Limbaugh Logic: Demonize Islam, Not Me!

Rush Limbaugh, after the Fort Hood attack, was ready to blame the Muslim faith for every violent act committed by a Muslim.  The logic is that the Imam’s preach hate and violence.

RUSH:  I mean folks, ought to read to you what my friend Andy McCarthy wrote about this at National Review Online: “After the carnage we’ve seen for two decades, and the high religious authorities that have endorsed it, it is simply astounding that an American president — at a solemn memorial service for soldiers killed just days ago by a jihadist acting on his rational, broadly accepted understanding of his religious duty — could claim that ‘no faith justifies’ sneak-attack murders, and that no religion teaches that ‘God looks upon them with favor.’ In fact, a widely held interpretation of Islam holds exactly these principles. No one is saying that all Muslims follow Hasan’s construction of Islam, but hundreds of millions do and they have scriptures to back up their beliefs — scriptures we could all read if we’d just pull our heads out of the sand. To deny that is to deny reality. A country can’t be protected by people who lack the will to face reality.”

And that’s what we have in president Obama.  I’m still struggling, does he face reality, is he this naïve or is he this cunning?  He’s got to know what jihad is.  He’s got to know of the imams that preach it.  He’s got to know that there are scriptures in these people’s book that suggests the way to get to heaven is to kill infidels.  This is not even arguable.  As Andy says here it’s not about all Muslims but clearly hundreds of millions of them.  Let’s listen to the next sound bite.

Rush Limbaugh, when his preaching is blamed for acts of hate and violence, protests:

Don’t kid yourself.  What this was all about is shutting down any and all political opposition and eventually criminalizing it. Criminalizing policy differences, at least when they differ from the Democrat Party agenda.  One of the more disturbing things about this incident is that someday the left will finally get their wish.  One of these days it’s going to happen.  This is all setting the table for it.  Groups are large.  Many people populate groups — and within any group of people, a sample is gonna find those who are unstable, deranged, and so forth like this kid.  You are eventually, at some point, going to probably find somebody who could be more closely identified with a particular political movement.  This kid is just a nut, and they’ve done their best…

Limbaugh, is getting a taste of his own medicine and he does not like it.  He wants to be given the benefit of the doubt.  He wants to be free to speak.  He does not want a whole group, his conservatives to be blemished.  Yet, each and every chance he and his band have they blemish every Arab and every Muslim.  A broad brush of blame he applies to millions of people, but he the “imam” of the right, finds a broad brush applied to him distasteful.

So, now Sarah, Glen and Rush want to be treated with respect.  They don’t want to be blamed as a group for the actions of one.  The tactic of demonization came back to bite them in the ass.  That is the problem with such public behavior.  It comes around and it bites hard.  The cycle of looking for demons, devils and the evil never ends.

Senator Simpson vs. Paul Krugman

Listen to this NPR interview of the Catfood Commissioners, Bowels and Simpson:  Debt Commission Co-Chairs, Won\’t Bow To Criticism.

I’d love to meet Paul Krugman, cuz sometimes he looks like he lost his marbles, I know he won the Nobel Prize, I respect that, but let me tell you his ideas are not going to go anywhere, in this atmosphere because, because it’s a different time than he wrote before when he was just dinging on George Bush, more fun to ding on Bush economically than anyone else, and he loved that, but let me tell you, if he can’t realize what we are doing with social security ….he will lose his relevance.  (emphasis mine)

My fellow Americans, these are the words of a commissioner chosen by the President to talk about how we will discuss the budget issues.  Krugman was one of the strongest voices that stopped the campaign to privatize Social Security under the Bush administration.

If the respected politicians, chosen by a Democratic President, speak this way about the most respected economist from the Democratic/Left side, I say the game is fixed  and it does not look good for the poor or working class.   What he basically said, if you don’t agree with us, “shut the fuck up”.

Not once did Simpson critique the Krugman analysis .  He just basically attacked Krugman and marginalized him.  If this is bipartisanship, beating up our side each and every time, get ready for the complete capitulation.

The Simpson tone was that of the typical bully from the GOP.  Thank you President Obama, for legitimizing this creep and bringing him back in our midst as some savior.  If this is how the national conversation on the budget will start, I don’t think we have a chance.

What California Voters Learned

After the  trouncing the Democrats got from the new BFFs, the Independents– a 15% swing away from Democrats–everyone is urging a move to the right for Obama.  Blaming progressives and real Democratic party issues seems to be the mood of the day.  Well, it seems the real lessons to be learned, were learned by California voters. What happened in California?  As always, it was different.

California voters, around 2003,got mad and went ballistic on their Democratic governor,   Gray Davis. They recalled the governor and elected a citizen billionaire celebrity politician, Arnold the Terminator.  Arnold made all the promises that tea baggers are making.  He  promised to blast his way through the political gridlock, cut taxes, bring jobs, wealth, defend the borders and make everyone wealthy.   Arnold’s first act was to send everyone about  $500 check,  that worked for a few months.  Yep, that money from increased auto fees, sure made the immediate gratification, don’t tax me citizen happy.  But, it did not solve anything in the state.

His inexperience and outsideriness, the exact things that made him desirable, led to six years of gridlock with no end in sight.  Having a split government with a constantly changing term limited legislature, ( all the anti- politician and government gimmicks in one pot) does not work.  This time the GOP ran two other outsiders,  Meg Whitman and Fiorina, billionaire, women outsiders, somehow thinking that women would be fooled.

California women were not fooled, they broke 56-40 Democratic compared to 48 -51% nationally.  Neither were the young people Neither were the Latinos, Blacks or Asians.  Californians chose experience:(CS Monitor).

Analysts credit an intense burst of support by longtime Democratic allies – plus the party’s edge among the many racial and ethnic subgroups here – for turning out the Democratic vote.

I realize that the Mainstream Media does not care to pay attention, but the old Democratic Machine kicked some serious ass in California.  John Burton, unions and the – Democratic alliances, did their work against the new money.

After Whitman spent $168 million trying to destroy Brown, her own words buried her.  After Fiorina, with the help of Palin and the outside Chamber and Rove secret funds blasted Boxer with television advertisements, Fiorina lost by 10% points.  The Democrats had about a 900,000 vote advantage. These were not squeakers.  Fiorina, would not conceded last night at midnight, she gave a speech and said that she was going to crunch the numbers some more.  Dear Carly, these are not corporate earning numbers, you can crunch all you want, you lost.

So, do not despair.  Do not lose sight.  Do not listen to the punditocracy telling us that the Democratic alliances fell apart.  In time, the citizen politicians, who will be starry-eyed newbies for the lobbyists, will disappoint.  They will lash-out, investigate, gridlock and pontificate and will come up with zero.

Politics is a business for politicians.  Crusty ones like Jerry and feisty ones like Boxer.  Inexperienced ideologues are of no use and ultimately just are the tools of the real powers that be, the Corporatists, who control the lobbying industry.

Crusty, as we lovingly call Jerry, is still around and still willing to do the service needed for California.  eMeg, with her managed focus group consultant driven campaign, could have bought an island for that money and made her self queen.

Bitter Knitters Always Vote

Image via Wikipedia, (while the Pelosi was fighting for healthcare)

Rahm Emannuel, during the 2008 Presidential campaign, called the women who supported Hillary “bitter knitters” .  Somehow, cause we lost, us women of a certain age, would take our knitting, sit around and be bitter.  Dearest, Rahm, take that back.

Rahm , Axelrod and Obama, lost the new flock they brought to the Democratic Party.  It seems that the inspired are not feeling the Mathews’ thrill up their legs, Tom Hayden’s  girlfriend treadmill epiphany nor Arianna’s moment of transcendence.  The thrill is gone and they don’t know where to find it.

But here I am, a lefty, real lefty, verging on socialist, who will still vote for the Democrats, give them money and continue to participate.  A few things to understand about boomer women, aka, women of a certain age:

• We commit to things and follow through.
• We found inspiration in our youth, on our own ,and managed to keep the flame going through many obstacles.
• We don’t need to be reminded to vote, we always vote.
• We will not shut up.
• We will not be marginalized.
• We never think the job is done and that others will take care of our interests.
• We changed our roles as women, mothers and wives and we will change our roles as “women of a certain age“.

Another election, another night of get out the vote efforts that will be filled  with women of a certain age churning out the calls, wo-manning the stations.

I wonder were the newly inspired are, the ones that saved the Democratic party?