Blackwell's Commentary Indicative Of The Right's Dangerous And Divisive Rhetoric

Ken Blackwell, a far-right and Barack-Obama-hating politician, is back up to his old tricks of divide and celebrate.

Blackwell, who because he is black may think he gets a pass on his racial divisiveness, is attacking President Obama for reaching out to Muslim nations in part through NASA. Now, this really is no different from what President Reagan did in the 1980s when NASA was a part of an effort to build bridges between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and between the U.S. and other nations. But, why would Ken Blackwell let the truth get in the way of a good out-of-context smear against President Obama that also helps to divide Americans (it's almost like a BOGO smear deal for him)?

This is an issue that should not have been a big deal, but some on the right wing have taken it and twisted it into some heinous plot (of course many of these are the same people who do not believe Barack Obama is born in the U.S., who think that he is a Muslim, who think that he hates America, etc.).

Here is what Blackwell said in a recent commentary:

Third, this 'outreach' to Muslims by NASA is, well, lunacy. Telling Muslims that they once led the world in science and technology is wonderful. They did. But that was before murderous mullahs took over control of Muslim societies and threatened with death anyone who didn't toe the line of theocratic control. I have a simple way for Muslim-majority nations to excel in science and technology: Have everyone read a list of Jewish scientists who have won the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry, or Medicine in the past century. Then, perhaps, their leaders could stop their Israel-bashing and Jew-baiting. They might also read George Gilder's latest book, The Israel Test. Gilder, who is not Jewish, says Israel is a wonderful test for everyone. Do we envy and resent this people? Do we covet what they have produced? Do we want to emulate their productivity and creative genius, or do we darkly ascribe their feats to a 'Zionist' protocol? Gilder holds up a mirror to anti-Semites everywhere. What do you see?

This has hate written all over it from Blackwell. Using NASA as a way to reach out to Muslims he calls "lunacy" in this excerpt above. Was it lunacy when President Reagan used it to reach out to the Soviets? Is Blackwell letting a racial-like prejudice influence his commentary? It sure seems that he is running with the right-wing herd and demonizing all or most Muslims.

We all need to tear down stereotypes that divide us, but who is Blackwell to lecture Muslims when he is leading the bigoted and stereotyping trend?

Blackwell then goes on in the commentary to dramatically lose credibility points by citing and applauding the far-right Charles Krauthammer who could is politically fair about as often as we've landed humans on the moon. Blackwell's commentary was a bigoted waste of space and indicative of the partisan politics inside of him and his hatred of President Obama.

Ironically, he quotes President Reagan, but not in his desire to use NASA to bridge the gap between the U.S. and the Soviets.

Here is a little nugget from President Reagan's 1984 State of the Union address:

America has always been greatest when we dared to be great. We can reach for greatness again. We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful, economic, and scientific gain. Tonight, I am directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade.

A space station will permit quantum leaps in our research in science, communications, and in metals and lifesaving medicines which could be manufactured only in space. We want our friends to help us meet these challenges and share in their benefits. NASA will invite other countries to participate so we can strengthen peace, build prosperity, and expand freedom for all who share our goals.

Is this I wonder if this is "lunacy" to Ken Blackwell?

Lastly, check out Jon Stewart's clip from the Daily Show as posted at Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/08/jon-stewart-rips-fox-news_n_639103.html?show_comment_id=52934816

Right-Winger Ken Blackwell Again Proves To Be Misguided

Right-wing commentator Ken Blackwell has made some strong comments once again attacking President Barack Obama. Now, Blackwell is entitled to his opinion, but his opinion is a misguided attempt to take a shot at President Obama through the exploitation of Pvt. William Long's brutal murder by a low-life thug (Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad) who attacked innocent individuals and viciously murdered a young man. It's a reprehensible act and the perpetrator must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Blackwell, like so many fellow conservatives, has sought to exploit the murder of Pvt. Long to attack President Obama. It's beyond disgusting.

Wrote Blackwell:

The contrast between President Obama’s reaction to the murder of a late-term abortionist and the murder of a U.S. Army Recruiter could not be more stark. Obama raced to send U.S. Marshals into abortion facilities. He denounced the murder in the strongest terms in a statement which is posted on the White House website:

I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

I agree that we cannot resolve our differences by acts of violence. I would like to have seen such a strong statement from the Obama administration when two U.S. Army Recruiters were shot in Arkansas, one of them fatally, by a recent convert to Islam.

Obama’s reaction to this heinous act of violence in Little Rock was, to be charitable, muted. He was busily preparing to fly off to Saudi Arabia to continue his apology tour.

President Obama could not have won in this case. Had he swooped in he would have been accused of exploiting Pvt. Long's death for good publicity. By choosing to be far more private in expressing his condolences, he has been attacked by conservative Republicans hungry for any excuse to attack him. By the way, do you want evidence this was a partisan hit piece by Blackwell? Take a look at his last sentence in this excerpt. It's an attack using tired and old Republican talking points designed to portray the president as some kind of hater of America.

Notice also how Blackwell makes sure to mention the man was a recent convert of Islam. That was not mentioned by accident.

Let us go back to one thing Blackwell said in the above excerpt:

The contrast between President Obama’s reaction to the murder of a late-term abortionist and the murder of a U.S. Army Recruiter could not be more stark. Obama raced to send U.S. Marshals into abortion facilities.

As heinous and senseless as the murder of Pvt. Long was, we have to understand the differences in the two situations. Dr. George Tiller (Scott Roeder is the man being detained for this wicked act that took a life), a man who has provided abortions to women in need, was viciously assassinated in a church. This nation has a history of domestic terrorism in regard to abortion clinics and toward abortion doctors. Doctors are not soldiers and are not as specially trained and armed to protect themselves. Also, any disturbed fool crazy enough to murder a doctor or bomb a clinic is a danger to many other private citizens seeking a legal medical procedure. When clinics are bombed, not only are innocent civilian doctors in danger, but so too are women, men, girls and boys who could find themselves in harm's way because of some domestic terrorist seeking to deny a woman's right to choose by what an individual feels are any means necessary.

It's a shame that Blackwell is exploiting the death of Pvt. William Long to try and score cheap and partisan political points against President Obama.

Sadly, however, Ken Blackwell is not alone.

Townhall.com:
http://townhall.com/Columnists/KenBlackwell/2009/06/04/arm_our_military_recruiters

Ken Blackwell Is Almost As Much Of A Nut As Alan Keyes

Why on Earth do conservative Republicans insist on continuing with this rhetoric of division and intolerance? Conservatives have taken a simple commencement address by President Barack Obama and now are working to use it as a cheap political weapon against him and to push their ultra-conservative views on abortion into the national spotlight.

Here is an excerpt from a Fox News column written by Ken Blackwell. Read some of the extremist rhetoric he is using about a president who has been in office a little over three months:

By Ken Blackwell
Fellow, Family Research Council/Former Vice President, Xavier University

Many are questioning why officials at the University of Notre Dame are inviting the most pro-abortion president in our history to receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Doesn’t this make a mockery of Notre Dame’s historic role as the premier Catholic university in America? Doesn’t this create a scandalfor the Catholic faithful as well as for the larger community of Americans who are not Catholic? Much of the fierce public debate has centered on why Notre Dame would extend such an honor. The divisions exposed by this invitation are deep and worrisome.

The divisions are created by men like Ken Blackwell who want to turn a commencement ceremony into a debate on abortion rights. The Ken Blackwells of the world are exploiting President Obama’s visit to the University of Notre Dame as a way of pushing their anti-abortion agenda. President Obama is there for the students of the University of Notre Dame and (at least to my knowledge), is not there to speak on the issue of abortion. Opportunists like Blackwell and Alan Keyes want to use this appearance by President Obama to try and jam a little deeper the wedge into the gap that exists between those who favor abortion rights and those who are opposed to abortion rights.

More from Blackwell:

I see another reason why President Obama is going to Notre Dame. He knows the truth of the maxim: divide and conquer. He has already succeeded in dividing the Evangelical community in America.Although most Evangelical Protestants, both black and white, are pro-life and pro-marriage, President Obama has been able to convince millions that he wants to limit abortions and uphold marriage as the union of one man and one woman. He has accomplished this feat while vigorously promoting pro-abortion and anti-marriage policies and personnel.

Talk about the politics of division. Ken Blackwell’s own words, throughout this column, are a clinic on the politics of division and intolerance.

Fox News:
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/05/14/blackwell_obama_notre_dame/