Savaged by Incivility Franklin D. Leupp, Sr. I rarely ever stay up late for any reason; even company. A friend of mine several years ago got so tired of his guests that he went to his bedroom, put on his pajamas and reappeared to say “goodnight” to his guests. Well, I wouldn’t go quite that far. But Tuesday afternoon I wanted to see just what Senator Cruz had up his sleeve and so I began to watch – and listen, critically, I might add, to what he had to say in his attempt to keep the floor of the Senate occupied as long as he could stand. The Senator from Texas impressed me with his knowledge, ability and desire to deliver what should have been a convincing argument for defunding the ACA, Affordable Care Act. He, I thought, gave more reasons than necessary for striking down this monstrosity, not the least of which were the innumerable “exceptions,” seemingly granted to President Obama’s friends and even including Congress. And so I stayed up much of the night to listen to what he had to say. I remember when President Obama promised that those who had health insurance that they liked could keep it. When the Teamster’s Union president, Mr. Hoffa, found out that the President had lied to them and that this new law was turning out to be a huge job killer to all the hard working men and women who helped him get elected, he wrote a very uncomplimentary letter to the President venting his anger at their betrayal. Senator Cruz read the letter during his time on the floor. Needless to say, this new law is very unpopular with the Teamsters. The Senator was a gentleman in his oratory; I didn’t hear him deride, castigate or otherwise demean those who disagreed with him – and certainly never went so low as to call names of his opposition. I can’t say the same for those who followed him on the floor of the Senate the next day. It was disheartening to listen to Senators Schumer, Boxer, Reid, Durbin and many others who were so scathingly uncivil in their remarks toward the gentleman Senator that I began to realize why there is such an advance of effort to destroy the Bill of Rights: freedom of speech, press, religion. If the Democrat controlled White House and Senate are a reflection of our future, we are surely doomed. The name calling, incivility and downright nastiness displayed therein toward one whose ideas were contrary to theirs, were such as to give a black eye to a governing body that should be above that and be an example to the rest of the nation. Sadly, it turns out to be a schoolyard bully contest with no holds barred. I’m familiar with Senators Boxer, Schumer and Durbin especially, and these three pronounced nothing less than unacceptable evil rhetoric; certainly not what one would expect of the deliberative body such as the esteemed Senate of the United States. It’s quite okay to disagree with each other but to be extremely disagreeable in the process is below the level expected of gentlemen in any dispute. I am deeply troubled by this kind of behavior and also fear for their contempt of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Lip service to the contrary, their actions speak louder than their words. The American public had best keep their eyes open to those who would shred the Constitution in their quest to shut out any civil discourse with which they disagree.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 01:06:28 +0000
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