McCain Denounces Radio Host; Much ado about nothing?
From Townhall.com:
Republican John McCain quickly denounced the comments of a radio talk show host who while warming up a campaign crowd referred repeatedly to Barack Hussein Obama and called the Democratic presidential candidate a “hack, Chicago-style” politician.
Hussein is Obama’s middle name, but talk show host Bill Cunningham used it three times as he addressed the crowd before the likely Republican nominee’s appearance.
While this is just a small blurb of the story, it pretty much sums up the fact that many pf the conservative talk radio personalities that have attacked McCain for condemning these remarks are making a bigger deal out of this situation than they need to.
First of all, there is absolutely no reason that Bill Cunnigham needed to refer to Obama by his middle name three times in his speech, attack him on his record, not his name. Fear mongering is a tactic that should be saved for times in the campaign when it is truly needed, not for some ridiculous statement that doesn’t even make any strong claims.
Furthermore, John McCain is running for President in what is going to be a highly contested election. People are going to be voting for someone that they believe will be ready to take the job on day one, without any training. With that being said, should it surprise anyone that John McCain is already starting to act Presidential so that people can see that he knows what he is doing?
If this speech was given before the President of the United States spoke, I have no doubt in my mind that the White House Press Secretary would have a statement on the wire within minutes decrying Cunningham’s remarks and taking a different position.
Somehow I have a feeling that if Cunningham were speaking before a George W. Bush event and this happened, and Bush gave the same response as McCain, conservative talk radio hosts wouldn’t be in attack mode like they are now.
This is really something that is concerning for me as the election draws near. Is talk radio going to keep attacking McCain, calling him a liberal and making foolish claims, such as supporting Hillary Clinton instead? I really hope not.
These talk radio hosts need to realize that if we don’t have McCain, we’re going to have one of the most liberal and unexperienced members of the United States Senate in office, with a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, and Supreme Court Justices getting up there in age.
While that might give them plenty to talk about on the air and guarantee that their base of listeners will increase exponentially, is the future of our country something that they truly want to play with?
I’m hoping that the majority of conservatives look beyond those in talk radio who are attacking McCain for doing something that any President would have done, and focus on the real issues, and more importantly getting on the ground persuading as many people as possible to support the Republican nominee.
Things link this are not going to help conservatives win in 2008.
Since when did a philosophy of supporting the liberal ever help advance conservatism? Bill Cunningham needs to stop crying, grow up, and stand by his Party.
Leftist Blog Happy About Death of William F. Buckley?
In looking for some more articles and tributes to William F. Buckley, I came across a disturbing post from a leftist blogger regarding what seemed to be their satisfaction with the death of William F. Buckley.
What is the posts headline: William F. Buckley Jr. Joins Dead Homophobes Club
The rest of the post:
Back in the beginning of the AIDS crisis, Buckley suggested all HIV+ Americans get visibly tattoo to warn and protect the public. Very soon after this Machiavellian suggestion, Buckley had a biopsy sent to a laboratory where an AIDS activist from ACT-UP was a technician. When becoming aware it was Buckley’s biopsy, the diagnosis of “Kaposi Sarcoma” was sent out. To Buckley’s horror, that he may have contracted an AIDS related cancer, he was re-biopsied and coincidentally, the same lab tech received the specimen and the same diagnosis was sent. Biopsy Terrorism. Ah. Sweet Revenge. Good riddance to bad karma.
Absolutely ridiculous and disrespectful.
This isn’t how conservatives act when a respected American leftist dies, yet its always the conservatives who are labeled as insensitive, having no compassion for humanity. I think that this just goes to show the double standard between the left and right.
While I don’t encourage anyone to become a frequent of the blog that posted this rediculous statement, I think its an important affirmation of what WFB talked about in many of his articles regarding the behavior of many on the far left.
Update: I guess there are some more WFB haters who couldn’t wait to show their excitement:
http://redsoxstateofmaine.typepad.com/my_whatever_world_in_main/2008/02/william-f-buckl.html
http://symbioid.livejournal.com/1100652.html
http://brileystyleshow.blogspot.com/2008/02/good-news-william-f-buckley-is-dead.html
William F. Buckley, Rest in Peace.
It’s a sad day for the conservative movement, one of the great ones has passed.
From the New York Times:
William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn.
Mr Buckley, 82, suffered from diabetes and emphysema, his son Christopher said, although the exact cause of death was not immediately known. He was found at his desk in the study of his home, his son said. “He might have been working on a column,” Mr. Buckley said.
Mr. Buckley’s winningly capricious personality, replete with ten-dollar words and a darting tongue writers loved to compare with an anteater’s, hosted one of television’s longest-running programs, “Firing Line,” and founded and shepherded the influential conservative magazine, “National Review.”
He also found time to write 45 books, ranging from sailing odysseys to spy novels to celebrations of his own dashing daily life, and edit five more. Two more books, one a political novel, and the other a history of the magazine called “Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription” are scheduled to be published in 2007.
The more than 4.5 million words of his 5,600 biweekly newspaper columns, “On the Right,” would fill 45 more medium-sized books.
Mr. Buckley’s greatest achievement was making conservatism — not just electoral Republicanism, but conservatism as a system of ideas — respectable in liberal post-World War II America. He mobilized the young enthusiasts who helped nominate Barry Goldwater in 1964, and saw his dreams fulfilled when Reagan and the Bushes captured the Oval Office.
I know I’ve tagged this with a lot of categories, but its almost impossible to limit someone so dynamic to just one tag. I hope to post more on this later.
In the meantime, here are a few respected blogs that are covering this:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2008/02/27/william-f-buckley-jr-passes-away
http://hoosieraccess.com/blog/2008/02/27/bulletin-columnist-william-f-buckley-jr-has-died/
http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/02/william_f_buckley_jr.html
http://authentic-connecticut-republican.blogspot.com/2008/02/william-f-buckley-1925-2008.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8720.html
http://www.observer.com/2008/william-f-buckley-jr-dead-82
http://www.poliblogger.com/?p=13321
http://wigdersonlibrarypub.blogspot.com/2008/02/rip-william-f-buckley-jr.html
Update: It looks like the left waited no time to lash out on WFB