Once again, the Republican faux outrage over Barack Obama's comments is under undermined by their own typical, hypocritical behavior. In trying to take pot shots at Michelle Obama for saying that she is proud of the hope she sees for the first time in her adult life and uniting to bring change, the Tennessee GOP asked voters to tell them why they were proud of their country. And not so shockingly, after one young Reaganite paid homage to the symbol of the flag and USA ass-kicking in WWII and the Cold War, what do you think the next guy wanted to cling to celebrate?
If you said guns and religious freedom, you either knew what Barack Obama meant when he spoke in San Francisco or you're the type of voter who responds to these kinds of code-word laden ads:
What a shame, MSNBC didn't address the irony of Bob Pope's priorities, seeing as how they pimped "Bitter-gate" for weeks flogging Barack Obama for trying to explain to Blue State Americans why voters keep falling for the same cheap political sentiments over and over. What a shame that real political analysis of the ad wasn't done while the networks gave this poorly-made attack ad free air time on national television. But if Jon Decker, Mika Brzezinski or any one else covering this story would like to cover more than just the cheap shots at Michelle, I've got a couple of questions surrounding this ad that I'd like them to discuss. Because I believe that the rhetoric of these GOP supporters doesn't match the reality of what has happened in this country.
In this ad, one student mentions stopping the Holocaust and winning the Cold War. But while he wants to talk about our past military and diplomatic victories, is Tate R. also proud that we've also attacked another country without provocation and have allowed Putin to turn back the clock on Russian democracy and take away the rights of Russian citizens?
Bob Pope is proud to have the right to worship God anywhere he wants and own guns. But as a business owner, shouldn't Bob also be concerned about the sky-rocketing cost of healthcare and energy costs that have thrown our country into an economic tailspin?
One Nashville police officer is proud to have the opportunity to come to this country, get an education and have a job. But as a police officer, shouldn't he be worried about the poverty rates in the immigrant community and its effects on crime? Shouldn't he be concerned with the efforts to keep children born to illegal immigrants from getting an education? And is he proud of the amount of hostility and hatred toward minorities in this country?
And while Michelle C. is proud of her academic and job opportunities as a woman in this country, is Michelle also proud that the Republican Party killed a bill that would have allowed women who had been victims of pay discrimination the opportunity to seek justice in the judicial system?
Bob S. is proud of his economic opportunities as well, although it's probably harder to be proud to practice his business in today's market. You see, Bob is a realtor, and after years of real estate speculation that led to mortgage fraud and inflated real estate prices, the housing market has collapsed. So while Bob may be proud of his country, I would like to know if Bob is also proud of the huge golden parachutes of CEO's like Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo who walked away with $110 million while millions of people were being threatened with foreclosure.
Katherine M. is proud of all of her Hindu and Muslim friends. And she is proud to see Afghani women coming here for entrepenurial programs. Is Katherine also proud that we have largely ignored the needs of those Afghani women in their own country? Is she proud that 6 years after we "liberated" Afghanistan, children are still being sold into slavery, girls still aren't going to school and women in Afghanistan are no closer to having basic human rights than they did under the Taliban?
Because while Republicans may have always been proud of this country, I can't pretend that everything is so rosy here in America or with American policies. As a Democrat, I believe in the democratic principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I understand that for too many people in this country, those ideals are just empty words. Because as an American, I believe in our Constitution and I am not proud to see it destroyed by flag pin-wearing members of the GOP. And as an American, I am proud of the principles under which my country was formed, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let the Tennessee Republican Party get away with destroying those while pretending to be "proud" of this country.