Dissecting Progressive Viewpoints Part I

News New Mexico received some hard to understand emails from Sun-News columnist Bill Varuola last week regarding our news and commentary. When we asked him for clarification, he let us know his upcoming column would illuminate some of the points he was trying to make.

In his column: “The U.S. is in demise, but it can be remedied” in the Sun-News on Saturday September 18th Varuola expounded on a few things. You can read his entire column by clicking here:  We surmised that what bugs Bill Varuola most is the Tea Party movement. We make this assumption because it was on the top of his list. Varuola says the Tea Party movement is “Indicative of a collection of fears that does not speak well of its members.” We disagree.

We have questioned Esteban Camacho on our program repeatedly. Though Camacho is relatively young, he knows his way around the U.S. Constitution. There seems to be the same sort of vague racist accusations of the Tea Party movement in the Varuola column that we have seen even more prominently in most “progressive” editorial pieces. In the real world, Esteban Camacho, like many local Tea party members is Hispanic. We have found nothing in the “concerns” Camacho or other local Tea Party members have expressed, that do not “speak well.” On the other hand, we do find many of the things described as troubling Varuola, that do not speak particularly well. Let’s dissect Varuola’s column further, on an idea by idea basis.

The troubled economist in Varuola opines as follows, “Deficit spending is necessary at times to stimulate the economy.” We can only infer that he is “troubled” by the withering criticism that is falling on the party in power because it is borrowing about $1,000 a month on behalf of every taxpayer in the country. The stated purpose for racking up the debt is to “stimulate” the economy. News New Mexico remains convinced that taxpayers in Dona Ana County could make better decisions than the federal government on how to allocate $1,000 in extra cash each month. And we are not troubled that the latest edition of the “borrow and blow” crowd in Washington is catching political hell.

Varuola continued down his troubled list by saying, “White men need not dominate the society.” In this comment we have no idea what Varuola is talking about. Is he saying we need more discussion in society about power and people’s skin color and gender? Is this still a relevant point given passage of the landmark civil rights bill in 1964? Is Varuola unswayed by Martin Luther King’s birthday being celebrated by hundreds of millions of Americans as a national holiday? How about the great Jackie Robinson’s number being retired in every major league ballpark in the land? Does the rise to power of Barack Obama provide evidence of significance? Does this “white men” statement by Varuola serve any legitimate basis for discussion? Or are these merely the words of an old political mockingbird who longs for the return of the disappearing concerns that are now being left behind for a different era of U.S. history?

Like many other media outlets, News New Mexico posts many editorial columns that are written by non-white men and women. Our favorite thinkers include Linda Chavez, Kathryn Lopez, Walter Williams, Star Parker, Larry Elder, Armstrong Williams, Humberto Finova, Thomas Sowell, Lurita Doan, Ken Blackwell, Joseph Phillips, Harry Jackson Jr. and Jaime Estrada. While we also dare to post the ideas of “white men,” none of the columnists listed above can be branded as a “white men.” Are their races, ethnicity, or gender relevant? We wonder why the subject of "white men" would make any list of what is troubling?

Tomorrow we will dissect the column for Varuola's views on Christianity, taxes, and immigration.

Dissecting Progressive Viewpoints Part I