[identity profile] paft.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] talkpolitics
Recently, Eric Cantor provided a textbook example of how the GOP has been countenancing (and therefore encouraging) extremist rhetoric while pretending not to countenance (and therefore encourage) extremist rhetoric.

Right Wing Heritage Foundation Speech 5/4/10

Audience member at Heritage Foundation:
My question is – and this is something I personally don’t understand…. in light of what Obama has done to leave us vulnerable, to cut defense spending, to make us vulnerable to our outside enemies, to slight our allies. How…what would he have to do differently to be defined as a domestic enemy?”

(Laughter and applause from audience.)



Eric Cantor (smiling, after waiting for the claps to die down) Listen, let me respond very forthright to that. No one thinks that the president is a domestic enemy. (boos) It is important, it is important, it is important for us to remember, we have the freedom of discourse in this country. And the president’s policies, the administration’s priorities, in my opinion, do not reflect the common sense conservative traditions on which the greatness of this country was built…





Here, Cantor makes a statement that’s been demonstrated to be untrue in the seconds before he made it, and is again demonstrated to be untrue by the audience reaction after he makes it.

“No one thinks the president is a domestic enemy.”

No one? Someone just said he did -- and a bunch of other people just applauded him for it.

A “forthright response” would be to say, “No, the president is not a domestic enemy merely because we disagree with his policies.”

But Cantor just couldn't say that. He knew being that "forthright" might have gotten him booed off the stage by those "no ones" who've been incited by the inflammatory rhetoric the GOP has been banking and encouraging for twenty years.

(no subject)

Date: 9/5/10 01:41 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/aviation_/
that's funny because I heard him equated with Hitler all the time and I've heard basically all of the things you describe
maybe because I think both political parties are batshit crazy I don't just tune it out like everybody else seems to

(no subject)

Date: 9/5/10 17:11 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/aviation_/
Ok, liberals don't often buy guns, but it seems that what you are insinuating is that massive amounts of conservatives are "buying up guns" and talking about secession in some sort of attempt to start ad army and start a new country. What you are doing is pulling people out of the fringes and attempting to represent the entire republican party (or even specifically the tea partiers). You are arguing that the entirety of the movement is wrong because of their methods.

You also must have missed all of the "Bush is a terrorist" stuff people wore, said, and rallied about. "Domestic enemy" is a lot more softball than "terrorist."

Image

(no subject)

Date: 9/5/10 21:33 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/aviation_/
Secession involves states or territories leaving the union. I didn't say that it didn't. What you are suggesting is that all these people who have been buying more ammo are intending to use it to start a war, and I think that is pretty ridiculous accusation, at least in terms of the masses.

I don't understand what the sales of ammunition and guns has to do with what we're talking about, anyway, unless you are suggesting that conservatives are planning on a large scale to start a war. Gun owners feared increases in taxes on ammunition or tougher gun laws, so sales when up. I do not believe anybody other than maybe a few stray crazies is stockpiling for a militia.

Now that you have admitted that you were wrong about the rhetoric by anti-Bush people (without directly admitting it, of course), you are still saying that this situation is different because some of these people are gun owners and some of these people have mentioned the idea of seceding. However, until you have evidence of these things occurring together (with the result you are insinuating), they are all just separate things you disagree with.

(no subject)

Date: 9/5/10 17:12 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mahnmut.livejournal.com
Nope. Bush was the Antichrist. Now Obama has taken his place on the Throne of Darkness.

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