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Why Rudy and Walker Were Right
Townhall.com ^ | February 25, 2015 | Ben Shapiro

Posted on 02/25/2015 3:21:13 PM PST by Kaslin

This week, the media broke news that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, at an event attended by prospective Republican presidential candidate Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, that he does not believe President Barack Obama "loves America." This isn't news. Barack Obama doesn't love free enterprise, believes founding philosophy was fatally flawed and sees the American people as rubes with antiquated religious and racist tendencies. Sure, we can all agree that Obama likely loves America's scenery; perhaps he loves America, but doesn't like her very much. But that's not what Giuliani was talking about, and everyone knows it.

But in any case, Giuliani wasn't the media's true target. The true target was Walker.

Using Giuliani's comments as a springboard, media members went hunting for a faux pas from Walker. They asked him whether he thinks Obama loves America; Walker responded, quite rightly, "You should ask the president what he thinks about America. I've never asked him so I don't know." They asked him whether he believed Obama was a Christian; Walker answered, "I don't know. ... You've asked me to make statements about people that I haven't had a conversation with about that."

For the media, this represented a "gotcha" moment. Anyone who doubts President Obama's love of country must be pilloried as cruel and inhumane. Anyone who doubts the religious sincerity of a man who invoked Christianity to support lies about his support for traditional marriage, a man who recently compared Christian history with the acts of ISIS, must be publicly scourged.

Naturally, many Republicans have eagerly jumped on the bandwagon. George F. Will said that all Republicans should say that Obama is a patriot (a strategy that worked brilliantly for John McCain in 2008). Matt Lewis of The Daily Beast wrote that no candidate should question anyone's patriotism or stated faith. The premise seems to be that failing to demonstrate such goodwill touches off media conflagrations that damage conservatives overall.

This misses the point.

Democrats have for years been questioning the decency of Republicans as human beings. During the Obamacare rollout, President Obama accused Republicans of wanting to deprive people of healthcare; he openly accused President George W. Bush of being "unpatriotic" for raising the national debt. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that Republicans are "indifferent" to hungry and poor children. Anyone who opposes any aspect of President Obama's agenda has been deemed a racist.

The point here is not the media's double standard, which is egregious but unchangeable. The point is that this perception of Republicans has pervaded the public arena. Republicans' fundamental burden is not explaining to the American people that Democrats are great people, but wrong on policy. Their great burden is overcoming the generalized perception that they are money-grubbing Snidely Whiplashes bent on strapping widows and orphans to the train tracks.

You cannot overcome that perception by ardently pleading that the very folks who call you racist, sexist, homophobic bigots are well-intentioned but incompetent. If someone calls you a racist, and you respond by stating that they are a reasonable human being with policy differences, you grant their premise: A reasonable person has called you a racist, which means it is reasonable to call you racist. You lose.

And Republicans have been losing, at least in large part, because they grant the fundamental premise of the left: Democrats are well-meaning, even when they are wrong, and Republicans have evil intentions, even when they are right. That is a recipe for disaster in a country where intentions matter more than actions.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
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1 posted on 02/25/2015 3:21:13 PM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Republicans cower in fear about losing elections. They don’t want to say too much about anything and stand for nothing...


2 posted on 02/25/2015 3:25:55 PM PST by broken_arrow1 (I regret that I have but one life to give for my country - Nathan Hale "Patriot")
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To: Kaslin; Cincinatus' Wife

George Will and compatriots are wrong. If you don’t personally know something, then don’t act as if you do. Don’t lie about it. Say you don’t know.

If they asked me if Obama loves America, I’d say no, because of numerous comments deriding America over the years.

If they asked me if Obama is a Christian, I’d say no, due to things that Obama does believe.

In my view, Walker was being nice simply saying he doesn’t know.


3 posted on 02/25/2015 3:28:23 PM PST by xzins (I Donated to the Freep-a-Thon - You Should, Too! https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Kaslin

[[First, Rudy Giuliani said at an event for Gov. Scott Walker that the president doesn’t love America like previous presidents did. That might be a little unfair.]]

Well let’s see if it’s unfair

1: He attacked our constitution over and over again- trying ot trample the RIGHTS of our citizens

2: He went after Christians repeatedly- even trying to force them to provide abortions

3: He attacked conservative groups using the IRS as his club

4: He let many 1000’s of ILLEGAL CRIMINALS in our prisons back out onto the streets to further commit crimes against our citizens- SERIOUS crimes

5: He lets senior TERRORISTS go so they can rejoin the fight against Aemrica and so they can murder ore soldiers

6: He is attempting to take over the internet- going to enforce ‘net neutrality (ie: Anythign we post that he doesn’t like will be punished)

7: He trades Senior TERRORISTS- 6 of them, for a DESERTER

8: He and ilk LIED about 4 dead Americans over in Benghazi for months

9: He has opened the borders for more ILLEGASL CRIMINALS to come across and commit their criems against OUR citizens (nearly 80,000 VIOLENT ILLEGALS are walking our streets today- committing everything from rape to murder to assault)

10: He REFUSES to go after TERRORISTS abroad with any seriousness

11: He has lifted sanctions on a nation who has VOWED to annihilate us and the Jews and is actively seeking a nuke

12: He is supplying weapons- serious weapons, to the Muslim Brotherhood- a group who is using those weapons against our soldiers

13: He is always ready to call Christians ‘terrorists’ or ‘violent’ yet REFUSES to call Islamic TERRORISTS what they are-

14: On and on it goes!

Was Rudy too harsh? Absolutely NOT!


4 posted on 02/25/2015 3:28:51 PM PST by Bob434
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To: Kaslin

What he said.


5 posted on 02/25/2015 3:31:19 PM PST by Sivad (NorCal red turf ;-))
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To: xzins

We are, and should judge others by what they say, how they act, and what they do- because that tells us what they think in their hearts- especially when it is consistant enough to establish a pattern that reveals what is in their heart-

the _resident has proven over and over again he has DISDAIN for this country, DISDAIN for conservatives, and that he is NO Christian

It is not wrogn to judge, infact, it is the prudent thing to do, and soemthign we SHOULD do, yet we should do so carefully- looking for patterns and acts which signify what is in a man’s heart

Scott should have said “Let his record speak for itself”


6 posted on 02/25/2015 3:32:05 PM PST by Bob434
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To: Kaslin

7 posted on 02/25/2015 3:33:23 PM PST by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: Kaslin

“Sure, we can all agree that Obama likely loves America’s scenery.”

Where’s the evidence for that? Sure, he likes the golf courses. But I haven’t seen any signs that he admires the scenery.


8 posted on 02/25/2015 3:35:03 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Kaslin

Obama has been wiping his ass with the Constitution every day that he has been President.

What do you think?


9 posted on 02/25/2015 3:35:43 PM PST by joshua c (Please dont feed the liberals)
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To: Kaslin

What does Walker have to do with it?


10 posted on 02/25/2015 3:43:54 PM PST by WayneS (Barack Obama makes Neville Chamberlin look like George Patton.)
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To: Kaslin

How did you get permission to post something about Walker that isn’t negative, snotty, or just plain inaccurate?


11 posted on 02/25/2015 3:48:44 PM PST by bigbob (The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. Abraham Lincoln)
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To: bigbob

George Will should be a Baseball writer.


12 posted on 02/25/2015 3:51:53 PM PST by scooby321
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To: Kaslin
Anyone who doubts President Obama's love of country must be pilloried as cruel and inhumane  racist.

Fixed it.

13 posted on 02/25/2015 3:57:58 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: scooby321
George Will should be a Baseball writer.

I think the same exact thing every time his name comes up here. I am not really a sportsfan, or a baseball follower, but whenever presented with a baseball piece George has written, I find it engrossing... he has a gift.

I say we all officially only mention George Will when it has something to do with baseball.

14 posted on 02/25/2015 4:03:04 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: bigbob

huh?


15 posted on 02/25/2015 4:10:57 PM PST by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: WayneS

Did you read the article?


16 posted on 02/25/2015 4:14:01 PM PST by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: joshua c

And then there's this which is just as bad


17 posted on 02/25/2015 4:17:04 PM PST by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: Kaslin
What George Will and others like him who say Pubbie candidates should call Obama a patriot is that they are demanding Pubbie candidates lie. Either Will believes Obama is a patriot which makes him a deluded fool, or he believes Obama is not which makes him an enabler.

America has gone steadily downhill due to the pernicious influence of leftists like Obama. Let's call a leftist a leftist.

18 posted on 02/25/2015 4:18:40 PM PST by driftless2 (For long term happiness, learn how to play the accordion.)
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To: Kaslin

I’ll never forget the Gore-Kemp VP debate in ‘96; Algore: “Jack you’re one of the few Republicans I know that’s not a racist.” Kemp:” Gee, thanks,Al.”


19 posted on 02/25/2015 4:31:50 PM PST by gusopol3
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Only Four days to go until March!

FReepers, Let's GIT_R_DONE!

20 posted on 02/25/2015 4:35:11 PM PST by RedMDer (Keep Free Republic Alive with YOUR Donations!)
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