Former President Jimmy Carter claims that Representative Joe Wilson's "you lie" shout during President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress was based in racism.
His reasoning for this? "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be President."
In other words, he has no scientific data to show this is true. He doesn't explain how many is "many". Is many considered more than 50%? What about 25%? 10%? Or is it just his circle of friends that he's drawing from?
Jimmy Carter is not someone that I take seriously, although I am thankful that he was President. His presidency ran from 1976 to 1980. Double digit inflation, double digit unemployment. Gas lines and gas rationing. Jimmy Carter showed us just how bad an American President can be and it led to one of the most positive thinking and patriotic Presidents in our history. Jimmy Carter showed us the failure of Liberalism which set the table for President Ronald Reagan to show us that Conservatism succeeds giving us the largest peacetime growth in history and caused the downfall of the Soviet Union.
There is racism in this country. But it's nowhere near what it was. It continues to decline. Will we ever eliminate it? I doubt it. People will always treat others that are different from themselves, differently. However, claiming racism where it doesn't exist doesn't further the fight on racism, but rather it takes the true racism and makes it questionable. It's much like the story of the boy who cried wolf. Eventually, claiming that racism is everywhere, even where it's not, will cause people to turn away from it and ignore it. This can only lead to more racism.
There is an honest debate that could have taken place over Joe Wilson's shout, but it's been watered down because of the claim of racism when it wasn't racist. There are clear differences between Obama's plans for Health care, stimulus and cap and trade that are honest and could be hard fought debates but the liberals whining that anyone that disagrees just can't stand it because the President is black is showing only that they don't have a argument for their position and need to try to shut down debate so as not to have to deal with the differences in opinion.
By the same token, the other side jumping in and saying "he's not black, he's only half black" is just as silly in that they aren't debating the issue but rather they are joining the racism debate which really has no place in the health care issue.
This current problem with Health Care has some serious problems. Even Jay Rockefeller, Senator from West Virginia is against the bill being pushed by Max Baucus who put together the so-called "gang of six". The three Republicans in the gang and Rockefeller, a Democrat are against it, so Baucus is currently talking about bringing his bill out of that even though there is just he and one other in the "gang" that are anxious to push it forward.
There is no honest debate going on about Health Care Reform. Republicans aren't included. Democrats aren't pushing their plan, they are claiming racism whenever someone raises a question. They aren't interested in getting it right, they are interested in getting a bill. It doesn't matter if it's a good bill or a bad bill, they just want a bill so they can say they did something about it and get their hands on all of the money that they'll be taxing us to pay for it.
By all accounts, Jimmy Carter has never met and doesn't know Joe Wilson. By all accounts, Joe Wilson doesn't have a racist bone in his body. Some have said that he doesn't even laugh at off-color jokes.
This isn't a debate on health care. This is a snowball fight between the left and the right and the ones walking in the middle between them are the American people. We are the ones being hit. We have the best health care system in the world and it could be made better and solve a few of the problems that exist. Unfortunately, we seem to have a bunch of spoiled little kids in the US Senate and the US House and someone left the playpen door open.
Jimmy Carter showed why he had a failed Presidency with his comments that were not backed up with any facts. The nation would be better off if he returned to farming peanuts. Maybe he could take 535 others with him and let them work for the peanuts as well and maybe, just maybe, we'll get some people in Congress that will quit damaging this country with all of the spending and taxing that's going on. It might help as well, if we could get new people in that actually know how to read as well.
You're welcome to comment.
Brett
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