I have a reply, currently in moderation, at Media Matters for America. On a post about Sarah Palin’s wavering condemnation and acceptance of the term ableist term “retard” as an insult. Rahm Emmanuel: he should resign over it. Rush Limbaugh: It’s satire! Glenn Beck: Silence. Family Guy: Heartless! A kick in the gut.
One commenter thinks that
The creator of Family Guy has used the program to poke fun at political figures, folks with disabilities, and people of fame and pop culture… funny enough this make Sarah Palin the equivalent of a Family Guy trifecta. There is no line to cross if you were on the otherside of the line to begin with.
I replied:
It is how we treat people we don’t agree with that is MOST important, not least important. There is a line to cross – with prisoners, with conservatives, with hypocrites, with the KKK. That’s what separates the good folks from the bad folks. We recognize the lines and respect them.
The GOP which pretends to be a “big tent” political party despite ostensibly contradictory evidence is seeking to co-opt the tea party for its own political reward. You mark Michael Steele’s comment that (paraphrase) “we have got to operate in concert to vote down Obama’s agenda.” Where are the proactive affirmations? How do you cut the deficit by pruning taxes? How do you repair the health care issue? While I am very irate at dems in congress and, to a certain extent Obama and his advisors, for not being more aggressive in getting the facts out, I also think that while the repubs have gathered momentum by broad opposition the tide is about to turn. You have to advance ideas backed by empiric data points that are good for the nation