Of Cabbages And Kings
By JAMES K. FITZPATRICK
“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
“Of shoes — and ships — and sealing wax —
M“Of cabbages — and kings.”
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The political and media elites are aghast over the possibility that an Indiana baker might refuse to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage. What do you think they would say if a baker refused to bake a cake with a “Little Black Sambo” or Nazi storm trooper theme for an Aryan supremacist couple?
It strikes me that the most vexing thing about watching Hillary Clinton lie about her email server and Barack Obama lie about the IRS scandals, is that you can tell that they know that we know that they are lying — and don’t care, because they know the media will give them a pass.
I realize that Donald Trump can come across as the kind of no-nonsense, tough bargainer we want to represent us as president. But listen the next time you hear him talk; see if you can find some specific statement of what he will do if he becomes president, rather than self-aggrandizing bluster. You’ll get only the bluster. You have to ask yourself if he is a serious man.
Did you see Harry Reid when questioned about his lie about Mitt Romney paying no income taxes? He chuckled and said, “He didn’t get elected, did he?” We have to come to grips with this tactic used by Democrats to plant falsehoods in people’s minds, which they hope will get repeated as facts over the water cooler and the backyard fence. George Stephanopoulos is past master at the ploy. Look at what he did to Mitt Romney on the issue of birth control and just recently to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence over the rights of homosexuals in his state.
I can never figure out if people like Lanny Davis and James Carville, when they defend the worst behavior of Bill and Hillary Clinton, are willing to misrepresent the truth because they are convinced that the Clintons and the liberal Democratic agenda must be defended at all costs, or because they are acting like defense lawyers whose job is to help their clients beat the rap, even when they are guilty. Or might it be that they think the Clintons are actually innocent? Nah…it can’t be that.
Is there anyone else out there who reacts the way I do when I see conservative candidates such as Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz on television? I agree with almost everything they say, but find something unattractive and grating about their public image. Beyond that, I can’t picture them getting many votes in a general election. Well, there may be hope. We have to keep in mind that a candidate’s image is often greatly enhanced during a run for the presidency.
We should remember that Bill Clinton was once remembered as the hayseed governor who was widely panned for not getting off the stage during the 1988 Democratic convention. Barbers and tailors and image consultants and the setting of the campaign can work wonders for a candidate.
I keep thinking about how radical Democrats like Barack Obama and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio would not be able to sell themselves to the voters if they still looked the way they did as young men, when they affected the long hair and hippie garb of the left-wing counterculture. Would it be an unfair overstatement to contend that they are “in disguise” these days, projecting a moderate image that belies their most deeply held political beliefs? Not if you ask me.
Might the best example of “the grass is always greener” trope be the way conservatives complain about the unfair advantage enjoyed by liberals because of their support in the mainstream media and from television commentators such as Jon Stewart — while at the same time the liberals complain about the power of Fox News and talk-radio show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh?
Talking about Rush Limbaugh: I respect his views on most issues. But I think he is wrong when he chides Republicans for fearing a Hillary Clinton candidacy. I say Hillary starts any run for the presidency with two powerful blocs of voters solidly in her camp: the 40 percent or so of the electorate that always votes Democrat, plus the women with no clear-cut ideological views who will vote for her simply because she is a woman. I am convinced there are enough women like that to tip the election Hillary’s way. That is why Hillary has been going out of her way lately to emphasize that she will be the country’s first woman president.
Do you think that President Obama understands that “leading from behind” means not leading at all, and permitting countries heretofore considered to be enemies of the United States to take control of the reins of power in the world arena? I do. It is the world the young Barack Obama called for in his autobiographical writings.
Do you ever wonder if the waves of illegal immigrants crossing our borders will stop only when most American cities become indistinguishable in lifestyles and economic opportunities from Mexico City and Medellin?
Do you ever think we will ever again get a conservative leader like Ronald Reagan, someone who is able to enhance his popularity by drawing attention to the extent of the media bias amassed against him? The modern Republicans, in contrast to Reagan, act as if it is a death sentence to have Matt Lauer or Oprah criticize them. Reagan would have treated it as a badge of honor.
Megyn Kelly and Sean Hannity express disbelief over the student council at the University of California at Irvine voting to ban the American flag on campus in an effort to make the school more “culturally inclusive.” The students’ decision should not surprise us. They, as well as a generation of students before them, have been taught that the flag represents “Amerika,” a racist, sexist, homophobic, jingoist colossus that has wrought great evil in the world since the end of World War II.
