Nobody is innocent. The Democrats have their talking points just like the GOP. Both use sleazy tactics and push-polling and have corrupt members of their caucuses. But I am not talking about every instance, just one from this morning.
I often receive press releases from Hamilton Strategies, a right-wing publicity organization that spews hateful e-mails attacking President Barack Obama and others in the Democratic Party on a regular basis. Today’s, though, was especially offensive. Here it is (bold mine):
President Obama’s visits to the countries of India and Indonesia have amplified the already existing controversy regarding the president’s Muslim loyalty. As America undergoes vital political changes, devastating unemployment, moral corruption, and economic decline, citizens show concern over the president’s prevailing desire to travel to express Muslim sympathy before attending to the blatant needs of his own country’s citizens. In light of confusing policies and messages that seem to undermine our country’s Christian heritage, the intellectual exploration of apologetics is necessary to bring into focus the infallible truths of God’s Word, and for Christians in this society to know how to respond to and live out their faith in culturally shifting times.
OK, for a second let’s overlook the confounding grammar and poor sentence construction. (“[P]revailing desire to travel to express Muslim sympathy”? What does that even mean?) What this press release says is, “We still think Obama is a Muslim, and his going to Indonesia is a betrayal of good Americans, i.e., Christians.”
It’s well-established that Obama is not a Muslim, and the craven mention of “already existing controversy” over his “Muslim loyalty” merely intentionally stirs up falsehood as a means of race- or religion-baiting. Pretending that a settled fact remains an unknown factor in someone’s honesty is base, evil and a lie. (Don’t Christians believe in not telling lies?) Going further to act as if our country’s “Christian heritage” warrants attacks on anyone who is not Christian is not only anti-American, it’s untrue.
But what really bothers me is this: Where are the principled people on the right condemning these lies, this divisiveness, this cultivated animosity against other races, ethnicities and religions? Does Hamilton Strategies really speak to your beliefs, Newt? Or yours, Sarah? Do you, as leaders of your party, honestly agree that there is a “controversy” over Obama’s religion, or that visiting a country of another religion is a betrayal of our citizens? Do you, Mitt, think that only mainstream Christian thought can find a place in our nation’s governance and dealings with other countries — because your religion is hardly mainstream.
If you are not decrying such hate speech, such lies, such misinformation, which you know to be all these things, how can you claim to be leaders? How can you wonder why some Dems and moderates refuse to listen to any of your ideas because you cannot be trusted to stand up on principle? I’m no fan of Obama, but I don’t appreciate anyone who lies and uses religion as a cudgel to do it. Shame on Hamilton Strategies. Shame on Newt and Sarah and Mitt. And shame on anyone who would prefer to be on the right than in the right.
Principled people on the right?
Are you kidding?
The requirements to join that cabal are selfishness, hatefulness, and greed.
This is clearly far right craziness so asking leadership on the right to condemn this would be like me asking you to condemn every crazy thing a far left person or organization says.
So I’d like to ask you to condemn what Montemalone just said in the above comment.
I think they’ll just ask for his long form birth certificate and skip the dance entirely. Enjoy the show communists!
The right-wings principle is this, frame the issues. They are incredibly successful at it. Consider “Obama Care”? By painting what is really an insurance reform bill as Obama Care the right makes it look like both the President’s personal bill and something that sounds both foreign and socialist at the same time. Did the Dems try to reframe it? Nope, they just scattered and tried to fight with lots of facts and figures rather than call the bill what it is “Insurance Reform”. Why? I guess Dems believe truth wins out. Sad fact, it’s not always the case.
The whole Obama as a Muslim thing has never been reframed and both the President’s handlers and our President are at fault. All it would have taken is a couple of public displays of his faith, even though it goes against his instincts. Showing up at a few Washington churches and maybe even giving a guest sermon would have blunted the silly rumors. Instead the left figures people will come to their senses and figure out the truth.
The right has figured out the truth, Americans are guided by their gut not their minds, and they make the most of it. It’s not “right” but it works and they value success above principals.
Lying as become a conservative value. In the convoluted conservative mind, it’s right, if it serves to advance your goals. Morally is a weakness as much as civility is a weakness to these conservatives.