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Don't
You Just Hate Whiners
By
Monty Rainey
November
20, 2002
Is there
anything more annoying than having to listen to a whiner? We’ve all
encountered them, from our early days on the playground. The kid who
struck out because he didn’t have the right bat, or the kid who
never had his homework done and it was never his fault. Either the dog
ate it, he dropped it in the mud on the way to school, someone else
stole it, or whatever the excuse of the day was.
As we got
older, we watched those same kids progress. When they had their first
fender bender, it was the other person’s fault. When they got fired,
it was because the boss was a jerk. When they bounced a hand full of
rubber checks, it was the bank’s fault.
Some
people never grow out of it, and some of those people, obviously, make
their way into politics. Case in point, Little Tommy Daschle (D-SD).
For all intents and purposes, the November 5th election was
a slap in the face of little Tommy. The voters made it quite clear
they were sick and tired of his game of obstructionism when they fired
him as Senate Majority Leader. But Tommy’s not about to take it like
a man and admit that it just might have been his fault, no sir.
Operation patsy kicks into effect and Tommy has found his scapegoat.
None other than Rush Limbaugh and the conservative radio epidemic that
is plaguing America.
I listened
as Daschle blasted Limbaugh, talk radio and conservatives, with all
the muddled anxiety of a deflated schoolboy. "I think we're in
a different place because of the way politics has become such
entertainment. We were just talking with some experts a couple of days
ago about how if we're going to try to break through as Democrats, we
have to have the same edge that Republicans do," said Daschle
on Wednesday morning.
"You
know, Rush Limbaugh and all of the Rush Limbaugh wannabes have a very
shrill edge, and that's entertainment. We were told that even people
who don't agree with them listen because they – because they're
entertaining. And, you know, but what happens when Rush Limbaugh
attacks those of us in public life is that people aren't satisfied
just to listen, they want to act because they get emotionally
invested. And so, you know, the threats to those of us in public life
go up dramatically and – on our families and on us in a way that's
very disconcerting. I don't think it's appropriate for me to dwell on
that or to even go beyond that. But I will say that it has created a
far different dimension. When I was accused of being an
obstructionist, there was a corresponding and very significant
increase in the number of issues that my family and I had to deal
with. And I worry about that. If entertainment becomes so much a part
of politics, and if that entertainment drives an emotional movement in
this country among some people who don't know the difference between
entertainment and politics and who are then so energized to go out and
hurt somebody, that troubles me about where politics in America is
going."
Now is it
just me, or does this not sound like Tommy is about to launch a full
scale attack on the First Amendment? And exactly how is Rush
Limbaugh’s ‘shrill edge’ any different from the ‘shrill
edge’ of say a James Carville? I’ve listened to Rush Limbaugh a
good bit over the last 14 years and I’ve never heard him
‘attack’ anyone. I’ve heard him criticize, just like I’ve
heard Tommy Daschle criticize, but I’ve heard Rush attack.
When asked
if he thought there was a direct link between the talk radio criticism
and the threats to his personal security, he answered: "I do.
Oh, absolutely."
"You
know, we see it in foreign countries, and we think, 'Well, my God, how
can this religious fundamentalism become so violent?'"
Daschle said. "Well, it's that same shrill rhetoric, it's that
same shrill power that motivates. You know, somebody says something,
and then it becomes a little more shrill the next time, and then more
shrill the next time, and pretty soon it's a foment that becomes
physical in addition to just verbal. And that's happening in this
country. And I worry about where, over the course of the next decade,
this is all going to go."
Asked
again if he believed there was a direct tie between the critics and
increased physical violence, Daschle responded: "Right. Well,
fortunately – and let's just pray, and I mean pray, that it doesn't
get to that point. But certainly in terms of threats, I think that
there's no question – I don't know what they were in the '60s. All I
know is that in the course of my time in public life, it has gone up
exponentially." I know what they were, Tommy. They were
liberal hippy radicals throwing canine fecal matter on servicemen at
the San Francisco Airport.
Is the
media causing this problem?
"No,
I'm saying that the media plays a role in creating this foment, in
creating this – this extraordinary emotional fervor that is
sometimes not – not contained and, therefore, then leads to other
– other actions that are outside the control of anybody in the media
or anybody in politics," explained Daschle.
Who
exactly in the media is responsible?
"The
talk shows." said Daschle.
Like Rush
Limbaugh?
"Right,"
said Daschle.
So where
does little Tommy go from here? He’s pointed the finger, shifted the
blame, now he has to take action. Just like the little whiner who
claimed his homework was stolen, Tommy is saying the elections were
stolen by Limbaugh and the evil right-wingers and something must be
done about it! So what is the answer? What action will Tommy attempt
to force upon us? He could subject us to even more ultra-liberal
taxpayer funded public radio, you know, to level the field a bit. Or,
he could launch that assault on the First Amendment.
Preposterous,
you say? You think I’m having an ultra-conservative kneejerk
reaction? Don’t be so sure. The Democrats, under the leadership of
little Tommy, managed to push through the McCain-Feingold Campaign
Finance Reform Bill. Remember that? Remember that it is now illegal to
criticize a political candidate within 60 days of an election. Not
only are little Tommy and his cohort’s intent on taking away, or at
a minimum, restricting the First Amendment, but they’ve already set
the plan in motion.
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