Baying For Blood
by John Weckerle
Returning from vacation, we were gratified to see that the Mountain View Telegraph shares our sentiments on political advertisements. In an editorial titled “Save The Venom For After Summer,” the link to which has inexplicably and disappointingly disappeared from the Telegraph’s web site, editor Rory McClannahan bemoans the tone – and the early appearance – of vitriolic campaign ads associated with this Fall’s general elections. We couldn’t agree more – we made some comments on the primary election ads ourselves – but we are not stopping with Ms. Denish and Ms. Martinez.
There are a growing number of people – your editor included – who are simply sick to death of the tone that the local, state, and national debates on critical issues have taken. The falsehoods, name calling, inflammatory language, hyperbole, and invective have reached a near-historic pitch, and I for one am tired of hearing it. Commentators are “Marxist-Socialist” for simply suggesting that the “Tea Party movement” might become a third major political party (Bob Steiner, letter to The Independent, 5/26/10). Tea Party Express chairman Mark Williams decries Muslims as worshipers of a “monkey god” and “animals of Allah,” and refers to President Barak Obama as “an Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug and a racist in chief.” Biggovernment.com bloviator Andrew Breitbart propagates a lie about Robert Byrd getting an earmark for a nonexistent company – a lie enthusiastically picked up and passed along by bloggers across the country (see our stories here and here). Demonstrations are held in which signs are proudly carried comparing Mr. Obama to Adolph Hitler and decrying anyone holding a different opinion as either Socialist, Marxist, or Nazi (none of which terms seem to be particularly well understood by those using them). A demonstrator at a Washington rally became so incensed over the pending passage of a health care bill that his saliva ended up on a Congressman’s face. (Note: After watching the video a couple of dozen times, we really don’t think he deliberately spit at the Congressman. However, the obvious alternative explanation – that he was foaming at the mouth over the issue – is only slightly less ugly, and perhaps just as absurd.)
And lest the folks on the other side of the debate get too complacent, here: we have not forgotten MoveOn.org’s contemptible “General Betray-Us” ad in the New York Times, or comparisons of Mr. Obama’s predecessor with the aforementioned ruler of the Third Reich.
To those flinging around the invective: We see little to be proud of in this behavior. Perhaps we should remember that the people we are attacking are our fellow Americans, our fellow citizens. Few, if any, on either side of the “fence” (whichever side that may be) are seeking to destroy America, or our “American values,” or our “American way of life.” They simply hold different opinions and have different ideas on how the country should be run and what direction we should take with respect to certain issues. A more polite and considerate discussion may not bring agreement on all issues, but it might bring at least compromise on some. We are calling on all parties to stop the shouting, and engage in more constructive dialogue.