The Retort

Yo…Yogi…Yo: Say it ain’t So

February 19th, 2010 by Ken Cunningham For The Retort

After watching parts of the National Tea Party Convention this weekend, I was reminded of the great Yogi Berra and one of his many famous quotations; “It’s like deja-vu all over again.”

The opening remarks given by the keynote speaker, Tom Tancredo, were straight out of the Jim Crow ‘50s. He spoke of the inability of some voters to speak English and their wherewithal to spell the word “vote.” He blamed them for electing Barack HUSSEIN Obama. (Notice how the far right loves to throw in the Muslim middle name of the president). He went on to label Obama as a “socialist (read: communist) ideologue.”

What was stunning about these references was not only the brass of this clown to call for a literacy test for voting privileges, but the rousing ovation he received from the audience. The Tea Party movement is supposedly one of traditional American values and the “unalienable rights” given to each one of us by our Creator. So, after hearing this incredible speech, one would believe that literacy tests are part of God’s plan, even though they were outlawed in the ‘60s by the Voting Rights Act. This is only one of many examples of racism, sexism, and homophobia represented by this Tea Bag crowd.

My question to the Republican Party, and especially Michael Steele, the RNC chairman, is: Where is the outrage? What could he, and the rest of his party, be thinking of to allow this hate speech to go unchallenged. Talk about “Profiles in Cowardice.”

Why wouldn’t Republicans stand up to these and many other comments from the Tea Party, the Fox News Hit Squad, and Rush Bimbo? Well, one explanation may be that they need all the votes they can get, and these bozos are more likely to vote for them than for the Democratic/Socialist party. After more than a year of a never-ending barrage of crap from Beck, Rush, et al, maybe the Republicans got what they deserved; a mindless, knee-jerk collection of wing-nuts that they can’t afford to upset and lose.

A poll done by an independent organization, Research 2000, sponsored by the DailyKos, turned up some fascinating tidbits of self identified Republicans. For starters, 39- percent felt that Obama should be impeached! FOR WHAT? Who knows, but I’m sure they could come up with something. More than half of the Republicans don’t believe Obama was born in the USA. Toss in the fact that 63-percent think Obama is a socialist, which means communist to this crowd. Amazingly, 24-percent believe that Obama wants the terrorists TO WIN, and another 33-percent are not sure. That’s more than half of the Grand Old Party regulars buying into this ludicrous idea. One third think Obama is racist, and another third aren’t sure. But the one I love is that 53-percent believe Sarah Palin, the former half-governor of Alaska, is more qualified to be President than Barack Obama.

The only thing I can say about Sarah Palin is: “A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” ‘Nuff said.

I want to end this with a flashback to another era, the 1950s, and put the spotlight on the courageous Republican senator who stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Her name was Mary Chase Smith, and, this is what she said in response to the pathetic and uncivilized behavior of the chairman, Senator Joseph McCarthy, and a sizable portion of her party members. In regards to winning the next election and ousting the Democrats, she said, “Yet to displace it with a Republican regime embracing a philosophy that lacks political integrity or intellectual honesty would prove equally disastrous to this nation. The nation sorely needs a Republican victory. But I don’t want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horseman of Calumny - Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.

“I doubt if the Republican Party could - simply because I don’t believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest. Surely we Republicans aren’t that desperate for victory.”

One can only hope. But, as they say, prepare for the worst.