How to Discreetly Feed The Beast

[paft.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Since I don't hunt, why would I buy myself a gun?

Sporting clays. It is a fun day out in the open air, usually walking through the woods. It is challenging. It takes skill, coordination and a lot of practice to master but it's fun to do even if you're not great. You meet nice people, especially if they find out you are new to the sport. It is good for the environment in that it keeps land undeveloped. Best of all you get to find out first hand why so many people went out and bought guns and ammo when Obama was elected. (Hint: it isn't all that threatening.)

[paft.livejournal.com]

I have nothing against hunting or target practice I'm just not especially interested in it.

The cited reason people gave for going up out and buying guns was the election of Obama. How this relates to either hunting or shooting clays eludes.

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

How this relates to either hunting or shooting clays eludes.


That is because you know nothing about these gun owning troglodytes, nor do you care to learn. A lot of people believed that Obama was not a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. They were essentially "stocking up," before new regulations made it more difficult or impossible to do so. Whether this is objectively true is interesting question, since Obama is on record saying he thinks that the right to bear arms is an individual right. They felt this way because of his serial waffling on the DC gun ban recently overturned by the Supreme Court, because of various statements he made when an Illinois legislator and because he comes from a class of politicians that has a nearly uniform dislike of gun ownership. In short, they didn't trust him. Going out and stocking up on ammo or picking up a couple more guns was, in some ways, a statement indicating that these folks were serious about protecting their 2nd Amendment rights. That you insist on wringing your hands and fretting over this as if it was the precursor to insurrection says a lot about your ignorance. Ignorance that could be alleviated by blasting a few clays and drinking a few beers with guys in camo hats on occasion.

[paft.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, I'm aware of the visions that were invoked of Obama sending ACORN over to take away everyone's guns.

And as I've said repeatedly (and will no doubt have to say again) my concern is not about an outright insurrection but about an outbreak of the kind of sporadic terrorism we saw in the 1990s.

[mikeyxw.livejournal.com]

So you'd rather worry and whine about something you don't understand than to actually build some understanding of those involved?

[paft.livejournal.com]

What is it you imagine I don't understand?

For the record, I was born and raised in the deep south. Knew lots of gun owners, including members of my family. Even had a lesson or two in handling a rifle because we had one in our house and my father felt gun safety was important. If I don't hunt or engage in target practice, it's not because I'm phobic about guns or have moral objections, but because I'm so nearsighted I can't hit anything, and because I'm no more interested in hunting or target practice than I am in snow-boarding.