Republicans Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have stated that they will block Ambassador Rice's nomination as Secretary of State if President Obama should choose to nominate her because she misled the the American people on the events in Benghazi on Sept 11. They certainly have a right to voice their opinions. In the days following the attack, the Republicans called for a thorough investigation into exactly what went wrong that led to the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens, diplomat Sean Smith and former Navy Seals Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. There should be an investigation so that this does not happen again.
Where was the Republican outrage when Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the Bush administration misled and lied to the American people, and to the world, about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and connection to the attacks on September 11, 2001 to justify attacking that country? Were were the calls by Republicans to investigate any of the seven attacks on U.S. Embassies and Consulates?
Where was the Republican outrage when the Bush administration labeled anyone who spoke out against the Iraq war as unpatriotic? Where was the Republican outrage when the Bush administration made the decision to stop news agencies from showing pictures of caskets of American soldiers killed in the Iraq war? The Bush administration claimed they were respecting the privacy of the dead soldiers and their families. But the reality is that they were worried that if Americans saw too many caskets, they would stop supporting a war that was unjust.
Republican outrage would have more credibility if it were not dripping with hypocrisy.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
What is 'traditional America'?
The day after the election, Bill O'Reilly mourned the loss of what he calls "a traditional America". But what is "traditional America"? When the Constitution was written and ratified and the first elections were held for the President, Vice president and Congress only white males who owned property could vote. Protestants did not want Catholics to be allowed to vote. Africans, whether brought here against their will or born here, were enslaved in many States. Women could not vote, could not run for office and could not own property. Native Americans could not vote and were not considered citizens. Is this the "traditional America" you and your followers want back?
Thankfully, that "traditional America" ended. When the property requirement was removed so that all white men could vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When slavery ended and former male slaves were given the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America" because they did everything they could to prevent the freedmen from voting. When women finally won the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When Native Americans were given citizenship and the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America".
When the first African American was elected to Congress, undoubtedly there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When the first woman was elected to Congress, certainly there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When John F. Kennedy, the first and only Roman Catholic was elected President, surely there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When Barrack Obama was elected the first African American President, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America".
You are not alone in your mourning, Mr. O'Reilly. But you and your followers are mourning an America, a United States, that never was. Our country has always been in transition and always moving forward, always striving to reach the ideals Thomas Jefferson described in the Declaration of Independence. That is what Abraham Lincoln and so many others died to preserve. That is America's, that is the United States', tradition.
Thankfully, that "traditional America" ended. When the property requirement was removed so that all white men could vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When slavery ended and former male slaves were given the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America" because they did everything they could to prevent the freedmen from voting. When women finally won the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When Native Americans were given citizenship and the right to vote, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America".
When the first African American was elected to Congress, undoubtedly there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When the first woman was elected to Congress, certainly there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When John F. Kennedy, the first and only Roman Catholic was elected President, surely there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America". When Barrack Obama was elected the first African American President, there were white men who mourned the loss of "traditional America".
You are not alone in your mourning, Mr. O'Reilly. But you and your followers are mourning an America, a United States, that never was. Our country has always been in transition and always moving forward, always striving to reach the ideals Thomas Jefferson described in the Declaration of Independence. That is what Abraham Lincoln and so many others died to preserve. That is America's, that is the United States', tradition.
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