A somewhat sane Republican on the tea partiers

[Ravi]

Yeah... because nobody else on the right thought that was out of line or disgusting



Jeez ravi.... grow the fuck up

Right...because no one else on the right criticized it...and I need to grow up.

Maybe that's because they understand the Context of the Statement, and you have yet to understand?

Maybe you can explain to us all the "Context of the Statement" that makes it acceptable to parade around with the image of dead Jews.

 

[Navy1960]

When you compare the President of the United States to Hitler you are trivializing any argument you are trying to make.

If you don't like healthcare...complain about healthcare
Don't like deficits...offer an alternative

But if all you can give is Hitler, Communist, Marxist...who cares what you have to say?

While I agree with the Hitler comparison completely , you should take into consideration that not everyone there is represented by the few people that are making that comparison as well. Let me give you an example, I have a young daughter who much to many surprise and my chagrin, *laughs* is a very active progressive. As a dad I could not be more proud of her, however, when she was with her friends campaigning for President Obama here even though I NEVER agreed with her position I respected it, but those that carried signs of Bush=Hitler and McCain is the Same did not represent the majority of the young people who were out there. Just like then, now those very same people do not represent those tea party protestors but are there to express their own views.

 

[The T]

In fact, I will add this, Mao killed more people that Hitler did and I wonder where all this anger directed at these small number of people that attend these tea parties, when several high up members of their own party express admiration for Chairman Mao.

And I would not hesitate to add Stalin to your growing list...

 

[The T]

Right...because no one else on the right criticized it...and I need to grow up.

Maybe that's because they understand the Context of the Statement, and you have yet to understand?

Maybe you can explain to us all the "Context of the Statement" that makes it acceptable to parade around with the image of dead Jews.

The IMAGE is there because of your shallow thinking, and Not really going forth and looking at the entirety of context as stated.

Perhaps Limbaugh precisely KNEW that it would tweak folks like you? Now you think he meant it? I think NOT. Again we get to context, don't we? You are one of these poor SAPS that are waiting to be insulted aren't you?

 

[Ravi]

Maybe that's because they understand the Context of the Statement, and you have yet to understand?

Maybe you can explain to us all the "Context of the Statement" that makes it acceptable to parade around with the image of dead Jews.

The IMAGE is there because of your shallow thinking, and Not really going forth and looking at the entirety of context as stated.

Perhaps Limbaugh precisely KNEW that it would tweak folks like you? Now you think he meant it? I think NOT. Again we get to context, don't we? You are one of these poor SAPS that are waiting to be insulted aren't you?

So you are saying you guys are disrespecting the victims of the Holocaust to score cheap political points? To "tweak" the other side?

That's vile.

 

[ayiakri]

Let's all be honest here, it is no more honorable to call or compare this President with Hitler as it was to do the same with the last one. What is worth noting is the amount of righteous anger directed at a small number of people who show up at these tea party protests with these signs as if these people are something new and are only something that is the sole property of President Obama. I will only say this, the people that take the time to dishonor the office of the President of the United States are no more honorable than the same ones who did so during the term of the last President. That being said, regardless of how I may feel or anyone else may feel these people are well within their rights to do so under our constitution but do NOT reflect the body as a whole when they do. It's rather like going to a ASU football game when they play Cal. and because 3 people in the stands are wearing Cal. jerseys, therefor every ASU fan is also a Cal. fan. That is the same logic being applied here.

Fair point.

Your last line, about assuming that the few fringe a-holes who "dishonor the office of the President of the United States" somehow represent most or all of the opposition to the President, or all the tea-partiers, even, isn't wholly accurate, since I don't see any posts here claiming that the lunatic fringe on display does represent all the opposition, or the tea-party thing, etc.

Clearly, the vast majority of both Republicans, and of the tea-party protesters, are not making the Nazi/Hitler comparisons.

One key difference I'd point out is this: the Democrats tend to quickly shut up, or kick out of the party, any elected official seen endorsing this kind of behavior. If you remember that Democratic congresswoman from Georgia, Cynthia McKinny (sp?)? She went on a rant about how Bush allegedly knew about the 9/11 attacks, and let it happen, etc. She was a far-left wing-nut.

The Democrats (including the DNC) immediately found another, saner Democrat to run against her in her next primary, and funded him, forcing her out of Congress.

Meanwhile, when a Republican in congress shows total disrespect of both the office of President and his own chamber, by shouting "You LIE!" during a Presidential address to a rare joint session of Congress, he uses the ensuing controversy as a fund-raising tool, and is publicly praised by many other Republicans. The only negative comments he got from the right-wing media were that he shouldn't have offered any apology at all.

So yes, there are moon-bats on the far left, and wing-nuts on the far right. But the Democrat party, at least, tends to "deal with" their extremist fringe more effectively than the Republican party. How many Democratic Senators claim that the U.S. government, NASA, and the UN are involved in a giant conspiracy to pull off a hoax? Sen. Inhofe (Republican) claims exactly that, about climate change. I mean - really? And the GOP doesn't weed him out of office?

If and when some Democratic Senator claims that Russia's nuclear weapons are a hoax, or that China's emerging military strength is a "right wing hoax" perpetuated by the U.S. military, I'll be first in line to denounce them for it, and I'm confident they'd have sane primary challengers in their next election, as the Dems weed the nutcase out.

Anyway - thanks for making a reasoned point on the issue. I agree with your essential point, I just think that there's more tolerance for the extreme in one party vs the other.

 

[ayiakri]

In fact, I will add this, Mao killed more people that Hitler did and I wonder where all this anger directed at these small number of people that attend these tea parties, when several high up members of their own party express admiration for Chairman Mao.

If true, I would very much like to see a link corroborating this. "Chairman Mao" has already been essentially disowned even in China (I live in Asia, and have been to China multiple times). The sayings and writings of Deng Xao Ping (sp?), who started the economic reforms there, resulting in the current capitalist boom in China, are far more embraced than anything Mao did there.

So - which "high up members" of the Democratic party have, in recent past, expressed admiration for Mao? I truly would like to know.

 

[Ringel05]

He offered the advice that Republicans should tone it down (it being the Hitler comparisons and the like) You responding by putting up an example of the 'other side' doing something similar. Now, does that mean your position is that the Republicans SHOULDN'T tone it down, because they're only doing something some other radicals supposedly on the left did?
Or are you simply making an ad hominem attack on rightwinger?

If you're acknowledging that the banner you posted is comparable to what Republicans are doing now with this Hitler/Nazi stuff, etc., aren't you really agreeing that the Republicans SHOULD tone it down? Or is your position that the banner was a good protest tactic?

Gee, If you had actually read all of my responses to you (most importantly the first) you would have figured it out a loooooong time ago and we would have never this conversation. Hacks are hacks, I don't care which side they are on, they're hypocrites one and all. As for whether both sides should tone it down or not, well since you like to read into peoples posts, I'll let you continue to play you little game and decide for yourself, you're going to anyway. Have a nice day.

So you don't have the courage to actually take a stand on whether or not the Republicans should be running around calling the president a Nazi and the like.

OK, that explains perfectly why you made the original post I responded to.

What a putz.
(You really do want to be a reporter don't you. And yes I consider reporters, for the most part, to be lower on the food chain then politicians).

 

[Ravi]

The difference is that the anti-war marches weren't received by the politicians in the same way. Politicians did not attend the rallies, did not encourage them, and did not give speeches at them. The Republicans do all of that at tea party rallies and yet look the other way at the signs.

 

[Navy1960]

In fact, I will add this, Mao killed more people that Hitler did and I wonder where all this anger directed at these small number of people that attend these tea parties, when several high up members of their own party express admiration for Chairman Mao.

If true, I would very much like to see a link corroborating this. "Chairman Mao" has already been essentially disowned even in China (I live in Asia, and have been to China multiple times). The sayings and writings of Deng Xao Ping (sp?), who started the economic reforms there, resulting in the current capitalist boom in China, are far more embraced than anything Mao did there.

So - which "high up members" of the Democratic party have, in recent past, expressed admiration for Mao? I truly would like to know.

First let me address your other posting, while I agree that both parties have issues, I think it's somewhat a stretch to put one party as the champion of the people and the other as somehow not being able to control it's member(s) or looking the other way and allowing for "wingnuts" as you say to prosper. In fact I don't think that democrats or republicans are lacking in that area. To the point, I will point you to John Murtha (D) Penn. and will leave you with this,

Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., claimed Murtha damaged his reputation by saying the squad Wuterich led on Nov. 19, 2005, engaged in "cold-blooded murder and war crimes" in Haditha, Iraq. Murtha predicted at a news conference in May 2006 that a Pentagon probe would show the squad, which included Sharratt, killed dozens of innocent Iraqi civilians.
Former Marine revises defamation suit against John Murtha | Breaking Midstate News with The Patriot-News -

That was prior to his re-election mind you and prior to his calling most of those in Western Pa. "Rednecks" thats the short version in which he apologized for. So let's not hold up one party as the paragon of virtue or better than the other when it comes to their share of these so called "wingnuts*

To your other point,
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2FVEe7wCzs&feature=related]YouTube - White House Communications Director Anita Dunn Loves Mao Zedong[/ame]

Anita Dunn by what is the White House Communications Director.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27cXXirAIw4&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - SHOCKER: Obama Czar Agrees With Mao, Too, and Thinks Free Market is Nonsense[/ame]

Ron Bloom Manufacturing Czar

You asked and I'm sure as someone who has lived in Asia and by the way would recognize the that this fondness for Mao is akin to admiring Hitler because he pulled Germany out of economic disaster, never mind the sheer millions that both of them tortured, murdered, and put in concentration camps.

 

[nodoginnafight]

While I agree with the Hitler comparison completely , you should take into consideration that not everyone there is represented by the few people that are making that comparison as well.

Then those who are there certainly have the opportunity to voice their disagreement with such sentiments .....
I'm listening .......

 

[Navy1960]

While I agree with the Hitler comparison completely , you should take into consideration that not everyone there is represented by the few people that are making that comparison as well.

Then those who are there certainly have the opportunity to voice their disagreement with such sentiments .....
I'm listening .......

At yesterday's tea party rally on Capitol Hill, at least one protester brandished a large graphic photograph of the victims of the Dachau Nazi concentration camp, comparing health care reform to Nazi policies. Today, Rep. Eric Cantor's (R-VA) spokesman called the photograph "inappropriate."

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) has also condemned the poster.

Cantor, in an interview today with Bloomberg, also offered some criticism of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's comparison of President Obama to Adolf Hitler.

"Do I condone the mention of Hitler in any discussion about politics?" said Cantor, who is the only Jewish Republican in Congress. "No, I don't, because obviously that is something that conjures up images that frankly are not, I think, very helpful."
Cantor Says Tea Party's Dachau Photos 'Inappropriate,' Takes Issue With Limbaugh | TPMDC

MISSION STATEMENT

The San Antonio Tea Party is a group of individuals united by our shared concern over excessive spending by an out-of-control Federal Government that has exceeded bounds set by the US Constitution. As an organization, we believe that adherence to the US Constitution will result in a Limited Federal Government, Fiscal Responsibility, and Free Markets. We also recognize the strength of grassroots organizing powered by activism and civic responsibility at a local level. The San Antonio Tea Party’s mission is to organize like-minded individuals, educate and inform others based on our core values, to secure public policy consistent with those values, and to positively affect the outcome of elections.

SanAntonioTeaParty.org » Mission Statement

While those small number of protestors that show up to these events and I mean every event from this president to the last do not represent the body as a whole and while you and I find this sort of representation compltely out of place those views are still protected under the constitution even if they are expressed at a tea party protest or a anti-war rally. The day we begin to stop Free Speech in this nation is the day the last person needs to turn the lights off on the United States, no matter how much we disagree with it.

 

[Ravi]

On second thought, inappropriate is a pretty mild rebuke...and what of the other Republican politicians participating at the event? Like I said above, the lefty war protests didn't feature Democratic politicians.

 

[rightwinger]

On second thought, inappropriate is a pretty mild rebuke...and what of the other Republican politicians participating at the event? Like I said above, the lefty war protests didn't feature Democratic politicians.

What Republicans don't understand is that by speaking at these rallies they are given tacit approval to the signs and chants of the protestors.

As an elected official they have an expected decorum. They have an obligation to refuse to speak unless those signs are removed.

 

[Ravi]

On second thought, inappropriate is a pretty mild rebuke...and what of the other Republican politicians participating at the event? Like I said above, the lefty war protests didn't feature Democratic politicians.

What Republicans don't understand is that by speaking at these rallies they are given tacit approval to the signs and chants of the protestors.

As an elected official they have an expected decorum. They have an obligation to refuse to speak unless those signs are removed.

I can agree with that.

 

[ayiakri]

Navy1960, I think we get your point - at least one Republican in Congress (the lone Republican Jew, apparently), spoke out - in a pretty mild rebuke - against the depictions of holocaust victims at a tea-party protest. He called it, "inappropriate", and "unhelpful"...

I'm not suggesting that those people don't have the right to show pictures of holocaust victims, or to call Obama a Nazi - they absolutely have that right. I (and obviously, some others) feel that the elected Republican politicians who speak at such events - like Michelle Bachman (sp?) - should go on record as also calling out those posters as inappropriate.

One of McCain's best moments, and the point at which I realized that, underneath it all he maintained a core of class, was at a rally when some woman said to him (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Oh, I hope you win, Senator, I don't trust that Obama, he's a muslim!".

McCain responded by shaking his head, and saying, "No, ma'am, he's a good man, a family man, we just disagree" (or words to that effect).

That was a touch of class, and props to McCain for doing that. Can you imagine what McCain would have done if that woman was holding a sign showing holocaust victims, or showing "Obama as Hitler"?? I bet it would have been more than just "that's not helpful" (gee, Cantor, way to go out on a limb).

Again - when Cynthia McKinny (D-GA) made some moon-bat comments about 9/11, and how Bush "knew" about the attack, etc (conspiracy-theorist bullshit), the DNC funded a primary-campaign challenger to her, and she was forced out of Congress - by the Democrats.

When Michelle Bachman makes equally crazy claims about Obama (on one TV show, she literally said Obama might be "anti-American", and compared him to a terrorist, taking even her Fox News interviewer aback), I don't see the RNC pulling her funding.

There seems to be a sort of double-standard at work. Everyone's free to speak and assemble, even the KKK, but don't you see the damage that not clearly distancing the party from wackos does to the image of the entire political party?

It's frankly damaging to the GOP, even more than those "Code Pink" people were to the Dems, because Code Pink never had any official support.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Obama is a national socialist and thus far, his executive decisions have has closely matched those of the guy with the funny mustache who also got awards and accolades strewn upon him for no good fucking reason except for the Hope and Change he was advocating

 

[KittenKoder]

On second thought, inappropriate is a pretty mild rebuke...and what of the other Republican politicians participating at the event? Like I said above, the lefty war protests didn't feature Democratic politicians.

What Republicans don't understand is that by speaking at these rallies they are given tacit approval to the signs and chants of the protestors.

As an elected official they have an expected decorum. They have an obligation to refuse to speak unless those signs are removed.

Sorry ... but that's stupid. You do realize that a lot of liberal protests (especially the ones I went to) called for the assassination Bush? So ... should all the liberals who participated in those be arrested for treason as well?

 

[potter 58]

oh come on Kitten, shoot the a$$wipe never, I'll wait till that POS dies and be the first on to piss on his grave

 

[KittenKoder]

oh come on Kitten, shoot the a$$wipe never, I'll wait till that POS dies and be the first on to piss on his grave

WTF?