Speaking at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans (an irony in itself that Republican leadership would be celebrated in New Orleans), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called President Obama the "most radical President in American history" who oversees a "secular, socialist machine."
This is from a college history professor who apparently feels that whatever President Obama has done,something he doesn't really elaborate on, it is worse than the previous 8 years which saw the unprecedented dismissal of participation in the Geneva Convention, the introduction of the Patriot Act which disassembled individual rights more than any document in the past 75 years, and introduced preemptive war as the driver of foreign policy in the past decade. This is on top of the wave of deregulation and lack of enforcement of still existing regulation (and we saw how that turned out)and the blatant misuse and abuse of the Presidential "signing statements", a practice than continues now (thanks to precedence) and was rejected by the American Bar Association as a action that "undermine(s) the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers."
My biggest gripe however is that when you watch this video, he goes from such an inflammatory remark right into the coming election season, calling on the cheering crowd to turn out and make a Republican majority and Presidency that will "repeal the radical agenda" placed into law by the current administration.
First off - how does such a sweeping and drastic statement like "most radical ever" get challenged? Shouldn't a person have to offer some evidence for such a statement? I mean, radical is a relative label. I can easily refer to the previous administration as radical (something I think I just did) and find many who would agree with me, so where does that leave us?
It is clear to me that all of this demonizing is for the sole purpose of winning elections. It is exactly where Gingrich goes immediately following his unsupported critique and listeners should have no doubt - this man is running for office and greasing the skids right now. This is what infuriates me more than the political back and forth between the partisan talking heads...the idea that in elections all things are on the table. Win at any cost - damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
In the wake of this slash and burn politicking is our national identity, our civil discourse and our democracy. Fairly soon, I'm afraid, this level of incendiary rhetoric is going to get someone killed...maybe a whole lot of somebodies. We in Oklahoma City know all about that kind of hate and how seemingly innocuous but irresponsibly heated rhetoric can feed dark hearts like gasoline on a fire.
So, thank you, Newt Gingrich. You have just split America in two once again. I'm not sure at this point that we can sew ourselves back together again. But maybe you'll win the next election. I guess that will be worth it to you.
