Put Your Jackets Back On Conservatives.

Beck, Baby Killers & Trekkies

Throughout my life, my legs have hung off both sides of the political fence. In the 80s, I went with Reagan. In the 90s it was Clinton. A registered Republican since the age of 18, I worked for a member of the Kennedy clan on his environmental efforts. I am now a registered Democrat who was a staunch supporter of both our local Republican mayor and President Obama. I think I even checked out a Ross Perot rally once, but it was for the school paper. Then again, maybe I’m a little schizophrenic. Who knows? I guess I always just followed the advice of my war veteran uncle. Don’t vote along party lines, vote for the best candidate. Unfortunately, good politicians can be hard to find. Now we have a battle over health care reform. Personally, I think the health care bill passed at not a moment too soon. Apparently, there is an outbreak of Tourette's rampaging throughout the conservative movement. The latest poor soul to be afflicted: Representative Randy Neugebauer, the Republican representative from Texas. After it was discovered that he shouted "baby killer" at a fellow Congressman, Randy explained that the statement was misunderstood. He was actually asking a capitol page named Bobby for a cruller. (You can roll your eyes now.) On the positive side, at least he didn't challenge Congressman Stupak to a tickle fight.

Growing up, I remember a different type of Republican. The iconic Ronald Reagan was the standard bearer of the Grand Old Party. He replaced the polyester leisure suit mentality of the 70s with a certain starched dignity and grace. Reagan was known to keep his suit jacket on while in the Oval Office. He did it out of respect for the Presidency (plus it was drafty). His opponents respected him because he respected his opponents. The Gipper was tough, but he always had an air of civility about him. Unfortunately, the tide has turned. The crisp pinstripe suits of the Reagan years have been replaced with court jesters carrying civil war muskets and misspelled signs. We find Republican congressmen playing up to the more extreme members of the right. They shout "you lie" and "baby killer" as they play with their Blackberries. They make McCarthy-like accusations of socialism against fellow Congressmen. They give credence to conspiracy theories about the president's birth. Is it just me or have meetings of Congress turned into amateur night at the Apollo? I blame Jerry Springer. He made it OK for members of the audience to act like jackasses. The rhetoric from the right is disturbing. Go on the GOP's official website and you see a photo of Nancy Pelosi engulfed in flames. Visit Sarah Palin's website and you will be informed that it is time to "reload" and shows a map of Democrats with crosshairs on their locations. Somewhere along the way, the GOP decided it's acceptable to give up a little dignity and common sense in order to attract a certain segment of the conservative community.

It is no surprise. The extreme right is a dedicated bunch. They will follow you to the gates of hell. Take the Tea Party movement for example. Not only will a tea partier vote for you, they will come to the voting booths with thirty friends dressed as President Washington's Delaware crossing. They will campaign for you and shout down your opponents at town hall meetings. So if you have to say a couple of whacky things to get some tea party credibility, why not? Question the presidents' birth publicly and surely you will get die-hard support from the musket aficionado set. Think of the Tea Partiers as Star Trek fans and Republican congressmen as original cast members. Although I am sure William Shatner loves Trekkies, a part of him must think many of them are utter nutjobs. Of course, ignoring them would be foolish. They make up a significant part of his fan base. So he goes to conventions and answers questions about warp drives, green alien women and Tribbles. He may even call a Klingon a "baby killer" once in awhile. But you know that deep inside he dies a little.

In the media, guys like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are masters at soring up their fan base by scaring the crap out of them. Watch a typical Glenn Beck show and you will come away convinced that healthcare reform is a communist plot to kill the remaining Golden Girls, that President Obama is a racist Muslim Kenyan who is planning mass sterilizations and that Nancy Pelosi is planning internment camps run by illegal gay immigrants. Beck plays up people's fears and has gotten rich in the process. Worried about the financial market, why not buy Gold through Beck's sponsor Goldline. Did the pudgy pundit make you believe Armageddon is quickly approaching? Better make sure to buy some survival seeds. For $150, a Glenn Beck show sponsor will sell you packages of 22 varieties of seeds for a crisis garden. Think of it this way. The truth is a chicken that is going to stay inside. A fair and balanced Fox is circling the hen house.

If Glenn Beck can get his fans to buy golden eggs and magic beans, it is no surprise some Republican congressmen are willing to lose a little dignity to gain their support. Joe Wilson learned that early on. The guy blurts out "you lie" as if he just found out Santa wasn't real and the Tea Party movement fills his campaign coffers. Sarah Palin tells the nation that Obama wants to kill grandma and she's rewarded with teabags full of speaking fees. The recipe is easy. Fan the flames of misinformation by mixing in a little truth with a little fear. Add a "you betcha" and it's ready to serve.

But what about the long term effects on the Grand Old Party? Do Republicans really want the Glenn Becks of the world to serve as the new standard bearers of the party? The nutcase is waving a bat on tv imploring his viewers that they might be next in the killing spree. Lincoln united a house divided. Roosevelt charged up San Juan Hill. Reagan tore down walls and crushed an evil empire. Is the next step in the Republican legacy really the Tea Party movement, Sarah Palin's lipstick and Glen Beck's chalkboard?

Now, I'm not saying that all tea party members are like Jack Nicholson in the Shining. Many have legitimate concerns. There's a lot to be frustrated about. I am saying that it's time for normal conservatives to stand up. While the regular Republicans are at work, the lunatics are getting all the camera time. You know the ones. The guy who failed social studies but is suddenly an expert on the 10th Amendment. The gal carrying a misspelled sign at a Tea Party rally. The protesters who shout racial and homophobic slurs at Democratic Congressmen as they walk past. The artists who make posters of the President of United States dressed as Hitler. These people are a few teacups short of a full set.

It's time to get back to civility and reason. Between Sarah Palin writing on her hands, Beck's pudgy chalk stained fingers and Rush's ADD outbursts in class, I have gotten weary of the schoolyard antics. I still cannot comprehend that grown adults honestly believed the president of the United States was secretly creating concentration camps, mass sterilizations and death panels. What happened to common sense? Do these people honestly think that the United States is on it's last legs and only Glenn Beck can save us from the four horsemen of the impending Apocalypse. Glenn's tears do not make his words true.

Well, I have a little more faith in my country. I live in a nation that has survived wars, financial depressions, natural disasters and terror attacks. Through each crisis we have emerged stronger. I think we can survive giving healthcare to our citizens. Is the idea really that repulsive? The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee access to health care as a right of citizenship. We're Americans. We always do things bigger and better. Canadians should not be living longer than us.

I am sure some of my readers support the healthcare legislation and some are against it. It should never lead to hanging people in effigy, shouting down differences in opinion and threatening violence. Obviously you have the right to state your opinion, but you do not have the right to control the debate through fear. As an attorney I value the freedom of speech and all our Constitutional protections. But masking threats of violence with the freedom of speech is not freedom. In my day we called it nuts. A true American expresses his opinion in the voting booth, not with a brick through a window.

So put your suit jacket back on Congressman. Do it for the Gipper.