Much has been written about the supposed general public outcry against Washington in general, and the Obama administration in particular. Obama, and especially Health Care Reform has been called socialist, even though upon review, it isn’t in any way, shape of form. Truly, one of Obama’s biggest mistakes may have been not going far enough towards single payer since no matter what he did, the conservatives would chastize him for it.
But there is a greater threat out there for democracy and it is coming from the very people who are trying to attack Obama and the current democrat-majority agenda. I’ve written about it on a number of occasions, but two recent examples are Newt Gingrich and Rand Paul, both who have made very scary comments that must not be ignored.
Gingrich argues that the president has pursued a socialist agenda with legislation such as healthcare reform and economic stimulus. He sees the United States facing a “mortal threat†from what he views as a massive expansion of state control over individual freedoms.
Rand Paul’s comments are easier to dismiss as far far right libertarianism, but as the Tea Party movement is a real threat, even the farthest right-wing stuff can’t be laughed off as crazy. Paul would roll back all civil rights laws and allow private businesses to discriminate in any way they want. Given actions like we saw in Virginia, with the celebration of the Confederacy, anyone who cares about diversity and respect for everyone ought to take pause and then take action to make sure that ideas like Gingrich’s and Paul’s remain little more than campaign rhetoric.
There has been a perceived threat to the democratic majority in both the House and the Senate for the Fall 2010 elections. Some of this happens almost naturally. The minority party usually picks up some extra seats in the two chambers, as the American electorate overall seeks to balance out the power. So, with a Democrat in the White House, and both Senate and House under Democrat majorities, the Republicans can almost count on a few seats headed their way.
But really, what does “balance” look like to you? From my perspective, neither Rand Paul, nor Newt Gingrich represent balance in any way. To me, Paul represents the very end of democracy and the protection of rights for every American, and the last time Newt was in charge, the only group that truly benefitted were rich Republicans.
Elections are crazy beasts. They are in some ways, single events on planned days, that we know about months and months in advance. The rhetoric of the campaign seems to go on for far longer than we wish it did, and it is easy to tune it out and expect someone else to take care of things by voting. But this year, we can not allow that to happen. We must begin working hard, and work without ceasing to make sure that men like Gingrich and Paul remain fringe figures on the outside of the political system.
I don’t have anything against conservatives, or even libertarians. I think our country is strongest, when diverse opinions are park of the larger discourse. But ideas such as these two represent- seeking an end to civil rights protections and comparing Obama to Nazi Germany go far beyond the expression of diverse viewpoints. They move us toward a direction where truth has no meaning.