Lisa Fabrizio
Contradictions on the Left
By Lisa Fabrizio
In a few weeks, after the Clintons and/or Democratic primary voters crown John Kerry as their official nominee, the feeding frenzy known as the presidential election season will be in full swing. Recent events have called to mind certain issues which seem to point to some inconsistencies in their party's mindset. The media, unbiased as always, needs to sharpen their stances on several topics as well.
The Rule of Law: Just weeks after the Superbowl sleaze brouhaha, my TV screen was filled with images of dozens of same-sex couples engaged in various stages of lip-lock celebrating their nuptials in the city by the bay. Mayer Gavin Newsom, in direct violation of California law, ordered clerks at San Francisco City Hall to grant marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
The toothsome Newsom, well into his fifth week of city governance, actually had the hubris to say, "I'm not interested as a mayor in moving forward with a separate but unequal process for people to engage in marriages." The fact that in March 2000, two-thirds of California voters passed Proposition 22 defining marriage as an institution between a man and a woman, concerns him not. This spirit of civil disobedience in the face of what he considers an unjust law was cheered by most on the left and in the media.
No such cheers accompanied Judge Roy Moore's stand against what he considered an immoral and unconstitutional order to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Supreme Court building. Judge Moore was however criticized by fellow conservatives who agreed with him in principle but insisted he bow before the rule of law.
Releasing Records: The White House press corps has been slavering over a two-inch thick pile of President Bush's National Guard records in an effort to keep alive a 'controversy' that has been vetted over and over for almost ten years and always found wanting. But it seems no amount of evidence is sufficient to slake the thirst of the media when the document dump request involves conservatives.
Even when the target is not a government official, liberals see no reason why their vaunted "right to privacy" which resides in their editions of the U.S. Constitution, should be invoked to include people who don't deserve it, like Rush Limbaugh — the fact that it is in the Florida Constitution notwithstanding.
Likewise, there was no squawking over the 42nd president's repeated attempts to employ executive privilege to derail his impeachment and suppress documents. Thankfully the courts thwarted his efforts in that regard but has anyone seen Bill Clinton's medical records yet?
Censorship and Dissent: Howls of indignation accompanied the protests and boycotts of celebrities who exercised their freedom of speech to condemn and belittle the Commander In Chief of the U.S. armed forces during a time of war. The Screen Actors Guild expressed outrage that, "well-known individuals who express 'unacceptable' views should be punished by losing their right to work." Most media pundits agreed.
The media does not however extend this outrage when many of their colleagues on the left call for the silencing of individuals like Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlessinger or Ann Coulter who dared criticize Democratic bulldog and Vietnam war veteran Max Cleland for his attacks on the president last week.
The Vietnam War: This is surely the unkindest cut of all to the left wing of the Democratic Party. After 30 years of reviling rank-and-file Vietnam vets who returned home to their collective scorn, they are now in the position of having to defend a fellow traveler as a patriot for his service in that same conflict and fend off images of him with another of their heroes, Jane Fonda. As Fonda herself most deliciously pointed out, "Any attempts to link Kerry to me and to make him look bad with that connection is completely false." Groucho Marx couldn't have said it any better.
Conservatives, on the other hand, have always revered the sacrifice of all veterans, John Forbes Kerry's included. They also understand that duty to one's country doesn't end with an honorable discharge and that one must bear the consequences of their subsequent actions. Condoning attempts to smear President Bush's service record by accusing him of a felony is a despicable act and will doubtless cause Kerry at least as much harm as his "completely false" connection to Miss Fonda.
These are but a few side issues that need to be addressed in the marathon-turned-sprint that is the presidential election season. The GOP also has some 'splainin' to do to their Conservative base and the answers to these questions will resonate with waitress moms and NASCAR dads alike. As the president said at Daytona last month, "Gentlemen, start your engines."
© Lisa Fabrizio
In a few weeks, after the Clintons and/or Democratic primary voters crown John Kerry as their official nominee, the feeding frenzy known as the presidential election season will be in full swing. Recent events have called to mind certain issues which seem to point to some inconsistencies in their party's mindset. The media, unbiased as always, needs to sharpen their stances on several topics as well.
The Rule of Law: Just weeks after the Superbowl sleaze brouhaha, my TV screen was filled with images of dozens of same-sex couples engaged in various stages of lip-lock celebrating their nuptials in the city by the bay. Mayer Gavin Newsom, in direct violation of California law, ordered clerks at San Francisco City Hall to grant marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
The toothsome Newsom, well into his fifth week of city governance, actually had the hubris to say, "I'm not interested as a mayor in moving forward with a separate but unequal process for people to engage in marriages." The fact that in March 2000, two-thirds of California voters passed Proposition 22 defining marriage as an institution between a man and a woman, concerns him not. This spirit of civil disobedience in the face of what he considers an unjust law was cheered by most on the left and in the media.
No such cheers accompanied Judge Roy Moore's stand against what he considered an immoral and unconstitutional order to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Supreme Court building. Judge Moore was however criticized by fellow conservatives who agreed with him in principle but insisted he bow before the rule of law.
Releasing Records: The White House press corps has been slavering over a two-inch thick pile of President Bush's National Guard records in an effort to keep alive a 'controversy' that has been vetted over and over for almost ten years and always found wanting. But it seems no amount of evidence is sufficient to slake the thirst of the media when the document dump request involves conservatives.
Even when the target is not a government official, liberals see no reason why their vaunted "right to privacy" which resides in their editions of the U.S. Constitution, should be invoked to include people who don't deserve it, like Rush Limbaugh — the fact that it is in the Florida Constitution notwithstanding.
Likewise, there was no squawking over the 42nd president's repeated attempts to employ executive privilege to derail his impeachment and suppress documents. Thankfully the courts thwarted his efforts in that regard but has anyone seen Bill Clinton's medical records yet?
Censorship and Dissent: Howls of indignation accompanied the protests and boycotts of celebrities who exercised their freedom of speech to condemn and belittle the Commander In Chief of the U.S. armed forces during a time of war. The Screen Actors Guild expressed outrage that, "well-known individuals who express 'unacceptable' views should be punished by losing their right to work." Most media pundits agreed.
The media does not however extend this outrage when many of their colleagues on the left call for the silencing of individuals like Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlessinger or Ann Coulter who dared criticize Democratic bulldog and Vietnam war veteran Max Cleland for his attacks on the president last week.
The Vietnam War: This is surely the unkindest cut of all to the left wing of the Democratic Party. After 30 years of reviling rank-and-file Vietnam vets who returned home to their collective scorn, they are now in the position of having to defend a fellow traveler as a patriot for his service in that same conflict and fend off images of him with another of their heroes, Jane Fonda. As Fonda herself most deliciously pointed out, "Any attempts to link Kerry to me and to make him look bad with that connection is completely false." Groucho Marx couldn't have said it any better.
Conservatives, on the other hand, have always revered the sacrifice of all veterans, John Forbes Kerry's included. They also understand that duty to one's country doesn't end with an honorable discharge and that one must bear the consequences of their subsequent actions. Condoning attempts to smear President Bush's service record by accusing him of a felony is a despicable act and will doubtless cause Kerry at least as much harm as his "completely false" connection to Miss Fonda.
These are but a few side issues that need to be addressed in the marathon-turned-sprint that is the presidential election season. The GOP also has some 'splainin' to do to their Conservative base and the answers to these questions will resonate with waitress moms and NASCAR dads alike. As the president said at Daytona last month, "Gentlemen, start your engines."
© Lisa Fabrizio
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