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2009
Soap Box Archives Hi folks, Dad is in Korea entertaining the troops there this weekend. There have been some significant developments since he wrote his soapbox, "Race Farce," which prompted me to write my own, and expand on his original idea. CD, Jr. Race Farce II: Silencing the Opposition Political opposition in this country is nothing new. If it weren't for political opposition, the British Colonies would have remained just that, and the United States of America would have never existed. No, political opposition in this country is nothing new, but the Democrats think they have found the magic wand to silence the opposition to this administration, and to its agenda. Cry "racism." Never mind the fact that for the first time in American history, a black man was elected President of The United States of America by a majority of voters, never mind that he has exerted more control over the private sector than any other President in history, never mind that his administration and Congress are putting this country so far in debt that future generations will still be paying it off many years from now, never mind that the majority of Americans don't want the best health care system in the world to be destroyed… according to the left, if you oppose Barack Obama, you are a racist. The shout of, "You lie!" by Joe Wilson, Representative from South Carolina, during President Obama's speech in front of the joint houses of Congress last week seems to have been the final straw. How dare a member of Congress openly show his disapproval to falsehoods being perpetrated by our President? The left can't seem to fathom that anyone could actually oppose Obama's policies, and has decided the opposition MUST be to Obama himself, or at least they figure that by playing the race card, they can quiet the opposition. After all, who wants to be labeled a racist? The fact the Congressional Research Service -a nonpartisan group- found that none of the bills before Congress contained specific restrictions for illegal aliens -the cause of Wilson's "racist" outburst- is completely inconsequential. In fact the Senate bill, "America's Healthy Future Act" unveiled this week by Montana Senator Max Baucus and his "Gang of Six" is currently the only bill which has specifically eliminated any loopholes that would grant coverage to illegal aliens, and that was done after a week after Joe Wilson's "racist" moment. The House of Representatives even voted 240-179 to censure Joe Wilson, and before the vote, Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson, went completely out of the realm of sanity and suggested that if the House didn't censure Wilson that "folks would be putting on white hoods and white uniforms again, and riding through the countryside intimidating people." He went on to say that would be the "logical conclusion" if the House didn't pass a rebuke of Wilson's outburst. Yes, as ridiculously far-fetched as it may sound, Mr. Johnson is suggesting that if the U.S. House of Representatives didn't symbolically swat Joe Wilson on the nose with a rolled up newspaper for openly disagreeing with President Obama, there would be a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan… I know… I can't believe he said it either. George W. Bush was booed by many Democrats in his 2005 State of the Union Address for suggesting that Social Security was headed for bankruptcy. I don't recall any petty, partisan resolutions being put forth in Congress to cry "foul" for disrespecting the office of the President in the days that followed, but it may have slipped my mind. Bush didn't have the excuse of racism to try to quiet his detractors. He just had to deal with it. This week former President Jimmy Carter joined the chorus of voices shouting that "racism" was one of the biggest reasons for opposition to Obama's policies, rather than opposing the policies themselves. The former President said, "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man. I live in the South and I've seen the South come a long way, and I've seen the rest of the country that shared the South's attitude toward minority groups at that time, particularly African-Americans. That racism in connection still exists and I think it's bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people -- not just in the South, but around the country -- that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country. It's an abominable circumstance and grieves me and concerns me very deeply." So, Jimmy Carter believes that despite the fact that Barack Obama was elected the first black President of the United States of America by a majority of Americans -most of them, white- the only reason that his poll numbers are plummeting, and support for his health care reform has dwindled is because of the racism of white people. I'm sure President Carter would have loved to had an excuse like this when he was in office. Maybe he could have said that the reason his own approval ratings were so low were because people didn't like the fact that he was a Southerner, or they were prejudiced against peanuts, rather than Americans being unhappy with the energy crisis, high unemployment, double-digit inflation and the handling of the Iran Hostage Crisis. I'm sure he's kicking himself now for not thinking of this sooner. I'm not going to pretend that racism doesn't exist. It exists, to one degree or another, in every ethnicity in the race spectrum. But just because racism exists, does not mean that it is the answer for why people are starting to oppose Obama. The vast majority of those opposing President Obama are nothing more than concerned Americans who are unhappy with the direction that the country is headed, and are for the first time being vocal about it by attending Tea Parties, the 9/12 March on Washington D.C., or saying "You lie!" This is a dangerous game the liberals are playing, and one that will backfire on them in a big way. Opposition is building, and Americans are not just going to go quietly away by false accusations of racism. We will oppose when we disagree, and we will not be silent. The left has done it for years, they're just not used to conservatives and Republicans making their voices heard like they are now. The liberal Democrats are grasping at straws, and trying to make this about race. I know in my heart that I do not oppose Barack Obama because of the color of his skin, and if in 2012 the Republicans nominate an African-American man (or woman) who has conservative principals, knows how to control spending and believes in liberty and the Constitution of the United States of America, I will vote for them without hesitation. But I'm sure there are those out there who will say I am a racist, anyway. They lie! Charlie Daniels, Jr.
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