Posts Tagged ‘Polls’

Arsonists (or, Inciting the Lesser Angels of Our Nature)

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

A follow up to our earlier posts Protecting the First Amendment?, Dallas, and Health Haters, inspired by The Republicans who stirred the tea (Dana Milbank, Washington Post 3/22/10), Heath care’s glorious mess, It’s progress, not socialism (Washington Post 3/23/10), Lawmakers targeted for vandalism and threats: After health vote, Democrats report broken windows and menacing messages (Washington Post 3/25/10), Pelosi Says Anti Obama Rhetoric Sounds Familiar (9/18/09 Washington Post), and the news reports below.“This battle was never entirely about health care. The fury of the opposition –not a single Republican vote—is as historically significant as the passage of the legislation itself. There is something cleaving this country, something represented by the election of Barrack Obama—the change he either promised or threatened, take your pick—and the hyper-exaggeration of the ideological threat the man represented. Caricatured as a socialist, a radical, a hard-left liberal and even an alien, he is actually the very soul of center-left moderation, cautious to a fault.” – Richard Cohen, It’s progress, not socialism (Washington Post 3/23/10)

Teabaggers have again invaded DC;

Crack(pot)s in their “movement” are increasingly plain to see.

Their ranks are filled with malcontents

Who seem increasingly prone to violence.

I don’t have proof, but isn’t it obvious?

Who else is out there making such a fuss?

In demonizing the “Slaughter House Rule,” Fox and the GOP were outspoken,

So it can’t be a coincidence that hers were among the first windows broken.

The destruction was called for by Teablogger Mike Vanderboegh,

Who encouraged Tea Party “Patriots” on a rampage to go,

Throwing bricks through windows, he said,

Might make it unnecessary to shoot their opponents instead.

Rep. Slaughter was prominent during House floor debate,

Along with other women and minorities which Teabaggers love to berate.

Watching Jesse Jackson Junior authoritatively quash GOP objections

Must have further inflamed their racist predilections.

Women, gays, and blacks in charge?

It’s no wonder Teabaggers have sounded the charge.

After all, they alone represent the “Real America”

To which the rest of us should just nod and say “Ya’ suh.”

And in case our heads aren’t appropriately bowed,

Teabaggers remind us that they’re an armed crowd.

They talk about Browning, and crosshairs, and lock and load,

The meaning behind which doesn’t take much to decode.

But Dems weren’t going to be intimidated

By the angry Teabagger mob that awaited.

Reviled as socialists, f****ts, and n*****s, the “Patriots” to quote,

They linked arms and marched through the Teabagger crowd to vote.

Speaker Pelosi carried with her a giant gavel–

As Teddy Roosevelt said, it’s best with a big stick to travel.

He was the first President to call for universal healthcare,

And now, after more than a century, we’re finally there.

I didn’t see anyone in the crowd wearing a tinfoil hat,

But I wouldn’t have been surprised to have seen that.

According to a recent poll, Republicans have increasingly bizarre views,

Which demonstrates their ability to believe what they (and their leaders) choose.

67% believe Obama is a socialist

(I guess that justifies using violence to resist).

57% think he’s a Muslim

(One of the big reasons they hate him).

45% are convinced he wasn’t born in the US

(That’s why he isn’t one of us).

38% think he’s “doing things Hitler did”

(Now water’s really starting to boil out from under the lid).

24% suspect he “may be the Antichrist”

(This proves they’re nuts, though the others would have sufficed).

What does all this tell us about this dangerous mob,

Besides that the folks who incite them are doing a thorough job?

It tells me that we’ve reached a very dangerous stage

Of anti-d/Democratic partisan rage.

As the old saying goes, you are what you eat,

And Teabaggers have been fed a steady diet of hate and deceit.

Late night comics find herein much fun to poke,

But this is something that’s not a joke.

We can laugh and make a clever pun,

But what might comes next might not be as fun.

It’s always dangerous

To draw lines between “them” and us,

Especially when people start demonizing,

Or even worse, dehumanizing.

That’s unfortunately where we’re at now,

And still there are some who refuse to disavow

The hatred that spews from these N and F word sayers

(I guess because they themselves are hatred purveyors).

As Nancy Pelosi once declared

(And while so doing sounded scared),

When people hear the foul words you spew,

You don’t always know what they might do.

GOP and Fox News,

You need to more forcefully condemn these hateful views.

More importantly, you need to stop reciting

The lies and bile that the mob are inciting.

And though you didn’t say those particular bad words or throw those particular bricks,

It’s ultimately you, GOP and Fox, to whom blame for them must affix.

You can’t incite hatred and call for revolution

And then deny your own hateful contribution.

***

Here’s Keith Olbermann’s 3/22/10 report on what happened, followed by his Special Comment.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here’s Countdown’s 3/23/10 report on Sarah Palin’s plea for supporters to target Dems that voted for healthcare reform (she indicated which ones to target with crosshairs) and the increasingly extremist GOP (including discussion of the poll results referred to above).

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here are Countdown’s 3/24/10 reports on the anti-health reform hatred and its incitement, including an excellent interview with Barney Frank.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here are Rachel’s 3/22/10, 3/23/10, and 3/24/10 reports on healthcare reform opponents throwing bricks through Rep. Louise Slaughter’s New York office window and four other “Democrat” offices. Also watch Rachel’s excellent 3/22/10 “Clarifying Moment.” Rep. Slaughter have also received messages threatening to assassinate her children and the children of other Dem supporters of healthcare reform. The 3/23/10 report also focuses on Mike Vanderboegh and his incitement of his supporters to throw bricks through “Democrat” windows and, if necessary, start shooting their political opponents.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy