Friday, January 14, 2011

They Got JUST What They Wanted

Once again, revising history, and having their baseless meme become the theme of the week. That would be the Left, beginning with "Heckuva Job" Sheriff Dupnik, who kicked off the "report" of the shootout in Tucson as being the result of rhetoric.

Oh, yes, you may not know this, but President Obama called Sheriff Dupnik to thank him. I just bet he did, since Sheriff Dupnik got the ball rolling blaming Gov. Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, and other Conservatives, for this heinous crime. There continues to be no evidence whatsoever that rhetoric had anything to do with this - in fact, quite the opposite.

Surprisingly, though, some of the bigger media outfits refuse to correct the original unsubstantiated claims against Palin, et. al. I am not kidding. People like George Stephanopoulos refuses to issue a correction. Sadly, pathetically, he is not alone. How about this one:
[snip] CNN’s Piers Morgan, who takes over longtime television newsman Larry King’s timeslot next week, tweeted, “This now deleted image from Sarah Palin website will be reason this terrible shooting has huge political ramifications,” linking the map Palin made of targeted congressional districts for the 2010 midterm elections. [snip}

Or this from Candy Crowley to Dick Durbin:
[snip] CNN’s State of the Union anchor Candy Crowley asked Senator Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat, “I guess that the undertow — and certainly it’s not an undertow on the Internet — but the undertow with politicians now speaking publicly is, well, the Republicans and the Tea Party and Sarah Palin have gone way too far in their rhetoric; it’s been violent rhetoric, and therefore this sort of thing happens. Are you making that direct connection?”

She asked Durbin that in response to Durbin saying, “we live in a world of violent images and violent words, but those of us in public life and the journalists who cover us should be thoughtful in response to this and try to bring down the rhetoric, which I’m afraid has become pervasive in our discussion of political issues. The phrase ‘don’t retreat, reload,’ putting crosshairs on congressional districts as targets, these sorts of things, I think, invite the kind of toxic rhetoric that can lead unstable people to believe this is an acceptable response. And I think that we all have an obligation, both political parties — and let me salute the senior senator from Arizona, John McCain, whose statement yesterday was clear and unequivocal that we are not accepting this kind of conduct as being anywhere near the mainstream.” [snip] (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Uh, yeah. Way to walk back this fallacious meme there, George, Candy, and Piers.

Yet now, "Civility" has become the catch phrase of the week, used by Obama in the so-called "Memorial Service" on Wednesday night. Yes, it is being used as a way not to encourage civil debate, but to stifle any debate at all.

This is quite a coup. Especially as the House is getting ready to begin a new session, with their first order of business being the repeal of Obamacare. Now the discussion by the pundits is how the Republicans are going to handle this, will everyone be separated at the State of the Union, or will they break with tradition and sit all together, and on, and on, and on.

I am not opposed to civility in the least. I am a Southerner, after all, and many of us do still have manners down here. We know it is better to bite our tongues sometimes instead of giving a tongue lashing. But that is done out of respect, not out of a desire to censor. It seems to me that what is going on post-Tucson is more of the latter, than the former, especially given the way the entire discussion (if one can call baseless, horrendous allegations a "discussion"). For some reason, it only seems to apply to one side. Guess which one? Again, that is not being civil, that is silencing - there is a world of difference.

Speaking of Obama's campaign speech in Tucson, I have to say this. I am beyond disgusted that the whole event has been framed as being about HIM, about what he will say, will this bump up his approval numbers, etc., etc. This service was SUPPOSED to be in honor of those whose lives were senselessly taken from them. Not about President Obama and if he could take yet another shot at "defining" his presidency. Because you know Fort Hood didn't count.

And not that it should - I don't think ANY funeral/memorial service should be used for this kind of political gain. It is disturbing how so many are comparing this speech to Clinton's Oklahoma City bombing speech, a clear ideological attack on our government. Or Bush's speech after 9/11, a clear, orchestrated, attack on our country. This heinous crime was neither of those things. Rather, it was the actions of one deranged man, who, by all accounts, had no ideological gripe.

Obama is getting praise heaped upon him for taking advantage of this horrible shooting by giving a campaign speech. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, the primary target of Paul Krugman, Keith Olbermann, DailyKos, and too many other personalities and blogs to list here., is getting nothing but scathing attacks for her attempt to defend herself from these scurrilous attacks. She is not supposed to speak out, she is not supposed to respond, she is supposed to shut up and go away. That was the point of these baseless assertions in the first place, to so discredit her, to claim, as Michael Daly did, that she had "Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' blood on her hands..."

Ah, yes - so civil this discourse from the Left.

This is so disturbing to see how this tragedy has been shaped. My ridiculous "representative," Jim Clyburn, had the audacity to play the race card in putting down Sarah Palin's response. Oh, yes he did, and he was sexist to boot:
[snip] "You know, Sarah Palin just can't seem to get it, on any front. I think she's an attractive person, she is articulate," Clyburn said on the Bill Press radio show. "But I think intellectually, she seems not to be able to understand what's going on here."

"I have some experiences that maybe she does not have," he said. "When I see and hear things today that are reminiscent of that period of time, I am very, very concerned about it, because I know what it led to back then, and I know what it can lead to again." [snip] (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Wow. Let me just say, Clyburn is by far NOT the sharpest knife in the drawer, so for him, of all people, to make that assertion about Palin is just laughable. Clyburn continues to stoke the flames that the Tucson shooting had anything to do with Palin at all. That is not just wrong-headed, it is plain wrong to incite people against someone based on lies, rumor, and innuendo. Clyburn is the worst kind of "offender," too, attacking her for her rhetoric while not minding his own. What a piece of work he is.

But Clyburn got what he wanted, with Obama's willing assistance - to transform this tragedy to essentially be a put down of Sarah Palin, and conservatives in general. The media is their willing accomplice, from Fox to MSNBC (not surprisingly, the viewers of MSNBC are far more likely to believe Palin, et. al, ARE responsible for what happened to Rep. Giffords and the other victims. And they claim Fox is biased? Spare me.).

To think this all started by an unprofessional sheriff placing blame where it didn't belong, and a bunch of opportunists jumping on the bandwagon. Wow. And no amount of facts to the contrary will alter THEIR rhetoric. That is unethical, immoral, cruel, offensive, and hypocritical. But they got their way, so what do they care?

At least the majority of Americans see through this political ploy, yet it continues to be played up to the hilt by the media, and the politicians. Unfortunately, they are the ones with the loudest voices, and they won't leave this alone until we all accept their lie as the truth...

13 comments:

Stray Yellar Dawg? said...

I have to say... I was *appalled* that Clyburn would insult anyone that way. But then I shouldn't have been. Because he was one of the race card players against Hillary in the Dem primaries.

The misogyny runs far and deep in this new "Obamacrat party." It's a party that does not respect me, or want me in it's ranks (other than at voting time.)

If Clyburn and his ilk keep this sh** up... they will drive one of their most reliable constituencies away. I am talking about women. Yes... dare I say it... white, middle aged women.

I really think they do not care.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Hey, SYD - I just finished making a few changes, so I actually caught your comment in a timely fashion - yay!

You are so right abt Clyburn. I will never, never forgive him for what he did to both Clintons in 2008. It was just appalling to see him stabbing them in the back repeatedly. What a piece of work. And now Nancy has created a position JUST for him - he is unbelievable. Race baiting, sexist, grandstanding, delusional nepotist that he is (I am still working on getting it all out before he takes away our free speech).

You can be sure that when the 2012 campaign is in full swing, we will start hearing abt Roe v. Wade again - the dog whistle to keep women toeing the line.

Btw, did you get a recent email from the UUA abt "undocumented" workers? Seems they were paying attention to what some in the media were demanding - it is no longer "illegal alien" - it is "undocumented worker." And they had some video of kids playing soccer. Wow.

Back to your comment, you are spot on - they don't care. Not one whit.

Stray Yellar Dawg? said...

Yes. I got the bulletin. My basic reaction is withdrawal.

The SSL campaign was, at one time, all about equal marriage rights. And I supported it wholeheartedly, with time and $$$. Now it has become a catch all campaign for any cause anyone wants us to support.

Another hi-jacking. I guess I outta get used to it. :~(

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Exactly, SYD. I did the same thing. And when I got the email from that campaign, and saw the headline, I just shook my head.

Yep - I guess we oughta be used to things being co-opted. Sigh.

Stray Yellar Dawg? said...

Rev. Amy, I could really use a good pastoral counsellor.

Could you move closer to Ohio? ;~)

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Oh, SYD - that would be great. All except moving to OH. I am complaining abt how cold it is where I am (coastal SC) already! (I moved back South from Boston the year we broke the snowfall record - after 8+ yrs, I couldn't take it anymore!)

You know I'm always here for you!

Stop said...

Rev Amy:
I wanted to share with you a new blog posted on Legal Insurrection today if that's okay with you:
http://climateofhate.blogspot.com/

I had forgotten about the "joke" of Palin hung in effigy.

Is there something similar that catalogs all the venomous garbage that was hurled at HRC in 2008?

They want us to forget.
Not.gonna.happen

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Thanks, Stop, for the link. I'll check it out (and see abt adding it to my Blogroll).

Oh, yeah - there were all kinds of hateful things directed at Palin. Still are.

As for Hillary, there are a number of videos that really capture what happened to her, though this one by Shut The Freud Up really captures a lot of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcdnlNZg2iM

Are you familiar with the "We Will Not be Silenced" documentary? It focuses primarily on the rampant caucus fraud in Texas during the 2008 Democratic primary. It is an upsetting piece, very powerful: http://wewillnotbesilenced2008.com/

You can watch it at that site, or at Youtube, if you want to watch it in segments.

A number of us documented what was happening to Hillary at the time it was happening. A fellow No Quarter writer friend of mine IS working on a book that chronicles a lot of what happened to her. Once it is published, I will have a link for it here.

Thanks again for the link. I'm going to check it out now.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Btw, Stop - Sara in Italy has some great collections, too. One she compiled of Bush images after the Left was complaining abt Obama being pictured as Hitler, as a clown, etc. She has another one about Sarah Palin. Her blog address is in my Blogroll. She is fantastic.

Anonymous said...

"she's an attractive person, she is articulate"

Biden got his ass handed to him for saying that about a black male.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

You betcha, Janis - but it is A-Okay to say it abt women. Remember when Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, called Senator Kristen Gillibrand the "hottest" member of the Senate. WTF??

Here's the link.

Stop said...

Rev Amy:
Yes, I know all abt "We will not be silenced", and have sent links to pretty much everybody in my inbox.

During the campaign, we made some small donations to Heidi Li when she was trying to get some ads on the air.

Love me Harriet in NYC. Her video clip really was a "call to arms" for me (um, are we still allowed to say stuff like that?).

I'm a libertarian, not a Democrat, and had some serious policy differences with HRC -- but was beyond disgusted at how the primaries rolled out. The full throated hatred and misogyny was breathtaking.

As the only female in my engineering class in the late 70's/early 80's, I thought we had conquered the meme that there are "some" jobs women can't/shouldn't do and had proven ourselves professionals of equal stature and worthy of professional respect.

Silly me. Did I get skooled during the 08 primaries, or what, eh?

You know what they say,
"Bros before Ho's"

They think we're going to forget.
Not.gonna.happen.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Stop, you are spot on - we will not forget.

And I hear you abt Hillary. That was the thing that got me to take a second look at Palin. I saw that they were doing the exact same thing to her that they did to Hillary. Even if I don't agree with her on everything, I will not stand idly by while another strong, powerful woman gets attacked for being just that.

Neat that you're an engineer! And I know - I could not believe the level of misogny that became so rampant during the 2008 campaign. It really highlighted how much anti-woman sentiment was just seething under the surface.

The thing is, the PEOPLE were with Hillary (and Sarah). With Hillary, it was her party leadership who showed their true colors, and why I left the DNC (well, that, and too many reasons to go into now - suffice it to say, I took off my blinders).

No, we won't forget. We cannot...