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12 more campaigning days until Election Day, and the Republican Party intends to stem the tide of the recent Democratic up-swing by defining the election as a referendum on patriotism.
Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Plain told a North Carolina crowd last week that small towns are “the real America” and the “pro-America areas of this great nation.” She has apologized for the remark to CNN, and she insisted that her comments were not intended to imply that other regions of the country are less patriotic or less American.
House Republican Robin Hayes and Michele Bachmann made similar comments. Rep. Hayes said that, “Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God.” He denied ever making such a statement until a tape recording of the speech was produced to his campaign.
The most egregious statement of last week came from Rep. Bachmann on Chris Matthews’ Hardball. She said that Sen. Obama, “may have anti-American views,” and that the media should immediately conduct an extensive investigation into the “anti-American views” of members of Congress.
Liberal Democrats love this country no less than conservative Republicans. As Edward R. Murrow said, “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must not walk in fear, one of another.” This country was founded by the principle of extraordinary and eloquent dissent.
Perhaps it is my unpatriotic, unaccomplished, apathetic, atheistic, liberal hating heart that recoils whenever I hear a member of Congress call for an investigation into the anti-American activities of their peers. I recall the days of McCarthy, a time of great anxiety and threat, when an opportunistic politician preyed upon the fears of the public, and convicted Americans through innuendo and hearsay for political expediency and career advancement.
These types of baseless attacks are beneath the dignity of the office that these individuals seek. This is a partisan country to be sure. We are divided on nearly every major issue: taxes, Social Security, healthcare, torture, warrantless wiretapping, the Iraq War, negotiation with Iran; but, partisanship is good. Debate is good. We should have disagreements, but, the idea that Conservatives are more American or patriotic than Liberals is an indefensible fallacy.
We do not seek the radical overthrow of the government. We simply advocate for change through the peaceful mechanism afforded us in the Constitution. We are not unpatriotic or un-American simply because we oppose the Republican platform and vote against the Republican ticket.
We hold differing visions of America. We believe that tax breaks to the Middle Class and a progressive tax system is sound economics, not socialism. We believe that negotiation is not weakness, and diplomacy is not a vice. We believe that foreign policy should be grounded in reason and not emotion. We believe that affordable, quality healthcare is a fundamental right for all Americans, and not the privileged few. We believe that educational progress is measured by more than a student’s ability to pass a standardized test.
We do not support these policies out of hate or resentment of America but for love of this country.
On November 4th, Americans must make their choice, regardless of the outcome, I defy anyone to label that un-American. |
