Posted on 09/24/2006 7:01:59 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
It must have been hard for Harlem congressman Charles Rangel to keep a straight face when he criticized Hugo Chavez's personal attacks on President Bush. Professing "extreme displeasure" that the Venezuelan crackpot called Bush the "devil" and an "alcoholic," Rangel was hiding a dirty little secret. Namely, that he, too, is guilty of outrageous personal attacks on Bush. "Our Bull Connor," Rangel called the President a year ago, referring to the infamous '60s Alabama police commissioner who turned hoses and dogs on civil rights marchers. In July, he called Bush "a stone-cold alcoholic who found Jesus" at an anti-war, pro-immigrant event, according to Gerson Borrero's column in the Spanish-language paper El Diario. He quoted Rangel as saying Bush "talks about Jesus as if they were raised together."
Rangel, of course, is not the only Dem to cross the decency line. Sen. Hillary Clinton said Bush viewed Hurricane Katrina as "a mixed blessing" because it wiped out Democratic New Orleans. Al Gore accused the President of unleashing "digital brownshirts" on journalists. Party boss Howard Dean and congressional leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have repeatedly accused Bush of lying, mostly about Iraq.
With the slimy attacks routine since Bush was reelected in 2004, my suspicion is that November's midterm elections have everything to do with Democrats' sudden concern for decorum. They know that being fellow travelers with anti-American nut jobs like Chavez will backfire among U.S. voters. And unless Democrats pick up at least 15 House seats, Rangel won't be head of the Ways and Means Committee and Pelosi won't be speaker.
Even if their conversions are sincere, they are still responsible for creating the environment Chavez exploited. Their personal attacks gave license to the likes of Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq. She has called Bush an "evil maniac" and a "fuhrer." Michael Moore, George Soros, Air America and the Internet ooze with Hitler-Bush comparisons, as though Nazi death camps were just a political dispute.
New York State Controller Alan Hevesi was the worst. During an introduction of Sen. Chuck Schumer at a college commencement, Hevesi said Schumer would "put a bullet between the President's eyes if he could get away with it."
Hevesi quickly apologized, saying the comment was "beyond dumb." But there is no apology from the British filmmaker behind "Death of a President," which uses special effects to show Bush being assassinated. Labeled a "fictional documentary," whatever that means, the film, CNN reports, opens with demonstrations against Bush during 2007 visits to Chicago. As he leaves a hotel, he is shot by a sniper, allegedly a Palestinian.
Presto, all the real issues of the day - anti-war protests, Mideast terrorists, jailing the innocent - are woven in. Only the shooting is fictional. So far.
News reader Carol Daly isn't fooled by what's going on. No sooner had Chavez and Iranian President and Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ended their UN rants than Daly sent me this e-mail:
"I believe the United States Democratic senators who have been criticizing the President, calling him a liar, etc., have emboldened the rhetoric we are hearing from the leaders of Iran and Venezuela," wrote the 66-year-old Republican from Long Island. "To disagree with the President on any issue is fine, to ridicule and foster hate, etc., is not. Their rhetoric has also fostered false allegations regarding 9/11, etc. We live in the best country in the world, and I for one am proud to be an American."
Former Mayor Ed Koch has made a similar point, and he includes some of the mainstream media in his criticism. He thinks the personal attacks against Bush are helping Islamic terrorists.
"You can differ and you can disagree," Koch said. "But when you demean the President, you are aiding the enemy."
Koch was quick to say the attacks "are not a crime," but added: "We are at war. And everything we do that derides our President before the world of nations hurts our ability to fight and win."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
"Yep. And Koch is and always has been a strange duck. But he always had class when it came to world affairs. "
Ed Koch is a Liberal in the good sense. He is Liberal on social issues but when it comes to the defense of this country, his politics stops at the shoreline.
Koch is what Lieberman wants to be but can't.
Exactly.
Democrat hate speech is repeated not only in this country but all other countries. They have very effectively turned the world against us. Former Presidents, Vice Presidents and other cabinet members have bad mouthed us in every county they visit. Not to mention the 'Hollywood' types that are always running down America and Geo. W.
The hate that is being spewed is almost overwhelming. Every stinking day it is some new. I am sick of it!!!!!!!!
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