Posted on 10/04/2007 5:54:18 AM PDT by kristinn
Two weeks ago, members of the right-wing Web site FreeRepublic.com were invited to a picnic at the White House.
The Freepers, as they call themselves, were invited to eat and mingle with the president and his aides, receiving praise from the chief executive and first lady for their work in supporting the war.
Regular features on Free Republic include threats to American citizens and public officials (liberals and Democrats, of course); racist, sexist and discriminatory rhetoric; and much mockery of the president himself, largely because of his insufficiently harsh stance on immigration.
"The only good Muslim," one site regular wrote after the president visited a Washington-area mosque "is an ex-Muslim."
Along with the Freepers were members of the political action group Move America Forward, chaired by San Francisco hate-radio host Melanie Morgan. Morgan's most famous public moment came when she called for the hanging of New York Times editor Bill Keller and laughed along her co-hosts as they talked about putting a bull's-eye on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The president honored those in attendance:
"Everybody is supporting our troops. I want to thank you for doing it. It's important people hear from you. It's important people hear your voice. And I want to thank you for organizing. I want to thank you not only for the grassroots support of our families, I want to thank you for going up to Capitol Hill."
A week later, the same people who threw the Freepers a party wanted any and all politicians to condemn anti-war organization MoveOn.org for a newspaper ad opposing the upcoming Capitol Hill testimony of Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus.
The same people who feted the Freepers and took pictures with them found the content of MoveOn's ad, which called Petraeus "Betray Us," beyond the pale.
Perhaps it was the rhyme. Freepers' posts rarely scan.
I don't know what's more disgusting, that the Republicans who lauded the pillars of right-wing hate turned around and asked Democrats in Congress to condemn MoveOn or that Democrats in Congress meekly assented, as though to their masters' demands.
Brazen hypocrisy at least has the appeal of chutzpah.
I don't know how many times a bully has to kick you in the face before you stop bending down to tie his shoes for him. I don't know how many times Democrats have to learn this particular lesson.
You'd think they'd have learned it in 2002, when Republicans won a Senate seat in Georgia by mocking war hero Max Cleland as insufficiently patriotic. Cleland, who lost three limbs in Vietnam, was derided as weak on national security while his chickenhawk opponent was positioned as the toughest guy in the room.
You'd think they'd have learned it in 2004, when delegates to the Republican National Convention wore Band-Aids with Purple Hearts on them to belittle Democratic nominee John Kerry's war wounds in Vietnam.
You'd think they'd have learned it just by watching the ongoing Republican presidential primaries. Conservative commentator Lee Rodgers recently said Republican Sen. John McCain, another hero of the Vietnam war, was able to coast in his political career because of his status as a former prisoner of war.
"He's had a free political ride for a long, long time because of the 'Oh, poor John, he was a POW in Vietnam' syndrome. But I think the country is getting pretty well fed up with that," Rodgers said.
It's not about patriotism at all. It's not about whose speech went too far. It's not about who was offensive and who wasn't.
Petraeus is a fairly important and powerful man. I bet he didn't go home and cry after reading what MoveOn said about him in the paper.
It's about power. Republicans in Congress have no problem with hateful speech, with questioning patriots' characters, when somebody on the president's side is taking the shots.
They have no problem with it when they can't use it to distract the country from the fact that the Iraq war is getting worse, and there's no end in sight.
You wouldn't think this is something a girl with a Web site would have to tell them, but 22 Senate Democrats and 146 House Democrats voted to condemn MoveOn, voted to say that a newspaper ad was just terrible, voted to clutch their pearls and fan themselves and fuss themselves into a right state.
Hopefully, the next time a piece of legislation this absurd comes across their desks, they'll remember the last time they lay down for this kind of nonsense, Republicans walked right over them.
That statement was picked because it “suggests” , to the writer at least, a comparable phrase involving DEAD muslims....she’s hoping people don’t read it too carefully. It’s about on a par with the rest of the piece, which was a big tiresome yawn. It’s all been said before, a thousand times, and far better than this writer can say it.
Republicans also take steps to get rid of those in their party that act inappropriately. Dems just keep re-electing them.
Wonder if she writes for free. If not, I wonder what the corporation that pays her, thinks of her attitude.
I saw a banner on her blog to advertise here, but saw no advertisers.
AND...Santa sent him on a secret mission to Cambodia on Christmas Eve, 1968.
LOL! Would *you* want to advertise on a page that's guaranteed to tee off 50% or more of your potential customers?
There are only just so many "Holistic Medicine Practitioners" and "Che Guevara T-Shirt sellers" to spread their ad dollars around.
That explains why he always has a long face.
Where was my invitation?
Some of us just don't rate and I'm still upset that I wasn't on Jim's Freeper mailing list for his evil plan to ruin the Dixie Chicks' careers.
That Skip Barker fellow looks kinda gay.
Go on! Really? Looks like one of the actors in that drag queen comedy with Patrick Swayze from a few years ago.
Love Wong Fu or some such.
First they came for Imus.
Then Rush.
Next up, FreeRepublic.
Wise men such as myself predicted this in the lead up to the 2008 elections.
The Left cannot sell their Socialist trash without monopoly control of the Media.
Unlike the days of Walter Conkrite, the alternative media is powerful and threatening to the Lying Left.
Destroy Socialists wherever you find them.
He was drunk? I had only heard that it was an accident at an LZ while awaiting take off.
Does Allison Hantschel work for Media Matters?
She looks like she took a mortar round in the face.
Repeatedly.
I’d rather make love to my ex-wife than THAT!
A face to sink a thousand ships.
Ugghhhh...
Hello, hope you are doing well.\
Great to read your posts again.
Yes. Posters on FR have made threats to American citizens and public officials.
Citizens who rape and hang 6-year old girls.
Citizens who flagrantly violate campaign funding laws.
Citizens who are working for communist takeover of our country.
Citizens and public officials who would let our children die on the sands of Iraq, just so they can have the ‘first’ woman President. (I am not against a female President,......just against one that is a known liar and currently under investigation for dozens of crimes)
Public officials that report there are no WMD’s to be found, while they are off having sex with 12-year old girls.
Public officials who risk the lives of every American by informing and encouraging the enemy.
Public officials who hang out in men’s bathrooms at the airport (funny how those caught in this type of activity always claim “I am gonna miss my plane”. If so, why didn’t they just get on the plane and use IT’S TOILET???)
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Now, after admitting that to be true, I think that the real issue that this woman has, is that in most of the cases described above, those people turn out to be........
(liberals and Democrats, of course)
Or is she just regurgitating script from Media Matters???
“Sure there are followers of Jesus that would prefer that all humans follow him, but that only means they have a strong belief that they are right. I have just as strong a belief in my religion.”
I am not Jewish, nor Catholic.
As an American, I would fight to the death for you to make that statement and keep your beliefs, as well as mine.
bump back... :)
I stand corrected. From past readings about the exploits of Cleland I was misinformed. He wasn't drunk but was staying behind at an LZ to have a few beers with others who were staying behind.
Apparently when he got off the chopper he saw a grenade on the ground, thought it was his that had become dislodged from his belt and tried to grab it. The resulting explosion cost him his legs and an arm.
However, he was decorated with Silver and Bronze Stars for valor at Khe Sanh.
Unfortunately, the liberals have adopted the mantra that he was a war hero who lost both legs and an arm.
While both are true, he was a hero and he did lose his legs and arm, they have no relation to each other.
I shall henceforth refrain from Cleland bashing except as a shill who was/is/will be used by Democrats/liberals/progressives as a "moral authority" on matters anti-military, anti-conservative and anti-Republican.
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