Looks like he's destined to be one of a very small minority for awhile.

[ESerafina42]

Good for him. However, I think we need to wait a day or two and see if he retracts his comments if Rush et al. start being mean to him.

[ProudMilVet]

Besides the fact that he continues to make an obscene amount of money, i wish we could find out the reason why Rush Limbaugh Hates so much.

[Rockwell]

David Reichert represent the Republican party I used to be able to respect. Here's hoping that more and more adults like Mr Reichert will be elected to Congress. I would welcome a real debate on real issues. I'm glad the democrats are in power but its not healthy in the long run to not have a responsible, coherent opposition party to keep them honest.

The ranting infants that first started showing up during the Gingrich regime need to be purged and sent back to the nursery so the adults can get to work.

[suz1941]

In watching this piece, my immediate thought was "I'm a Democrat, but I could really support someone like Reichert". He is definitely the only adult in these film clips. Unlike Boehner, Cantor, Foxx and Schmidt who seem to be spineles and are definitely scared of " the" Rush Limbaugh! I just bet, as a kid, Rush was the last one chosen to play on any team, and now he's paying America back for that slight. Anyone who thinks Rush Limbaugh is doing this country a service with his distorted rhetoric and posturing is in the minority. They just whine louder than the other children.

[EbonBear]

Bravo to Rep. Reichert. And for any other Republican trying to maintain responsible conservatism.

[scoffer]

Good job, Congressman Reichert.
It is not surprising that the congressman would hold such an opinion. He ran the King County (largest city in the county is Seattle) Sheriff Department. He knows that to successfully manage any organization (whether corporate, government or, for that matter, a nation) you cannot divide it. If you do, you will weaken it.
Dissent as much as you want, PROVIDED your dissent is honestly directed at what you truly believe to be in the best interests of that organization. And when you dissent, do it with respect and courtesy.
Had I been a resident of his district I would have voted for Darcy Bruner. But I never doubted that Mr. Reichert was as honorable a man as one could reasonably expect to meet.