PrintOctober 12, 2008
Hypocrisy 101
Rep. John Lewis, Georgia Democrat, has unleashed the vicious attack on John McCain and Sarah Palin that we have been anticipating of late. After noting that McCain and Palin were "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" Lewis turns the screws even further by comparing the current Republican "toxic language" to the hostile climate George Wallace created in Alabama back in the early 60s:
"Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."
Lewis claims that McCain and Palin are "playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better."
When a shocked McCain asked Obama to repudiate Lewis' remarks, Obama's campaign spokesman Bill Burton said Lewis' comments were mostly "on target:"
"John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for president of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.'"
Well, where does one begin? First of all, I don't recall Congressman Lewis or Barack Obama for that matter ever claiming that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's incendiary venom might "consume us all." For twenty years Barack Obama and his family sat in the presence of this hatemonger and never once thought "we can do better." In fact, last spring Barack Obama asked us to actually tolerate this anger:
"The anger is real. It is powerful. And to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races."
What are the roots of Republican anger? They include the following: that Barack Obama will not come clean about his relationship with known terrorists and other organizations that would like nothing better than to see the American experiment go up in flames; that his close advisor and wife Michelle -- likely a future First Lady -- has openly mocked this country as “downright mean;” that the mainstream press, rather than practicing professional, investigative journalism simply swoons in his presence; that his voting record has earned him the dubious honor of being the most liberal politician in the Senate and he, along with lumpen leftists like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid may soon attempt to unleash a new kind of radical experiment in America.
Americans have a right to be angry, Congressman Lewis. You claimed that "George Wallace never threw a bomb . . . but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans . . ." Didn't Barack Obama once hang out with actual former terrorists who actually threw bombs? Was it John McCain or Barack Obama who ordered his minions to "get in their faces?" Who has been sowing the seeds of hatred Mr. Lewis? Leftists who've been calling Republicans fascists for eight years or these same conservatives who've been taking it on the chin?
Americans have a right to be angry, Congressman Lewis. You claimed that "George Wallace never threw a bomb . . . but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans . . ." Didn't Barack Obama once hang out with actual former terrorists who actually threw bombs? Was it John McCain or Barack Obama who ordered his minions to "get in their faces?" Who has been sowing the seeds of hatred Mr. Lewis? Leftists who've been calling Republicans fascists for eight years or these same conservatives who've been taking it on the chin?
