Press@LessGovernment.org or call 703-879-2931.
David Mark
Moderator
President Barack Obama will travel to Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday evening to address a memorial gathering for the victims of the Saturday attack.
What should President Obama say? What should he not say?
-----
Seton Motley
President, Less Government
President Obama should say nothing political. He should not join the myriad others on his side of the ideological aisle attempting to score cheap, ghoulish political points by lamely trying to link Sarah Palin, conservative talk radio, the tea party movement and others on the right to Jared Loughner's vile, unilateral act.
We do not need another President Bill Clinton Oklahoma City bombing moment.
Despite the media meme that Clinton struck the right tone and advanced his political fortunes with his handling of that atrocity, he tried then to do exactly what many on the left are trying now.
Here's Clinton at the 1995 memorial: "I'm sure you are now seeing the reports of some things that are regularly said over the airwaves in America today. Well, people like that who want to share our freedoms must know that their bitter words can have consequences, and that freedom has endured in this country for more than two centuries because it was coupled with an enormous sense of responsibility."
That is not striking the right tone – that is cheaply striking at your political opponents in what should be a time of partisanship-free somber reflection.
We certainly do not need another Paul Wellstone funeral moment.
The Minnesota Democratic senator died in a plane crash in 2002, and his memorial service was completely degraded as speaker after speaker abused the terrible situation - to bash Republicans and conservatives. Then-Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who was in attendance, was booed. Then-Vice President Dick Cheney had planned to attend, but those putting the event together asked him not to. Which very likely means they were all along planning to warp and demean the service.
Rick Kahn, a political ally and friend of Wellstone, said at the election-eve memorial: "If Paul Wellstone's legacy comes to an end, then our spirits will be crushed and we will drown in a river of tears. We are begging you, do not let that happen. We are begging you to help us win this Senate election for Paul Wellstone." Kahn then unbelievably asked Republicans to drop their partisanship and work for Wellstone's replacement.
Speaker after speaker were just as overtly political and disrespectful. Then-Minnesota independent Gov. Jesse Ventura got up and left in the midst of this morbid Democrat pep rally.
Ventura: "It wasn't an easy thing to do ... but I thought, I'm not going to sit through this. It's ridiculous." His wife Terry "gave me the go-ahead. She said, 'When you're ready, I'm ready.' ... I listened for a couple more and said, 'I can't take this anymore.' I said, 'I'm out of here.'"
Ventura said his wife cried on the way home, upset that the ceremony might have affected the families of the victims.
I can imagine the mourning families in Tucson, Ariz., are being similarly affected by the myriad leftists attempting to benefit from their loved ones' murders.
President Obama should not join the pile-on. He should be somber, reflective and respectful. He should mourn the dead, not attempt to profit politically off them.
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
SMotley@LessGovernment.org
Twitter.com/SetonMotley
Facebook.com/SetonMotley
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment