San Antonio mayor Julian Castro |
Castro: ‘Mitt Romney says NO’
Posted by
Michael Swickard
on Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Michelle Obama's message: The president is just like you
Posted by
Michael Swickard
First Lady Michelle Obama |
From the Alamogordo Daily News - AP - CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Michelle Obama's message: President Barack Obama is just like you. "Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it," the first lady told the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday in an address intended to reassure voters that her husband share their values - hard work, perseverance and optimism - while also drawing a contrast between him and Mitt Romney. Mrs. Obama never mentioned the president's Republican challenger, who grew up in a world of privilege and wealth. But the point was clear as she weaved a tapestry of their early years together, when money was tight and times were tough, when they were "so in love, and so in debt." She reminisced about the man who now occupies the Oval Office pulling his favorite coffee table out of the trash and wearing dress shoes that were a size too small. And she told stories about a president who still takes time to eat dinner with his daughters nearly every night, answering their questions about the news and strategizing about middle-school friendships. With a mix of personal anecdotes and policy talk, Mrs. Obama's speech was by far her most political yet. "Today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways I never could have imagined, I have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are - it reveals who you are," she said. Read more
Michelle Obama's message: The president is just like you
Posted by
Jim Spence
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Fashionable for DNC Delegates to Use Hitler Invection
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Jim Spence
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Commentary by Jim Spence - Immediately after September 11, 2011 staunch progressive college professor Ward Churchill compared the victims in the Twin Towers to “Little Eichmanns.” It was a chilling reference to one of Adolf Hitler’s most notorious henchmen.
As the Democratic National Convention gets underway it is suddenly fashionable for some 2012 progressives to compare their political opponents (Republicans) to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.Let’s see how this can be reconciled. Hitler took a duly elected government and gradually used intimidation, incarceration, violence, and other methods of brute force to transform Germany into a state of fascist tyranny. In his efforts to destroy democracy all over continental Europe, Hitler persecuted Christians, slaughtered over six million Jews, and attempted to solidify his power through the use of anti-Semitism. He promoted the idea that the Aryan race deserved to reign supreme over all mankind.
Compare that to the message at the GOP convention last week. There the concept of “freedom” was the most redundant message. Unlike Democrats, the Republicans argue the social safety nets are already spread wide. Republicans argue that the path to greater national prosperity lies more in policies similar to those of Ronald Reagan instead of Jimmy Carter. This provides fodder for a healthy debate. Or does it?
Now we have a new question. What does the name-dropping of “Hitler” or any of his cutthroat accomplices have to do with the nation’s philosophical debate over public policy? Is the shock value so prized because of the way the accusation energizes the base that the Dems are unwilling to disavow the use of references to Hitler in the debate dialogue? And if this is true, what sort of a base will get mobilized by accusations that people like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Susana Martinez, Mia Love, Condoleeza Rice, and Artur Davis, are Nazis because they support Paul Ryan, and Mitt Romney.
It would seem that the Democrats are banking on widespread ignorance within their base. They must be hoping that their target voters know nothing about history. While the need for self-justification might be satisfied in some when they label the policies and/or conduct of their opponents as “Nazi-like; still, progressives who launch these charges do a horrible disservice to the uniquely evil spot in history occupied by the mass murderers that hijacked Germany.Herman Goering at Nuremburg |
Fashionable for DNC Delegates to Use Hitler Invection