David Mixner wrote on March 29, 2010:
"The time has come for the American right wing to pack it up, stop its hatred and end its disruption of American society. They have proven time and time again that they are almost always on the wrong side of history. Let's give them some expensive luggage with RNC monogrammed on it and send them into the sunset. Time to end the 'lock and load' mentality, lawmakers who have 'targets' semi-imposed over their faces and the new code word for racism and homophobia of 'We want our country back.' Back to where and to whom?
The extreme right record of utter and total failure to stop the march to progress is the reason we should not have to bear their craziness anymore. The record is numbingly clear: They were wrong about Social Security. They were wrong on integrating the military forces under President Truman. They were wrong about McCarthyism in the early 1950's. They were wrong about passing civil rights legislation in the 1960's. They were wrong on Medicare. They were wrong about women rights. They were wrong about 'trickle down economics.' They were wrong about tax breaks for the rich. They were wrong about the war in Iraq. They were wrong about climate change. They were wrong about LGBT rights and they are wrong about healthcare reform.
Can you imagine our world if they had been successful in stopping any of the forces for change above? We would have a world with our seniors poor and unable to have healthcare. We would have African-Americans unable to vote. We would see women relegated to being housewives and not leading our nation. All homosexuals would still be in the closet with many having lobotomies, committing suicide and being arrested. The world has become and is still becoming a better place because of progressive legislation and ignoring the calls, shouts and anger to protect the narrow-minded status quo.
Fact is, they can't have their country back. Their country is moving forward into a greatness with a richly diverse and exciting population. Their country is still a place that still believes individual freedom and equality for all its people no matter if they are popular or not. As Frank Rich pointed out in his column this week in the New York Times, their country now has an African-American President, a woman as Speaker of the House, a Hispanic on the Supreme Court and a gay man as head of the Banking Committee in the House. Those who seek to end this march into the 21st century simply can't turn back the tides of time.
All they can do is make us more divided, pay a higher price to protect the people of this nation, fill the air with anger and make the march of progress a heavier burden. Time for them to realize that for the last 100 years they have been on the wrong side of history. I say to them: Give it up and enjoy your new healthcare and make sure your children are at last getting adequate care. I am willing to bet that in five years every single mindlessly angry voice will be using this new healthcare system and many of them will be saved economically by it. Progress is good. Generosity is appreciated. Intelligence is revered. Get used to it."
David Mixner
11 comments:
I look forward to November when we can see just how much influence the tea baggers really have.
I'm with Truth on this one. Interestingly the South seems to have fewer Tea Baggers than other states but they do have a huge population of religious zealots. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
what an eye-opening piece Shaw, very very good!
You know what this means, progressives really do have a bigger voice and more power than those always wrong right wingers! But the screams and fits of stupidity from the right drowns out the sanity and logic from the left. We are the majority, lets start acting like it and stop whimpering when the righties pretend to be smart and in control! We know the truth, they have absolutely Nothing to offer America!
Truth: Devoid of any partisan bias, I can observe that movements like this can quickly sputter out. That is what typically happens.
"I am willing to bet that in five years every single mindlessly angry voice will be using this new healthcare system"
Wonder what he means by this? The statement might make sense as a boast about a "public option". But that does not exist. Is he merely trying to say that those who opposed the healthcare bill will all end up participating in private insurance companies? Well, that's kind of obvious.
dmarks, based on history I think you're right. I just wish it would be sooner than later. As Truth says, the mid-term elections may tell us a lot - although these people are still on a roll.
Shaw, I copied the first graph to my sidebar with a link because I think it's a good piece that should be read.
"Time to end the 'lock and load' mentality, lawmakers who have 'targets' semi-imposed over their faces and the new code word for racism and homophobia of 'We want our country back.' Back to where and to whom?"
And this one is a big "oops" on his part. The whole "take back America" meme has also been extensively by the Left. What's a code-word for one is a code-word for the other, or else you have a meaningless double-standard.
dmarks,
You are forgetting one crucial aspect of the "I want my country back!" nonsense from the right.
That cry was heard last year during the first Tea Party marches-a little more than 3 months after Mr. Obama was elected by a larger majority than was George W. Bush.
When the Left used that expression, GWB was more than 3 months into his presidency.
Mr. Obama hadn't even appointed most of his cabinet when the Tea Baggers were screaming for their country back.
It's pretty evident why, and Mr. Mixner nails it.
There have been three books authored by Democrats that say "I want my country back" or a variation:
Howard Dean: You Have the Power: How to Take Back Our Land
James Carville: Take It Back
Michael Moore: Dude Where's My Country
None of these come even close to "I want my country back." Nor has such a phrase ever been repeated over and over as a mantra. It never became a slogan.
The Republicans aren't filling the air with anger. They are misdirecting anger that should be targeted towards those causing people so much pain: rightist politicians, corporations, rightist media, and wealthy speculators.
People have every right and reason to be angry at what is being done to them. Corporate interests are just shifting the anger of many into counterproductive directions.
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