PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
by Chris Freind
Let's take Senator John McCain down Memory Lane. In 1989, former Klan leader David Duke beat an incumbent Republican to win a seat in the Louisiana legislature. The surprise wasn't that Duke won, but that top-level leaders didn't have a clue what would happen when they jumped into the fray.
Duke's victory was made possible because Presidents Bush and Reagan, as well as the Republican National Committee, meddled in the local affairs of Metairie, Louisiana. These leaders from afar had no connection to the people of Metairie, yet they urged---demanded, in fact--- that the people reject Duke and vote for his opponent. The result spoke for itself.
Were the majority of voters in Metairie closet racists who finally had an opportunity to show their true colors now that they had a "fellow Klansman" on the ballot? Not even close. The voters were simply resentful of Washington insiders trying to influence the election outcome. The desired effect of defeating Duke was turned upside down when the perception became one of outsiders "marching into our town barking orders as to how we should vote".
As our history clearly demonstrates, Americans are fiercely independent people. We don't like being told what to do and how to act, and we really resent self-righteousness national politicians dictating the local candidates we should choose.
That lesson was apparently lost on McCain last week when he publicly scolded the North Carolina Republican Party for their decision to air a political ad that referenced Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the radical pastor of Barack Obama. To the credit of the state GOP, they ignored McCain's demand and are running the commercial anyway.
During an interview on the Today show, McCain complained that "They're [the North Carolina GOP] not listening to me because they're out of touch with reality and the Republican Party...and this kind of campaigning is unacceptable." For an unopposed candidate who still has trouble garnering 70% of the vote, McCain may not be the best person to judge what is unacceptable.
Even more mindboggling is that, when McCain made his initial comments about the ad, he had forgotten to do one small thing.
Actually watch the ad.
His words: "I didn't see it, and I hope that I don't see it." One question, Senator. How is it possible to paint the Tarheel State's GOP organization as "too extreme" (codespeak for racist) and call for its public chastisement, when you haven't actually seen the commercial? Truly unbelievable.
Several points come to mind:
1) Why is John McCain trying to dictate what ads can, and cannot be shown? What's next---will all GOP activists be mandated to talk about only those policy issues which McCain approves?
2) Does McCain not remember the Republican Party platform? It's the one that stresses states' rights over federal interference. McCain's meddling in the internal affairs of North Carolina violates the very core of Republicanism---and simply perpetuates the fear that he is a big government politician.
3) Americans may not like the French, but they love Voltaire. His "laissez faire" hands-off policy applies as much to politics as it does economics.
4) Do voters really want a President who makes snap judgments without the benefit of facts and rationality?
It is interesting to note that the Carolina GOP's coffers have been inundated since this flap began. Their courageous decision to run the ad has reinvigorated rank-and-file Republicans nationwide, and demonstrates that people respond to guts and commonsense, while despising political correctness.
Senator McCain, a piece of advice: Let history be your guide, and recognize that dictates and ignorant positions will only prove disastrous. If you don't believe that, just ask David Duke's opponent.
