The Spineless GOP Hopefuls

Sept 24th, 2011

We've now heard Republican audiences cheer for the death of the uninsured and boo a soldier serving in Iraq because he's gay. Ryan Lizza is aghast at the unwillingness on the part of the hopeful GOP candidates during the last two debates to show leadership and condemn these outbursts on the spot:

"These debates have exposed a strain of conservatism that usually only exists in liberal caricatures. My experience covering Republican politics for years is that these sentiments don’t represent the majority of G.O.P. voters, and everyone knows that political events attract some exotic characters. But I don’t recall a field of Presidential candidates—ostensibly, the top political leaders of their party—so fearful to speak out when these eruptions do occur. It’s been shameful."

It is not merely shameful, it is also inexplicable. Do these candidates actually think a plurality in America wants a President and Commander in Chief who is afraid of confronting ugly, rabble-rousing outliers in a dark room?

Some In Tea Party Audience Cheer For Death Of Uninsured

Sept 12th, 2011

It is not often that this much is learned from a hypothetical. During an exchange tonight at the "Tea Party" sponsored GOP debate, Ron Paul beat around the bush when questioned about how society should respond to a major medical crisis involving an uninsured patient. When Blitzer actually pushed for once and asked, "are you saying that society should just let him die?" someone in the audience shouted "yeah!" This shout out was well received.

This was an audience composed entirely of self-identified Tea Party members. This is the dominant force in the current GOP base. The profound lack of fundamental compassion is, itself, un-American. The Founders never conflated concepts of "individual responsibility" with outright blood lust.