When Alice fell down the rabbit hole, the whole world became backwards. The same thing has happened now that Obama is President. Actually, the world is the same dangerous place that it always was. It's just that the left side of the political spectrum have become the neocons. Can I call them the neo-neocons? inelegant, but accurate.
Take the latest missive by the Republic's EJ Montini. Let's leave aside the fact that Montini is demanding that the US bomb Syria and focus on the tactic that Montini uses.
The post is a response to Congressman Salmon's statement that he opposes bombing Syria. Montini responded that Salmon is just like the Penn State Assistant coach who watched Jerry Sandusky rape a boy in the shower yet did nothing. Ok. I have to say it...that's simply insane. How can you possibly equate ignoring a young boy getting raped with a Congressman's decision NOT to bomb a sovereign nation that has not threatened the United States?
Usually it's right leaning politicians--not left leaning journalist--who make grossly insensitive comments about rape. Montini's column fails this test on two accounts. First, no matter how much you disagree with a Congressman's decisions, they are not equivalent to walking away while you know a boy is being raped in a shower. Montini's comparison of Salmon to coach McQueary is disgusting and should not be tolerated. Second, rape is such a horrific crime that reasonable people can't use it in a metaphor. You can't say that any type of Congressional deliberation is like ignoring child rape because the analogy both vilifies congressmen and makes light of rape.
So what now? Before we traveled through this looking glass, back when it was right-leaning politicians who made these types of crazy comments, they were held accountable. Their comments made national news and the grown ups who employed them made sure they apologized or went away...usually both. We'll see what happens here. Maybe we will actually see some outrage from someone like, say, Kyrsten Sinema, who could point out that reasonable Congressmen can disagree about bombing Syria, but they shouldn't be compared to accomplices to rape. Maybe Montini will apologize to Salmon for comparing him to a man who stands by while a child is being raped. Maybe publisher John Zidich will feel compelled to write a column in which he points out that Montini's outrageous comparison is not appropriate and is not shared by Republic Management. Or maybe the Republic management will realize that Montini has crossed the line of professionalism and civility and needs to retire.
Or maybe we will get the same reaction as we did when Steve Benson portrayed the Republican Elephant as Cincinatte basement rapist Ariel Castro. The reaction to that was...let me see...nothing.
Maybe the Republic management will do the right thing. Maybe they won't. But I hope they will at least think back to this moment when they host another essay contest on the need for civility.
No surprise here. EJ Montini is a lapdog for all things Democratic Party. He changes his tune depending on who is speaking. If it's Bush--it's bad; if it's Obama--it's good, no matter what the issue.
In answer to your query about what will Arizona Republic management do about Montini's outrageous comments--you are correct: nothing, just like before, and just like everywhere else in leftist circles.
Posted by: RonJ | September 09, 2013 at 03:56 PM
Basher al-Assad has several things enabling his grotesque actions.
He knows perfectly well he has full impunity from any action by the United Nations. His dear friend Vladimir Putin has a permanent seat on the security council, with veto power. al-Assad can do whatever he likes, Putin will veto any attempt by the UN to respond.
Also enabling this monstrous murderer is, of course, George W. Bush. Bush and Cheney FUBAR'ed the invasion and occupation of Iraq so badly that Great Britain and the United States of America are essentially paralyzed. Heckuva job there, Brownie.
Even more grotesque on the list of enablers, though, is the Republican Party. The party of hawks who took us headlong into a massive quagmire in Iraq won't support any action by President Obama. If Obama introduced legislation declaring September 22 to be National Grandmothers Day, the GOP would be against it. They will be against anything Obama is for. They can get away with it, no matter how badly they damage their own country, because Obama is black.
as-Assad is thus virtually assured that the mass murder of nearly 1500 civilians, including hundreds of children, will go unpunished. He's probably contemplating doing it again. If the Congress votes against military action, he probably will. Who's going to stop him? Rand Paul and Ted Cruz?
Comparing opponents of a military strike on Syria to people ignoring a rape in progress? Pretty mild, in my world. Bush and the Republican party are enabling mass murder.
Boundaries of decency? Ah, slay me, just one more time. When Patterson apologizes to Jerry Lewis for the crap he smeared him with, I'll believe in boundaries of decency.
Posted by: Ave Verum Domine Deus | September 09, 2013 at 11:46 PM
What's even more hypocritical is that this is coming from the same newspaper that was calling for the ratcheting down of political discourse after the Giffords shooting. Wow.
Posted by: benson | September 10, 2013 at 01:08 PM
Seriously? The Left's argument continues to be that Republicans oppose Obama's policies because he's black? Really? It has nothing to do with the facts; it has nothing to do with honest disagreement over foreign or domestic policy that has been debated for decades; it has nothing to do with one party favoring the redistribution of wealth, expanding every welfare program, raising taxes on producers, increasing our deficit exponentially, opening up our borders to illegal immigrants. None of that is reason to oppose Obama--but only because he's black. Amazing. What a juvenile and racialist comment. You guys really need to find a new gig.
Posted by: RonJ | September 11, 2013 at 12:25 PM