PrintDecember 22, 2007
Hillary's Socialist-Santa Routine and Huckabee's Christmas Kidnap
Down South we have an old saying that applies to disingenuous people of all varieties. Whenever you encounter one of these slick deceivers, who appear a great deal nicer or different than their actions demonstrate, you need to keep a close guard on both your wallet and your knife, because you're about to be either financially fleeced or proverbially knifed in your back.
Two political ads during our holiday season ought to be given this kind of serious scrutiny by an electorate imbibing on all the spiked eggnog and ubiquitous cheer. One simply cannot have enough skepticism when viewing politicians and their seemingly innocuous advertisements.
Hillary's holiday ad left me running for the ladies' room and searching for the Pepto Bismol. How any self-respecting American could view this advertisement, portraying Hillary as this year's Socialist Santa, with anything but visceral loathing is beyond my capacity to fathom.
Here is my verbal picture for those who prefer to skip the attack of nausea:
First, a scene of festive wrapping paper being slowly, meaningfully cut with scissors fills the screen to a melodious background of instrumental Christmas music. Then we see Hillary, dressed in her frumpy best, seated majestically on her settee as she places the pre-printed gift cards on a table-full of wrapped gifts with frilly bows. Upon the "gift" cards are her favorite socialist-agenda ideas: "Universal Health Care," "Bring Our Troops Home," "Alternative Energy" and "Middle-Class Tax Benefits." She saves her favorite for last, and makes quite a show of having misplaced it, retrieves the card printed, "Universal Pre-K," and places it benevolently upon the last package, as the picture fades from her self-satisfied smile and she wishes us all a "happy holiday" and "approves of this message."
Never in all my born days did I think I would see a day when a politician in broad daylight, before rolling cameras would dare to tell Americans that she would pick our pockets in egregiously higher taxes, take a handsome share for herself, then bestow our money back to us, and have the audacity to proclaim that she is the giver.
This ad reminded me of one of my favorite Gandhi sayings that goes something like this:
"In life there are two kinds of people. There are those who do the work and then there are those who try to claim the credit. Always strive to be in the first group; there is much less competition."
This Socialist-Santa routine certainly clinches Hillary's spot in the top tier of the credit-seekers. How much real work goes into fleecing the American taxpayer? Not a whole lot, it seems.
Mike Huckabee's ad was at least a bit more genuine because we know he is a Baptist preacher man. So, the deftly-lighted cross (on a bookshelf) routine and the Christmas tree don't seem off base for him. Well-calculated, even shrewd. Nevertheless the same principle is at work here, in my opinion. Trying to take credit for something you had nothing whatsoever to do with creating is a fundamental deception, or "lie," if you prefer it.
I found Huckabee's holiday-time advertisement even more disgusting than Hillary's because I count myself among the day-in-day-out-striving-for-holiness group of Christians. And, to me, Huckabee's ad was no less than a furtive kidnap of our Savior's birthday feast for political and personal gain, trying to invoke God's own holiness as a mantle for himself.
To me, it was rather like the used-car salesman who asks you to say a prayer with him for "Godly guidance," before you make up your mind whether to pay him full price painted on the windshield for the heap of junk he swears was driven only once each week by a little old lady going to Church. Anyone foolish enough to fall for this kind of marketing gimmick needs to call me quick. I've got a nice piece of oceanfront property in Wyoming I'd love to sell you! And if you like, I'll even tell you that it was specially blessed by the Pope on his last trip to America. Due to it being the holidays and all, I'll even take less than the asking price.
Personally I'm thankful to both Hillary and Huck for reminding me once again why I never even bother to listen to politicians' speeches. Instead I read, read, read and read some more. Many among us seem to have forgotten the old adages that apply to political candidates even more than they do to used cars: "Buyer beware!" and "Consider the source!"
With a couple of credit-seekers like Hillary and Huck in the top tier of candidates for President this year, it would seem an appropriate time to take stock and remind ourselves that this Country was not just wished or even prayed into existence and sustained vitality. So, I say, let's push the credit-seekers, the financial-fleecers and the back-stabbers off the stage and make room for those smart enough and willing enough to actually do the work.
Kyle-Anne Shiver is a frequent contributor to American Thinker. She welcomes your comments at kyleanneshiver@yahoo.com.
