I don’t believe that. Intelligent people can respectfully disagree. People of all beliefs should be evaluated based on their positions and the facts, that’s all.
However, I do see plenty of examples of politicians that I believe do not have our country’s best interests at heart, or are so over the top in their rhetoric they should called out. I don’t care what party they’re in. A constant reliance of broad, sweeping NYT’s stereotypes about conservatives makes it difficult to have a constructive dialogue.
Comparing our country to Nazi Germany (Obama, Durbin) or Pol Pot’s Cambodia (Durbin) is way over the line, and relies on the left’s use of the diversionary tactic of false equivalency. People who rely on these types of histrionics are not people that you can have an intelligent and rational conversation with. If they weren’t in Congress, they would be wearing pink cardboard crowns and standing in the back of a hearing shouting, “Ahhhhh, ahhhhh”, or picketing the Marine recruiting station in San Francisco. When you have John Murtha doing a pretty good imitation of verdict first, show trial later Andre Vyshinsky in slandering our Marines in Haditha, Iraq, all perspective and rationality has been lost.
The issues and actions around national security, for example, are extremely complex, and require sophisticated and complex discussions, something foreign to congressional Democrats. I do think there is a certain respect that is due the office of the president. I don’t think naming a sewage treatment plant for a president is funny. I don’t care who the president is or what party he is from.
In spite of relentless and nasty criticism, Bush never stuck back in the small, mean-spirited style of his attackers. Not easy to do. Hopefully Democrats will be as understanding if conservatives are just as nasty to Obama.
I am reminded of the famous Mark Twain quote, “Suppose you are an idiot. And suppose you are a congressman. But I repeat myself.” But I digress.
Bush came to Washington with every intent to engage in a bi-partisan working style. He has a great record reputation for bi-partisanship as governor in Texas. It is his nature. He made a valiant effort. Neither side in Congress wanted anything to do with it. Now Obama has selected a Democrat Tom Delay to be chief of staff. Paul Begala, a loyal Democrat, describes Rahm Emmanuel as a “cross between hemorrhoid and toothache”. Sounds pleasant.
I saw an interesting interview with SNL’s Lorne Michaels (politically left) the other day. He was commenting on the difference in reactions to skits poking fun at people on the right verses people on the left. He says that the reaction he gets from conservatives is much more accepting than from the left. According to Michaels, conservatives enjoy laughing at themselves. The calls and e-mails he gets from the Democrats and the left are mostly just angry. There is no joy on the left (or in Mudville).
The bottom line is that the Democrat’s and the left’s lack of respect for the office of the president has further damaged our country’s ability to solve its problems in a bi-partisan manner, and reduced our stature in the world.