Santorum Makes Racially-Charged Attack On President Obama

Here are some highly controversial comments being made by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican who is being billed as a potential 2012 presidential contender, as quoted by The Huffington Post. Now, for a man like Santorum, this really is nothing new and is rather old hat in many respects.

Santorum, like many on the far right, are obsessed with controlling what women do relative to the issue of abortion, but this time he brought in President Obama and the issue of race:

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R), a potential 2012 presidential contender, is attempting to trudge out of the mess that he waded into Wednesday when he seemed to suggest that it was objectionable for Obama to be pro-choice because he was black.

That is certainly a paragraph that is going to grab some attention and for rather obvious reasons. Now back to The Huffington Post story:

Here is Santorum's original comment concerning his own pro-life views and why he disputes the president's belief that women should have a right to choose.

"The question is, and this is what Barack Obama didn't want to answer -- is that human life a person under the constitution?" he said. "And Barack Obama says no. Well if that human life is not a person then I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say 'now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people.'"

Does Santorum find it remarkable that he is trying to control a woman and tell her what she can and can not do with her own body? So, now that Santorum is attempting to put himself in the shoes of a black man, perhaps he should consider this thought: Might it be uncomfortable (following Rick Santorum's "logic") for a black man to want to be in the position of trying to control another person and force another person do to something against his/her will (such as abortion)?

How can he sit in judgment of a woman and make decisions for her?

You can read the full context of what Santorum said, here.

Tales From The Far Right

Just when you think you've heard all the extremism from the far right ... here comes a little something extra.

Think Progress has an article about an extremist nut out in Wisconsin who apparently is trying to ban homosexuality. The nut in this case is a man named Ernest J. Pagels Jr. who is fighting an uphill battle to unseat Sen. Russ Feingold for a U.S. Senate seat. Fat chance. But, his candidacy does reveal the growing extremism on the right wing. If you watch Fox News then you probably would not know about this situation. In all honesty, if you exclusively watch Fox News you would think the only news are two thugs from the New Black Panther Party are taking over the world.

That is the big story right now the far right is advancing through its media outlet: Fox News.

But, back to Pagels. How do you ban homosexuality? Isn't this 2010?

PAGELS: Hi my name is Ernest J. Pagels Jr., I’m a born again Christian, a U.S. veteran and a very conservative Republican. I’m running for U.S. Senate from the state of Wisconsin and if elected I will initiate a bill to outlaw homosexuality, abortion, and all forms of pornography. I think these are three ills that are plaguing our nation and bringing it down. And if elected, I will also initiate a bill for a Constitutional amendment which prohibits Congress and the President from spending more money than they bring in. My name is Ernest J. Pagels, Jr. and I hope you vote for me on September 14.

These nuts just seem to fall from the trees of stupidity and bigotry.

The sad part is that people will vote for this man.

Amazing How Republicans Become Racially Sensitive When They See Opportunity To Attack Democrats

Republicans have had a rather dubious in regard to race relations for decades, but it seems their sensitivity to race has recently been heightened. The right-wing has spotted some blood in the water and is going after one of its favorite targets: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who likened the Republican health care opposition to slavery. As one might expect, right-wing nuts emerged from everywhere to pounce on Sen. Reid and accuse of him of playing the so-called race card (one of angry Michelle Malkin’s favorite terms). Malkin is just one of a gang of conservatives moving into to attack like one of the groups from the legendary Michael Jackson music video, “Beat It.”

As Media Matters for America has pointed out, however, conservatives have for years attacked progressives (in particular) blacks for being slaves to the government. We’ve routinely heard from conservatives that people who are on welfare are like slaves and that if health care is enacted that people will essentially become slave-like.

Here are the remarks Media Matters for America cited from conservatives (with the usual subjects in Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin leading the way):

Fox’s Bolling: “Were you shocked as I was when I heard him?” On the December 7 edition of Fox News’ Your World, guest host Eric Bolling — who also frequently guest hosts for Glenn Beck — asked Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TX): “[W]ere you shocked as I was when I heard him compare — if you were against health care, you may actually be in favor of slavery?” Bolling later asked if Reid’s comments were an indication of “desperation” about health care reform.

FoxNews.com: Reid “took his GOP-blasting rhetoric to a new level Monday.” In a December 7 article, FoxNews.com wrote that Reid “took his GOP-blasting rhetoric to a new level Monday, comparing Republicans who oppose health care reform to lawmakers who clung to the institution of slavery more than a century ago.”

Limbaugh: “This is outrageous.” On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh said that Reid’s remarks were “outrageous, because Harry Reid knows the Republican Party was born in the fight against slavery.” Limbaugh added that Reid’s remarks are an indication of what Democrats have “been reduced to.”

Malkin: Reid “playing the race card.” In a December 7 post, Michelle Malkin wrote that Reid was playing the race card in his remarks, adding: “I’m sure Nevadans appreciate being likened to slavemasters, too.”

It just goes to show the nuts at Fox News along with a cabinet-level nut like Malkin and the NOTUS (Nut Of The United States) Rush Limbaugh are the biggest of the hypocrites.

Where was Michelle Malkin’s outrage when Glenn Beck used slavery multiple times to attack progressives.

This is another way some conservatives gleefully spit in the face of minorities and act as if minorities are not smart enough to sift through the B.S. and middle-America whites are not smart enough to understand their game.

Check out the evidence Media Matters for America displays to show that conservatives lacked the outrage when they’re diversity-challenged side has made comments using slavery.

Bill O’Reilly Exploits Fort Hood Tragedy To Attack Dr. George Tiller Again And Defend Himself

Fox News right-wing host Bill O’Reilly refuses to let the murdered Dr. George Tiller, who provided abortions, rest in peace. It’s not bad enough that O’Reilly frequently attacked Dr. Tiller who was murdered in vicious and cold-blooded fashion (at the hands of a cowardly anti-abortion bigot). Now, Bill O’Reilly is callously exploiting the tragic murders at Fort Hood (Texas) to again attack Dr. George Tiller (who was a family man in addition to being a doctor) and portray himself as a victim who is being attacked.

Indeed, Bill O’Reilly continues to attack a murdered man while at the same time he sets himself up as the victim.

As Media Matters for America points out, it seems O’Reilly has ignored the right wing exploiting this tragedy to again launch bigoted attacks on Muslims and others they see as “extremists” in their narrow-minded view of the world. Instead of being balanced and fair, he has used this tragedy to again showcase his far-right bias and use his platform to attack people he sees as liberals.

Nice Try Rush, But We’re Not Going To Turn Against Each Other

Conservative Rush Limbaugh, the de facto leader of the Republican Party, is trying to turn blacks and women against each other through the issue of abortion.

From Media Matters for America:

LIMBAUGH: The Sunday New York Timespublished a recent interview with Supreme Court Justice Ruth “Buzzy” Ginsburg, and after expressing her annoyance over a 1980 decision that forbids using Medicaid tax dollars for abortions, Justice Ginsburg said this — I want to quote it: “Frankly, I had thought at the time that Roe was decided that there was concern about population growth, particularly growth in populations we don’t want to have too many of, so that Roe was going to then be set up for Medicaid funding for abortion,” unquote.

Now growth in populations we don’t want to have too many — that’s Planned Parenthood. That was the original goal of Planned Parenthood. The original goal of Planned Parenthood was to abort various minorities out of existence. That was the original purpose. I think in Ruth “Buzzy” Ginsburg’s case, when she says that she thinks Roe was about population growth, particularly growth in populations you don’t want to have too many of, she’s probably thinking about aborting conservatives. But the problem with that is it’s the liberals that are aborting each other, or themselves — their future generations.

Now what’s astounding about this is that a matriarch of modern liberalism was candid about the underlying objective of the abortion movement — that is to rid society of entire populations deemed unworthy. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was an early proponent of this. You know, it’s called eugenics. And her aim was to wipe out the African-American population.

Other infamous world figures acted upon similar instincts using other means to object — achieve their objectives: concentration camps, mass gassings, so-called ethnic cleansings. Planned Parenthood’s no different– Margaret Sanger’s Planned Parenthood no different than any of the people that used concentration camps, mass gassing, so-called ethnic cleansings.

And what’s just ironic as it can be is that the primary supporters of Planned Parenthood are liberals. And it’s — but here comes Ruth “Buzzy” Ginsburg just out of the box admitting what this is all about.

Now it is all about, you know, a woman’s right to choose, I mean that’s the umbrella under which it all happens, but I’ve — the thing about this group, Planned Parenthood and, you know, you put up an adoption center next to an abortion clinic. And what will happen is the Planned Parenthood people come out and try to keep every pregnant woman possible from going into the adoption center. There’s money involved in all of that.

Now Justice Ginsburg has not yet stated which American population she would like to see wiped out using Medicaid taxpayer-funded abortions. New York Times interviewer didn’t ask. Perhaps assumed that New York Timesreaders already know what population Ruth “Buzzy” Gins — I’m mentioning this now because we’ve got another one of these type people being investigated today. Confirmation hearings. Sonia Sotomayor is probably right down the path with Justice Ruth “Buzzy” Ginsburg on this issue.

See, somebody like me who can read the stitches on the fastball, read between the lines. Justice Ginsburg’s remarks tell the real story and that they ought to dispel for all time any notion of the abortion movements about privacy or choice or freedom, and it should also tell you why they are so damned — I must say this — insistent that Medicaid — that’s poor people medical care — Medicaid money be used for abortions. Tell you why liberals reacted so strongly to my term “feminazi.” My term “feminazi” hit way too close to home.

Also, they react strongly to the term “feminazi” because it is sexist and high offensive.

This is the type of rhetoric that could drive the Republican Party closer to extinction in the next 10 to 20 years (barring some change that appears unlikely at this point).

As far as whether Margaret Sanger was racist, as Limbaugh portrays, check out Wikipedia and draw your own conclusion.

Tapes Reveal Richard Nixon’s Views On Abortion And Interracial Relationship

The New York Times has a story written (based upon recently-released tapes) that give insight to former President Richard Nixon’s views about abortion and about abortion related to interracial relationships and rape.

Nixon worried that greater access to abortions would foster “permissiveness,” and said that “it breaks the family.” But he also saw a need for abortion in some cases, such as interracial pregnancies.

“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding: “Or a rape.”

What an appalling comment.

New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/us/politics/24nixon.html?_r=1

Greg Gutfeld Joins The Party In Bashing The Assassinated Dr. George Tiller

Right-wing commentator Greg Gutfeld has joined the party of people smearing the assassinated Dr. George Tiller. Dr. Tiller, who performed LEGAL procedures, was gunned down in church by a low-life anti-abortion domestic terrorist. It seems as though those extremists on the right wing are only concerned about domestic terrorism when it involves a Muslim.

Here is an excerpt from a blog written by Gutfeld:

So, as usual this morning, I’m on the stairclimber at the gym, watching CNN devote what seems like an entire morning on the death of George Tiller (no wonder their ratings are in the toilet). Remember, this isn’t just any abortion doctor – he’s like a hall-of-famer, late-term baby disposal unit – popping them off just as they cross the finish line.

But no matter, as I watch CNN’s in depth coverage – the kind you’d never see them give to the murder of a soldier by a Muslim convert – I kept obsessing over one thing.

Am I wrong for not caring?

I mean, I know that soon there will be a movie about Tiller (not about William Long, of course), probably starring walking hairpiece Ted Danson. But I still don’t care. I mean, I know that killing Tiller is wrong. It’s murder. And if you’re against the killing of unborn children, you can’t just go out and kill a man, even if he kills unborn children.

But that still doesn’t explain why I don’t care. And I’m willing to bet that the rest of America – save the media – don’t care much either.

Why is that? It’s not about Tiller’s murder being wrong. I get that. That’s not the issue. This issue is, when you make priorities of “stuff that’s wrong” – is it more wrong to kill a dumpster full of viable babies, than to kill the doc who fills that dumpster?

Yes, you are wrong for not caring about a man’s murder and the domestic terrorism that has, for so long, been intimately associated with the anti-abortion movement. Gutfeld may have the same research team that helped Bill O’Reilly lie about CNN’s coverage of the murder of Pvt. Long. O’Reilly was exposed as being dishonest about CNN’s in-depth coverage. Strangely enough, Gutfeld does actually make a good point: “And if you’re against the killing of unborn children, you can’t just go out and kill a man, even if he kills unborn children.” On the other hand, Gutfeld returns to right-wing extremism by the end. That is sad.

Here is another Gutfeld comment I found interesting (in the last paragraph of the above excerpt):

This issue is, when you make priorities of “stuff that’s wrong” – is it more wrong to kill a dumpster full of viable babies, than to kill the doc who fills that dumpster?

Whether you like it or not, abortion is a LEGAL procedure. MURDERING A HUMAN BEING IS ILLEGAL.

Big Hollywood:
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggutfeld/2009/06/09/daily-gut-i-don%e2%80%99t-care-about-tiller%e2%80%99s-murder/#more-155478

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

Rememebr When Janet Napolitano Was Criticized For Homeland Security Report On Right-Wing Extremism

It was not all that long ago that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was being strongly criticized by right-wing politicians and pundits.

Here is a sample from the Washington Post:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano responded yesterday to widespread criticism of a leaked domestic intelligence report warning local law enforcement agencies to be on guard for right-wing extremist groups seeking new recruits amid the nation’s economic troubles.

“Let me be very clear: we monitor the risks of violent extremism taking root here in the United States,” Napolitano said in a written statement issued by her department. “We don’t have the luxury of focusing our efforts on one group; we must protect the country from terrorism whether foreign or homegrown, and regardless of the ideology that motivates its violence.”

With the heinous assassination of Dr. George Tiller (a doctor who provided abortions), maybe there was a lot more merit to the report (not that it did not have some flaws) than people wanted to believe at the time.

Extremism (to this extent) is wrong … whether it comes from the left or the right.

Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041503390.html

Field Negro:
http://field-negro.blogspot.com/2009/06/domestic-terrorist-and-people-who.html

Bill O’Reilly Is On The Air Smearing The Dead Dr. George Tiller

Showing no shame, Fox News far-right hater Bill O’Reilly is on the air in his 8 p.m. The O’Reilly Factor show smearing a dead man. Showing virtually no sympathy for the death of Dr. George Tiller, who appears to have been murdered in an act of domestic terrorism in church by a far-right, anti-abortion nut. It’s a horrific crime. At this very hour, Bill O’Reilly is on the air covering his own rear end and exploiting the heinous assassination of Dr. Tiller to smear liberals, liberal bloggers and all those who differ with him. He is slamming Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post and all others who disagree with him. Once again, O’Reilly reveals himself as a flat-out bigot. He is radically hostile to all those who disagree with him. That would not be so bad. But to exploit the murder of Dr. Tiller (while also smearing a dead man calling him, among other things, “Tiller the baby killer”) to attack liberals is shameful.

How Will Bill O’Reilly Address The Savage Murder Of Dr. George Tiller?

In checking out some of the stories being published regarding the murder of Dr. George Tiller, I found this blog entry from David Neiwert on the Web site Crooks and Liars:

Three years ago, O’Reilly and his ambush-crew specialist, Jesse Watters, went hard after Tiller, accusing him of wantonly murdering babies because he performs late-term abortions:

Bill summarized in a heartfelt Talking Points Memo on Friday, November 10th: “If we as a society allow an undefined mental health exception in late-term abortions, then babies can be killed for almost any reason… This is the kind of stuff that happened in Mao’s China and Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union… If we allow this, America will no longer be a noble nation… If we allow Dr. George Tiller and his acolytes to continue, we can no longer pass judgment on any behavior by anybody.”

This is the kind of hate speech, as I said in an earlier blog, that leads inspires unstable people to commit murder and other acts of violence. Even if a hate speaker does not pull the trigger … there is a level of responsibility (even if not necessarily a legal responsibility) for those people who incite others to commit acts of violence.

It will be interesting to see how Bill O’Reilly responds to this massacre of Dr. George Tiller. There is no excuse for murder.

Crooks and Liars:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/bill-oreilly-has-dr-george-tillers-b

Does True Hate Speech Lead To Violence?

Certainly, there are reasonable disagreements about regarding what constitutes hate speech in America. Media Matters has compiled the following:

Anonymous: Over the past few years, Bill O’Reilly has made the following comments about Dr. Tiller:

- He “destroys fetuses for just about any reason right up until the birth date for $5,000.”

- He’s guilty of “Nazi stuff,”

- a moral equivalent to NAMBLA and al-Qaida

- “This is the kind of stuff that happened in Mao’s China, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union”

- “operating a death mill”

- “has blood on his hands”

- “executing babies about to be born

Tucker, I’m not saying Billo wanted some kook to kill him, but isn’t this playing with fire? Is there some quote by (Keith) Olbermann or any other liberal commentator that even comes close? Who has the craziest of the liberal left murdered lately?

TUCKER CARLSON: Every one of those descriptions of Tiller is objectively true. I sincerely think it’s appalling that he was murdered. But Tiller was a monster, no doubt.

Referring to Dr. Tiller as “a monster” may ease the conscience of people like Tucker Carlson, but there is no justification for murder. Surely, real pro-life people would agree. This is the kind of hate speech that leads some people to commit horrifying crimes.

Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906010013

How Will Conservative Fox News Commentator Bill O’Reilly Address Dr. George Tiller’s Murder?

The shocking murder of Dr. George Tiller of Kansas is making headlines in newspapers and on the Internet – all over the country. Dr. Tiller has come under heavy attack from hardcore extremists, including conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly of Fox News.

Consider this entry from the the Daily Kos that documents O’Reilly’s attacks on Dr. Tiller:

Since 2005, Bill O’Reilly has waged jihad against Dr. George Tiller, dedicating 29 segments of his show to demonizing and dehumanizing Tiller, who he invariably called “Tiller the baby killer.”

As you can see from these video clip samplings of O’Reilly’s holy war, you don’t have to actually pull the trigger to help sponsor terrorism.

Check out the Daily Kos page (video from Daily Kos is below) for documentation of O’Reilly’s war against Dr. Tiller.

Daily Kos:
http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001803/

Is Fox As Concerned With Murdered Doctor As It Is With Black Panthers?

Dr. George Tiller, a doctor who performs abortions, was murdered in a Kansas church on Sunday where he was serving as an usher.

Here is an excerpt from a story on the Fox News Web site:

Fox News has been going nuts about an isolated case that involves three members of the New Black Panther Party allegedly intimidating voters at a polling place. Based on the racial angle, it’s obvious to me why Fox News would focus on such a story.

WICHITA, Kan. — Dr. George Tiller, who remained one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher.

The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was arrested some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours after the shooting, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said.

Here is an excerpt from the story posted on the Fox News Web site:

Charges brought against three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense under the Bush administration have been dropped by the Obama Justice Department, FOX News has learned.

The charges stemmed from an incident at a Philadelphia polling place on Election Day 2008 when three members of the party were accused of trying to threaten voters and block poll and campaign workers by the threat of force — one even brandishing what prosecutors call a deadly weapon.

The three black panthers, Minister King Samir Shabazz, Malik Zulu Shabazz and Jerry Jackson were charged in a civil complaint in the final days of the Bush administration with violating the voter rights act by using coercion, threats and intimidation. Shabazz allegedly held a nightstick or baton that prosecutors said he pointed at people and menacingly tapped it. Prosecutors also say he “supports racially motivated violence against non-blacks and Jews.”

I wonder if Fox Nation and Fox News will be as outraged about a doctor being murdered at church for doing a job as it is about three thugs at a polling place. We’ll see how the outrage over this murder matches other outrage over far less significant issues.

I don’t condone either, but if there is outrage about these three Black Panthers then even the far right should be going nuts about a doctor murdered in church forhelping women exercise their constitutional rights.

There is no justification for this cold-blooded murder.

Fox News (Dr. Tiller’s murder):
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,523581,00.html

Fox News (Black Panthers):
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/05/29/charges-black-panthers-dropped-obama/

One Too Many Ass Whippings For Alan Keyes

Alan Keyes, the crazed right winger who has an ongoing vendetta against President Barack Obama, has lost his mind. The latest evidence that Keyes is more nutty than Planters, came with his obsessive activities at the University of Notre Dame before, during and since commencement activities.

KEYES: Well, I think it was clearly an effort today to try to establish some kind of moral legitimacy for Obama despite the fact that he takes an extremist stance on child-killing that marks him as the focal point evil, with respect to this heinous destruction of innocent life in our world today.

That quote is evidence that Keyes (who has made a career out of hateful language and political defeat) is a nut who is off his rocker. His vicious and hateful words have done little more than drag the Republican party down into the mud of extremism and bitterness.

Crooks and Liars:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/alan-keyes-calls-president-obama-cen

President Obama Shows Class In Notre Dame Commencement Speech

President Barack Obama proved far classier than some of the crazy extremists who took protests to the far fringes of our society. The president stood tall as far-right nuts tried strongly to silence him and those who differ (the definition of bigotry) in opinion. While media outlets like Fox News are working hard to pour gasoline on the fire, the president took the high road. Also taking the high road was the president of the university, Rev. John L. Jenkins. Rev. Jenkins showed great courage and strength. He showed the kind of character and the willingness to bring people together. This is what we should want from our leaders. While some are using abortion, Catholicism and the University of Notre Dame to advance their extreme viewpoints on these sensitive issues, the president proved classy and as a person who is more of a uniter – working to build bridges rather than burning bridges.

“I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. Because no matter how much we may want to fudge it — indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory — the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable,” Obama said.

“Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature,” he said.

We should be able to do that without reducing differing views to caricature, but it will be difficult with outlets like Fox News advancing their own far-right agenda.

“We must find a way to live together as one human family,” Obama said.

Notre Dame President Rev. Jenkins earlier defended the university’s decision to invite Obama and honor him with a degree.

“We honor all people of good will who have come to this discussion respectfully and out of deeply held conviction,” he said.

That’s what it should be like on our college campuses. We should have a free exchange of ideas rather than a close-minded approach that excludes and shuns those who differ.

CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/16/obama.notre.dame/index.html

Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/17/obama-urges-notre-dame-graduates-seek-common-ground/

Barack Obama, Notre Dame Controversy Is About More Than Abortion, Catholicism

Conservatives are coming out of the woodwork trying to jump on the pile in attacking President Obama as a result of this Fox News-manufactured controversy surrounding his commencement address at the University of Notre Dame and his receiving an honorary degree from the institution. That being said, I started to read this column published on the Fox News Web site and written by Paul Kregor.

In May 1995, his first year as Pennsylvania governor, Tom Ridge was invited by Gannon University, a Catholic college in Erie, Pa., to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree. But the distinguished Republican and native son had a problem: he was a pro-choice Catholic.

Erie Bishop Donald Trautman expressed his “concerns.” Governor Ridge declined the degree.
“The last thing I would want is for those differences to distract in any way from this wonderful day of recognition for Gannon’s class of 1995,” said Ridge. His spokesman explained that the decision “came from the governor.”

Ridge did the right thing. He did the character thing.

Ridge exercised his right to choose not to accept the degree (according to the information in this column). However, if anyone thinks the hatred would be any less intense toward President Obama had he turned down this degree is living in fantasy land. This is not about the honorary degree and I almost question whether it is even about the abortion issue for a lot of the people who are hating President Obama. People like Alan Keyes are pimping the University of Notre Dame for their own selfish purposes.

This whole issue is about the hatred of Barack Obama. Abortion, Notre Dame and all the other issues coming up are smokescreens. President Obama has done the character thing. He could have taken the easy way out and run away screaming or decided not to accept the degree. Both would have been, particularly in this case, cowardly. We should not give into a vocal minority playing the role of extortionist and emotional blackmailer. Ridge did what he felt was right and President Obama is doing what he feels is the right thing to do.

Bigotry thrives when people shy away from it.

Fox News:
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/05/17/kregor_obama_notre_dame/

Catholic Priest Shows Ignorance And Bigotry In Anti-President Obama Comments

This far-right notion that people go out essentially cheerleading for abortions is nothing short of asinine. Yet, as Fox News continues to inject steroids into this anti-President Obama story at Notre Dame, that is precisely what we’re left with: asinine, anti-President Obama garbage.

This is from Fox News:

Rev. Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life, told “FOX News Sunday” that the reason students and Catholic leaders are protesting Notre Dame’s decision to award an honorary degree to Obama is because they believe it’s the latest indication that the country is “trivializing abortion.”

Pavone was reacting to a new Gallup poll that shows more Americans calling themselves “pro-life” than “pro-choice,” by 51-to-42 percent, for the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1995. A recent FOX News poll also showed more people describing themselves as pro-life for the first time since 2004.

“The nation is becoming more and more pro-life and they’re realizing that … abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy is just not where the American people are today, it’s not where they’ve ever been,” Pavone said. “The president’s position on this is in the minority.”

First, I think most people want to see as few abortions as possible. However, not all people are willing to take away a woman’s right to choose (her reproductive freedom). I would want to see more data from that poll before I would make any kind of a sweeping judgment. What’s in the minority is people who stand at clinics and harass women making a deeply personal and painful decision.

First off, Obama’s stance on abortion:

“I don’t know anybody who is pro-abortion. I think it’s very important to start with that premise. I think people recognize what a wrenching, difficult issue it is. I do think that those who diminish the moral elements of the decision aren’t expressing the full reality of it. But what I believe is that women do not make these decisions casually, and that they struggle with it fervently with their pastors, with their spouses, with their doctors.

“Our goal should be to make abortion less common, that we should be discouraging unwanted pregnancies, that we should encourage adoption wherever possible. There is a range of ways that we can educate our young people about the sacredness of sex and we should not be promoting the sort of casual activities that end up resulting in so many unwanted pregnancies.

“Ultimately, women are in the best position to make a decision at the end of the day about these issues. With significant constraints. For example, I think we can legitimately say — the state can legitimately say — that we are prohibiting late-term abortions as long as there’s an exception for the mother’s health. Those provisions that I voted against typically didn’t have those exceptions, which raises profound questions where you might have a mother at great risk. Those are issues that I don’t think the government can unilaterally make a decision about. I think they need to be made in consultation with doctors, they have to be prayed upon, or people have to be consulting their conscience on it. I think we have to keep that decision-making with the person themselves.”

I think President Obama’s stance is easily within the mainstream. Like a lot of people, he wants abortions safe, legal, rare and in the hands of people who know what’s best for them and their body. This is not to start a debate about abortion, but to debunk this notion that the president wants to run around encouraging people to have abortions or that people who are pro choice are pro abortion (a term designed to scare that is oftentimes used by pro-life people). My point is to point out that the president is not trying to cheer on women to have abortions. He understands how painful and personal a decision that is for women and for families. My point is to make sure that the president’s stance is a little better understood because his position is the position of a lot of people in this nation.

Leave it to Fox News to push this story because of its right-wing stance on the issues. Obviously, Fox is playing up the Gallup poll because it suits their conservative interests. And, the ability to tie it to this commencement address has to almost feel like Christmas in May for the conservatives at Fox News (they can trash Barack Obama, stand up as pro life, cite this poll that they like and create news).

Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/17/catholic-leader-obama-abortion-position-

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/