PrintFebruary 28, 2011
The Geraldo Rivera of Presidents
I'm bitter. No two ways about it. Without Robert Glib in the press room there's just no comic relief in the fundamental transformation anymore. So often Leftists are, themselves, the best illustration of their ironic world of absurdity -- even those Leftists who sometimes masquerade as conservatives.
Before Late Night hosts, White House press secretaries, and Saturday Night Live casts found such pleasure in giving conservatism a bad name, there was Geraldo Rivera.
Remember the unending build-up to Rivera's live television special, "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault"? Its marketing created a palpable curiosity, sparking conversations around water coolers for weeks. For all the anticipation -- all the promise of treasure -- we were left with thirty seconds of watching dust settle on an empty room. Nothing like naked humiliation to jumpstart a career.
If Kennedy was the "King of Camelot," and Reagan, ‘the Teflon President,' Barack Obama is the "Geraldo Rivera President."
Rivera was born to a Puerto Rican father, and a Caucasian mother. He was raised in his mother's Jewish faith, later rejecting it, and is now purportedly an atheist. He evokes other religions as they suit his purpose. He is respectful, for example, with the Leftist organizing, Muslim Brotherhood, and their offshoot, CAIR.
He grew up in "ethnic confusion" in Long Island where he lead a double life; an ethnic ‘pastiche' at home, and a boy with white, protestant friends at school.
He was born "Gerald," eventually adopting the Latino pronunciation, Geraldo.
After graduating from Law School, he devoted himself to the cause of "poverty law."
With the help of another writer, he penned his autobiography; Exposing Myself, [not to be confused with any of Obama's books] at the age of 48, wherein he chronicled the discrimination he faced in his youth, and his fight to champion the ‘little guy.'
He is the author of several other books. The books, HisPANIC Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S., and The Great Progression How Hispanics Will Lead America To A New Era Of Prosperity, are progressive manuals which inject accusations of racism in what should be real discussions; blurring legal and illegal immigration, for example, and calling virtually any and all opposition racist.
He is vocal in his disagreement with George W. Bush; Bush's handling of war, his response to 9/11, his hurricane Katrina response, his ‘stolen' 2004 election, and the arrogance of his foreign policy.
He postures with our troops, championing their bravery while showcasing his own risk, and inadvertently undermining troop movements and tactical maneuvers. He questioned whether 9/11 was an ‘inside job.'
He is, perhaps, most famous for his personal exploits. The mystery of his many affairs, his affinity for the high life, and his desire to befriend the powerful, the criminal, Hollywood celebrities, and the most provocative world leaders.
He supports ObamaCare.
He blames talk radio for making Latinos feel unwelcome as immigrants.
He decries racism, but projects race into every possible situation. When Joe Wilson shouted, "you lie" to President Obama, it was racist. When anyone questions illegal immigration, it's racist. The police response to "these missing white girl cases," is racist. Before Sonia Sotomayor is a wise American, she is a wise Latino.
He treats conservatives with disdain. He once called FNC co-worker Michelle Malkin's opposition to illegal immigration, "anti-immigrant hysteria." He followed that with, "I'd spit on her if I saw her." The Tea Party incites violent rhetoric, even shootings in Arizona. He has "never seen any people of color" at a Tea Party rally.
He calls himself a Zionist but shamelessly attacks Israel, including propagating the narrative that it is Netanyahu who refuses to make peace with Palestinians.
He has a knack for inserting himself in every story; championing the downtrodden, while he somehow makes their plight about himself.
He has a very healthy opinion of himself, evidenced by numerous magazine covers, books, self-congratulatory speeches, and a love of the limelight that, sadly, tends to undermine the good he has done. He once called himself, "one of America's few one-name celebrities."
He has extensive experience in using Teleprompters.
If not for the famous moustache, you might confuse Geraldo for another ‘one-name celebrity,' except Obama very openly deplores FOX News, and Geraldo collects a paycheck from them.
Any lack of substance is disguised with Geraldo's grandiose style: the broken nose in 1988 when he pitted volatile racist groups against one another, weeping with Katrina victims, putting himself in harm's way with soldiers, and humanizing the Charles Mansons and Castros of the world. Above all, Geraldo reads the world through the progressive's race-colored glasses. As countless citizens, even liberals, are now realizing, falling for style over substance is exactly how we get a narcissistic, appeasing, race-obsessed Gerry Rivera to the White House.
If you want to see the victim narrative come to life, look no further than Madison, Wisconsin where bloated teachers unions wage class warfare, and their elected mouthpieces flee the State; supposedly unaware, if the flotilla isn't righted, the Democrat and union ships go down together.
All the while, of course, Rome continues to burn, and the Obamas host a timely celebration of Detroit's Motown History and its role in the civil rights movement, complete with a day of workshops, and a lavish, star-studded sing-a-long. Because, in the words of Michelle Obama, "the Motown story is a metaphor for life," which I'm sure means a lot to Americans in the crosshairs of a civil war in Libya, the families of the four Americans killed by Somali pirates last week, and our brave soldiers risking their lives around the world.
If unions are to expect another bailout, it makes sense they posture as the new civil rights' movement. Surprisingly, Geraldo hasn't yet stood weeping with union members on the steps of the Madison State House. It would certainly fit the narrative. Forget that public employee unions are paid at twice the rate of their private sector counterparts; forget the $200 billion in stimulus dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that largely went to fund -- save -- public employee pensions in already bankrupt States, forget their union collects dues that are used to support one -- and only one -- political party, forget they can ‘skip' (cough, cough) school for a week and still have a job, and forget the many good and honorable public school teachers the union disparages by association.
This is what the narrative buys. Empathy for the cause; distraction from the facts. Geraldo knows it well. Obama community-organizes on its behalf.
What's most remarkable, is the fact Obama is now ostensibly the organizing arm of all public sector unions from within the White House, even if only by proxy. A President organizing against State Governors, and private taxpayers, is nothing less than un-presidential.
The truth is we know the song. We get it. And, frankly, it's been playing in our heads like a bad record for far too long. Many of us manage to work and prosper despite some adversity -- in many cases, it's what compels us. And we do so without calling in the union or the government to babysit every bump in the road, or evoking racial inequality or other misnomers when we fail. The narrative is simply lost on those of us who refuse to see life through the prism of race, or class, or a long-held grudge. We refuse to let the narrative trump the reality of the truly oppressed -- the taxpayer.
The White House says it's not taking sides in the union fight in Wisconsin, but Obama's actions say otherwise; no matter how covert. In 2012 taxpayers will take a real seat at the collective bargaining table, and vote Big Labor out of the White House. FOX News could take the same lead, but if fair and balanced is your mantra, Rivera isn't the worst of token progressives. At the very least, Rivera continues to prove conservatism is the right path, often times better than conservatives themselves can convey.
