Of course, Boehner is as guilty as any the aforementioned entertainment personalities of pandering to the fringe by promoting the kind of misconceptions that have led to the ??outrage ? he described, thus his playing along comes as no surprise. Moreover, Boehner is an elected official who wishes to keep the phrase ??former congressman ? from being attached to his name. Thus, he undoubtedly calculates that for his own immediate political survival, it might be best to ??lean upon ? the disingenuous nature of his remarks.
Stand and deliver
In this case however, it's not Boehner's or any other Republican's political survival that is of importance, what's at stake is the physical safety of the President along with the preservation of the traditional political processes and protocols as they apply to the office of the presidency. Unfortunately, the character-siphoning effect of personal narcissism can drive politicians of both parties to pander to the positions of dangerous fringe elements. In this case, it prevents a Republican like Boehner from providing the kind of responsible leadership that would compel him and other Republicans to clearly and unconditionally rebuke the polarizing, hate-inciting rhetoric and behavior exhibited by anti-Obama partisans. And, to do it in a pro-active manner -- in other words before this behavior escalates to acts that should be considered unthinkable.
But, if not someone like Boehner, then who will take this crucial step? Can anyone of major influence within the GOP be counted on to lead and deliver to his or her Party its true ??Sister Souljah ? or better yet, its Henry Gasparian moment? Has anyone among them reached the point at which it is finally time to declare that enough is enough? Who among them will step up to directly challenge the dangerous racial overtones lacing the rhetoric of many Obama critics?
Carter has already done so, and, in his own way, so has Henry Gasparian. An Armenian survivor of Nazi atrocities, Gasparian made headlines this month after he was arrested for attempting to stop the distribution of flyers depicting a Hitler-like visage of President Obama. As a youth, Gasparian saw two of his uncles killed, witnessed his father wounded and saw his brother slowly starve to death resulting from the German invasion of Russia. Obviously, the sight of the Obama/Hitler posters was enough to drive Gasparian to take a principled stand against hate.
Again, who among the most influential of Republican officials has the courage, integrity or leadership capacity needed to take a similar stand? At this point clearly there are few who are willing to accept this challenge. Right now, most seem content to continue to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear of denial to the light and sound leading to the courage it takes to ensure that a potential tragedy is stopped in its tracks. Republicans appear all to enthusiastic about pandering to those on the fringe who see a light at the end of a tunnel and who, without checking, insist that this light represents that tunnel's end and not the ominous glow of a freight train barreling toward them full speed ahead. If indeed this is the case, who is truly responsible for the train wreck that ensues?
In this case, it would be those Republicans who saw it necessary, for their own political survival, to reach deeply into darkened tunnels of medieval thought seeking inspiration from the likes of a Sarah Palin, or have joined in affixing their party's future to the rabble-rousing, hateful and divisive rhetoric provided by the Limbaughs, Becks and Hannitys.
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