I don't know why I bother with Matthew Iglesias other than to point out what disdain the elistists have for us common folk.
In
this editorial, he is in fine form. I mean, we can't possibly have any legitimate concerns, right?
But instead of the familiar silly-season stuff of years past -- made-up scandals and who-cares gossip -- the past two summers have been filled with vitriol. Last year we had town halls gone wild,fueled by the threat of death panels pulling the plug on Grandma. This year, us-vs.-them controversies are proliferating, linked by a surge in xenophobia. This is our summer of fear.
Xenophobia? No. We love people who come here legally and add to our distinctive culture. And that is the point. There are people who come here illegally, choose not to integrate into our culture and believe, since we are a people who are charitable to a fault, that they can take advantage of our kindness by having "anchor babies". Here's the deal. Have an "anchor baby"? Ok. Kid stays here, you go back. How's that work for ya. Do that a few times and there won't be any more people coming to have "anchor babies". That's not Xenophobia, it's the rule of law.
So far, the summer of fear has featured a charge, led by Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and former New York congressman Rick Lazio, to block the construction of the Cordoba House Islamic cultural center (which is to include a mosque) a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center.
Sure Matt, I could go into the whole "synagogue in Mecca thing", but let's get more basic. I want to build a KKK monument in Selma, Alabama. You'd go for that, right? Because, gosh, most of the guys who joined the Klan just thought they were joining something akin to the Rotary Club. That shouldn't be offensive to anyone. There are literally thousands of places to build the Cordoba Center, this ain't one of them. Further, Matt, you need to look into the meaning of Cordoba. Cordoba refers to the consolidation of Muslim power in conquered Spain. This is about conquest, not "building bridges".
However, as unemployment and foreclosures have increased in the years since, so have trivial, race-based controversies, such as those surrounding the New Black Panther Party.....
Move along. Nothing to see here. That voter intimidation thing? Just a right wing fantasy.
At the same time, the number of Americans with doubts about the location of the president's birth appears to be on the rise. An Aug. 4 CNN poll found that only 42 percent of Americans are now sure he was born in the United States, way down from July 2009 polling that showed 77 percent of adults expressing certainty on this score. Despite clear evidence that he was born in Hawaii, Obama too is cast as an outsider.
This is the President's own fault. His failure to release any historical information; birth certificate, school records, the disappearance of his mother's passport files, all lead to suspicion. Not because we are stupid haters, but because they are legitimate sources of information we should be able to access to determine if he is qualified in all ways to be President (he's not, but only because he's incompetent). Can you say "pattern"?
In reality, though, recessions lead to illiberal populist nationalism, not progressive reform.
Or maybe it's because WE DON'T WANT PROGRESSIVE REFORM! WE WANT OUR LIBERTY BACK! Don't assume that we thought Progressive Reform was ok before. We just have had enough of it. Some of us were too busy with our lives to see the incrementalism going on around us. Now it is writ large and we are shouting, "NO!"
A betrayal, even a fleeting one, of America's commitment to religious freedom could do lasting harm to the country's relationship with a billion Muslims around the world.
No one is suggesting limiting religious freedom, but rather limiting a mosque in a location offensive to many. Further, it is the stated purpose of Islam to conquer the infidel. Iglesias is as much infidel as the rest of us and will lose his head if they succeed.
