The National Tea Party Convention concluded this past weekend, and  If you’ve already read part one, then you know that the tone of the convention was set very early on.  Racial paranoia wafted heavily in the air over the weekend, dampening the intended message of anti-tax, and anti-government intervention the movement was trying to focus on.  It’s hardly a surprise that beneath the surface of the angry, pro-liberty message– exists a bubbling brew of right-wing extremist views– and disdain for cultural changes taking place in the country.  As the convention dragged on, more emphasis seemed to be place on social commentary, and divisive issues.  Here’s an example:

The birther meme seemed to be in vogue, as evidenced by WorldNetDaily’s Joseph Farah’s widely praised speech about the president’s birth certificate, and his citizenship:

“The media, the politicians … all say, no, it’s all been settled. I say, if it’s been settled show us the birth certificate. Simple,” Farah’s said, as his remarks were cheered by the roughly 600 activists gathered in Nashville for the event.

Farah’s role as publisher of the ultra-conservative WorldNetDaily, affords him a consistent base to launch virulent attacks on the president’s citizenship, and fitness for office as seen here.  Farah also led the charge in urging the 600 tea partiers in attendance to engage in a cultural war, and to “take over not only the political institutions, but the cultural institutions, like the press, the entertainment industry, the universities, and yes the churches.”

What occurred after Farah’s speech was, in my estimation, the high point of the entire convention.  Farah got into a heated confrontation with conservative media magnate Andrew Breitbart about the birther issue.  The exchange was almost to good to believe, especially if you believe that the birthers have lost touch with reality.  Here’s a few amazing snippets.  Farah is first, followed by Breitbart:

“It is a winning issue!”

“It’s not a winning issue.”

“It is! It becomes even more of a winning issue when the press abrogates its responsibility–”

“You don’t recognize it as a fundamentally controversial issue that forces a unified group of people to have to break into different parts? It is a schism of the highest order.”

“Nothing exposes the president’s–”

“Then prove it!”

“The press isn’t asking the question–”

“Prove it!”

“Prove what?”

“Prove your case.”

Read the full, amazing text here.  I highly recommend it.

I don’t necessarily have any issues with protest and voter antipathy toward politicians.  In fact, it should be a part of our DNA to engage in active civic discourse.  What demeans the entire process is irrational paranoia and fear-mongering.  It disguises the fundamental disagreements we all have, and dilutes political engagement.  This birther issue is being ridden to the point of exhaustion, and there is no salient outcome that would appease its proponents–save the resignation of the president.

In a way, birthers exist in that same parallel universe homophobes do– questioning existing truths already known– and denying the actual realities because of those truths.  The strains of homophobia were present in Nashville, as speakers denounced the president’s proclamation of a “gay pride month.”  The former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court stated that the president “has elevated immorality to a new level.”  But this one quote takes the proverbial cake:

“[Obama] has ignored our history and our heritage, arrogantly declaring to the world that we are no longer a Christian nation. He has elevated immorality to a new level, setting aside the entire month of June to celebrate gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride. He now threatens to change our law to allow homosexuality in our military … He’s apologized to the Arab world for our past, subjugated our national sovereignty by bowing down to the king of Saudi Arabia. He has pursued a socialist agenda by taking control of private companies and pushing a national health care plan with a public option. Backed by a willing Congress, he’s bought off our senators and representatives with our own money in an effort to mandate his agenda.”

Not exactly creating a warm inviting climate in my opinion.  But then, that wasn’t the point here.  The point was to release all of their pent up repression about how this country had the temerity to change, and elect new leadership.  Eight years of ramped up deficits, misguided foreign policy, and illegal torture procedures did nothing to dampen their appetite for more of the same.

And where does Sarah Palin fit into all of this?  Quite snugly actually.  As the keynote speaker Saturday night, Palin pulled out her usual rhetorical assault of President Obama, and the state of the country.  But there was one important difference in her recycled rant this time:  Palin used a black sharpie to remind herself of her talking points.  It wasn’t unusual in and of itself, except for two thing:  She was already reading from prepared notes, and she only wrote down three things on her left hand.  It makes you wonder how prepared she would be if she had to do a Q&A session in hostile territory without the benefit of any prep time (As most politicians worth their salt have to do from time to time).  She couldn’t remember three words?  Maybe she is the right person to lead this movement.

This convention, for all of its blustery, anti-government animus, exposed some seriously dark elements of tea party society. Right or wrong, the meaningful policy arguments this movement may have, will be shrouded under the shadowy hateful rhetoric of many of its speakers.

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This is the equivalent of a literary grenade, thrown into synangogues around America.  Jennifer Rubin dishes on the “hatred” Jews feel toward Sarah Palin:

…Her personal life made her even more alien to American Jews. She comes from the wilderness, brags about hunting and eating native animals, and is a proud gun owner. Then there is the matter of the composition of her family. Outside the Orthodox community, where large families are increasingly the norm, having five children, as Palin does, is aberrant to American Jews. According to Smith’s study, Jews “have fewer brothers and sisters than any other ethnic/racial or religious group (2.4 vs. an average of 3.8)” and “the smallest current household size of any ethnic/racial or religious group (2.5 vs. an average of 2.9).”

Palin calls herself a “hockey mom” and brags aloud about the athletic prowess of her children, while Jews are more likely to sport “My child Is an Honor Student” bumper stickers. Palin’s oldest, Track, has joined the military, while many Jews lack a family military tradition. Not for the Palins the quiet pride in good grades and good boards; the family’s esteem is tied up more in Sarah’s husband Todd Palin’s “iron dog” snowmobile racing skills.

Popular Jewish and non-Jewish female politicians—from Senator Diane Feinstein to Madeleine Albright to Hillary Clinton—have been modest to the point of frumpiness in appearance and professional in style, and therefore perfectly acceptable to Jewish women who aspired to similar positions of responsibility. Palin was another story, even if the story was in large part fictional. As Continetti documents, Palin had to live through a sex-infused attack. There was Topco’s “This Is Not Sarah Palin Inflatable Love Doll” and a plethora of phony Internet photos displaying Palin in everything from an American-flag bikini to nothing at all. Respectable columnists like Kathleen Parker suggested that Palin had basically seduced McCain to get the vice-presidential nomination (“his judgment may have been clouded”), while reporters described her October 2009 UN visit as “speed dating.”

Just because Rubin may feel her “Jewishness” may give her the bonafides to excoriate Jews– and their sentiments toward Palin– does not make her claims any less ridiculous.  I didn’t realize she was personally acquainted with every Jewish citizen in America.  How else would she presume to know why these people hate Sarah Palin? It is clear that her Palin chest-thumping agenda has addled her mind.  Or she’s just nuts normally.

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No matter how often I hear him speak, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele never ceases to amaze and befuddle me.  For such an intelligent man, he sure knows how to put some puzzling words and phrases together.  Case in point:  On a conference call yesterday, Steele spoke of Democrats efforts in moving health care reform legislation forward with a cloture vote.  How must the American People feel about this chairman Steele:

I mean, it just annoys and irritates me on something so fundamentally important. That this Congress, this leadership, is so tone deaf and so hell bent on propping up a policy that the American people doesn’t want, that they’re willing to basically flip the bird to the American people on this issue and slip it in in the dead of night.

Watch the clip:

Steele has a penchant for over the top dialogue and antics; traits I’m sure will give the RNC pause when his chairmanship comes up for vote in 2012.  Steele and the GOP need to make significant gains in the mid-term elections in order to quiet the skeptics, and burnish his image.  Even with the gains though, Steele should probably take a lower profile.  He doesn’t have to jump in front of every camera he sees does he?

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Everyone’s favorite conservative from Alaska, crashes head on into the Birther madness.  Watch it:

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Andrew Sullivan thinks Cheney is speaking treason:

“Here’s a guy without much experience, who campaigned against much of what we put in place … and who now travels around the world apologizing,” Cheney said. “I think our adversaries — especially when that’s preceded by a deep bow … — see that as a sign of weakness.”

Specifically, Cheney said the Justice Department decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, in New York City is “great” for Al Qaeda.

“One of their top people will be given the opportunity — courtesy of the United States government and the Obama administration — to have a platform from which they can espouse this hateful ideology that they adhere to,” he said. “I think it’s likely to give encouragement — aid and comfort — to the enemy.”

Aside from the haughty tone– completely lacking in respect for a sitting president– Cheney’s argument is devoid of all rational thought.  It’s not a sign of weakness to deliberate.  To the contrary. The moral imperative to contemplate war policies is the coda by which real leadership follows.  Cheney’s rationale doesn’t reflect his own failed policy toward Afghanistan.  It was on his watch the Taliban regained its hold on the country, while Cheney’s preoccupation with continuing a strategically flawed conflict in Iraq eroded our ability to clearly define objectives elsewhere.  How does he explain ignoring what turned out to be the true front in the war on terror? Why does he not question his policy of ill-equipping our soldiers in the field in Baghdad? Here’s more Sullivan:

Accusing the president of giving aid and comfort to the enemy is such a disgusting charge, such a deeply divisive, unAmerican tactic, it would be excoriated if it came from some far right blogger. That it comes from a former vice-president, violating every conceivable protocol (as he did in office), reminds me of why Cheney and Cheneyism remain such a threat to core American and Western values

Cheney’s agenda is clear:  His disdain for Obama reflects his complete hatred for peace and solidarity.  To accuse the President of treason is appalling–to do so with the bully pulpit of the vice president’s office even more so.  Even in the KSM case, Cheney only points to the fact that Mohammad may use the stage to advance his nihilistic propaganda.  Never once does Cheney say he believes in our nation’s ability to apply strict, severe justice.  He is consumed by fear and loathing.

What is even more laughable is Cheney’s suggested psychological bond with our military.  Only a man like Cheney, full of hubris and arrogance, can claim some sort of kinship with soldiers– when he ducked and dodged military service as much as humanly possible.  It seems boundless nerve and gall now substitute for statesmanship nowadays.

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For the second time in a week, Fox News lies and cheats.  Watch the weak apology below:

Why don’t they start pumping in fake crowd noise too?

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Andrew McCarthy from the National Review:

The decision to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other top al-Qaeda terrorists to New York City for a civilian trial is one of the most irresponsible ever made by a presidential administration. That it is motivated by politics could not be more obvious. That it spells unprecedented danger for our security will soon become obvious.

I couldn’t disagree more. It’s shameful that Mr. McCarthy is so disingenuous in his argument.  Nothing spells hypocrisy more than false indignation and fear-mongering about an issue that conservatives have tried to own for the past eight years.  In 2006, President Bush and his administration tried and convicted co-conspirator Zaccarias Moussaoui in a civilian court outside of Washington D.C.  Ramzi Yusef was tried during the Clinton administration for his complicity in the 1993 World Trade Center attacks.  This false, self-serving notion that this idea is “unprecedented,” goes beyond the pail.  Do these talking pinheads ever do any research before writing this crap?

There is one point in Mr. McCarthy’s argument I agree with:  President Obama is driven by a political motivation.  But I happen to think it is a good one.  Why not showcase the power and majesty of the American judicial system?  Why not prove to the world that America is more than political hawks, hell bent on exacting righteous vengeance by any means necessary?

Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ):

“I saw the Mayor of New York said today, “We’re tough. We can do it.” Well, Mayor, how are you going to feel when it’s your daughter that’s kidnapped at school by a terrorist? How are you going to feel when it’s some clerk — some innocent clerk of the court — whose daughter or son is kidnapped? Or the jailer’s little brother or little sister? This is political correctness run amok.”

It is precisely this fear– not capitulating to party loyalty– that has terrified conservatives into retreating from what makes America, America.  We have cowered and genuflected to paranoia so much, that we’ve created our own twisted version of Neverland.  Gitmo is an ever present reminder of us twisting and corrupting our ideals– the very things that make us unlike everyone else on Earth.  We have subjugated our own values and laws in order to establish our new bully mentality, forever casting our credibility as a superpower, and beacon of light in doubt to the rest of the world.  This is what fear– irrational, irresponsible fear– can do the mind.  Here’s more fear and worry from James Joyner:

[T]hese men are not citizens of the United States.  Second, they’re accused war criminals.  They simply should not be tried in U.S. civilian courts.  Rather, they should either be held accountable in a Nuremberg-style international forum or treated as war criminals by a U.S. military tribunal under the mechanisms provided by Congress and approved by the Supreme Court.

Aside from the virtual certainty that the trial will devolve into a media circus, there’s an incredibly good chance that Mohammed and his comrades will go free.  The fact that KSM was repeatedly waterboarded would seem to taint any subsequent evidence, including his own confession.

How utterly preposterous and naive.  What purpose did waterboarding serve then, if information obtained from it was unreliable and tainted?  This is the reaffirmation of the previous administration’s folly and inadequate intelligence and foresight.  As to the notion that you are empowering those that wish to destroy you, I say nonsense.  You’re not giving any terrorist a platform they didn’t already have.  This is no mockery or circus.  This will be real American justice, played out for all the world to see.  No amount of political spin on the subject can shield the fact that in this instance, the justice department will bring a mountain of evidence to convict Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.  No half-thought idea will supplant what will take place before our very eyes– the religious extremism of KSM and his ilk– will be exposed for what it is.  And it will remind the world, after years of feet dragging, just how barbaric the ideology of these cowards is.

And what better place for all of this to occur but in our greatest, grandest city?  The city where fellow Americans burned, and lives were changed forever?  Let us provide swift, exacting justice the American way.  Let us lead the way as we’ve always done, and show the world just how special our way of life is.

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President Obama’s bow wasn’t masculine or presidential enough for Sith Lord Dick Cheney.  Perhaps this was more to his liking:

Oh yeah!  That’s much more manly.  Hand holding always engenders fear and respect.  Not to mention presidential authority.

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Taking the fear-mongering a bit far, aren’t we Congressman?  Watch it:

That was John Shadegg (R-AZ).  He does know a thing or two about kidnapping.  This is the guy who stole a baby– and brought her onto the house floor– to make a piss-poor point about health care reform.  Are you fucking kidding me? What’s next? Cutting off some poor immigrant’s balls on the floor of the house to scare Americans about immigration reform? Damn man, get a clue. Stop being such a coward. Americans are not weak-kneed and cowardly. We endure and persevere. That’s our way. Resorting to scare tactics demeans you and all of us.

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It is not unprecedented for American Presidents to bow in respect to foreign leaders.  Conservative blogs and pundits are getting their grandma panties in a bunch over the President practically keeling over at the feet of Japan’s emperor.  While I’ll admit the bow was a little too “bowy”–I thought he was going to tie his shoes at one point– it is not the end of the world calamity these nuts are turning it into.  I wonder if they thought it was weak when “Tricky Dick” did it?  Take a look:

President Obama

The duplicitous bigot Richard Nixon

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