Once again, the mainstream media covers for the unhappy Barney Frank, reporting his arrogance as a principled reaction to a troglodytic Republican. In an article for the AP, a reporter neglects the many times the cranky Democrat condescended to his constituents to focus on an exchange with an unhinged left-winger:
Rep. Barney Frank lashed out at protester who held a poster depicting President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache during a heated town hall meeting on federal health care reform.
“On what planet do you spend most of your time?” Frank asked the woman, who had stepped up to the podium at a southeastern Massachusetts senior center to ask why Frank supports what she called a Nazi policy.
“Ma’am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. I have no interest in doing it,” Frank replied.
Now, I agree with those who consider it inappropriate to compare the President to Hitler, but wonder whether, during the first eight years of the current decade, Mr. Frank ever faulted his ideological confrères for making such comparisons to the previous president. (I’ll link any examples readers can provide.)
Now, first, let’s address one thing the AP reporter left out and one fallacy he let in. He did not tell us that the woman asking the question is a LaRouche Democrat. And the unnamed journalist identifies Sheila Leavitt as a physician when she is anything but.
The reporter, well, maybe the editor writing the headline did get something right, the mean-spirited man from Massachusetts did lash out — as he often does — and not just against left-wing loonies.
Left-wing extremists do have a habit of comparing American Presidents and their policies to the Nazis and theirs. If it is wrong to compare Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler (and I believe it is), then it was wrong to compare George W. Bush to that murderous tyrant and thug. It would be far easier to take seriously those leveling the complaints today if they could provide evidence that they, in the previous eight years, made similar criticisms of those agitating against that Republican.
Dan, not to be the one to point out the strawman in your post, but are you actually waiting for one of your own readers to do the research for you to vindicate Barney Frank? You’re joking, right?
See you could have diligent yourself and actually done some research, but I see you’ve chosen to leave the unfounded, theoretical accusation hanging in the breeze. You don’t know if Barney Frank has ever repudiated such a circumstance, or if he’s ever been confronted or witnessed such an occurrence, but you were just “wondering” if he’s ever done such a thing. Rather than give him the benefit of the doubt about a gross double standard, since you make it clear you don’t know anything to the contrary, you just “wonder” about something despicable because you don’t agree with him.
It would be like me “wondering” if you drown kittens in your spare time. I mean I don’t know you don’t and no one has proven you don’t so why should I assume you don’t?
Countervail, even if Barney Frank did express outrage over his fellow libtards’ abuse of Bush–and that’s a HUGE if–it still doesn’t change the fact of the Left’s brazen hypocrisy on the “unAmerican” anti-Obamacare protestors. The simple truth is that liberals had NO problem with the disrespectful, uncivil, and downright hateful protests against Bush. Now their Golden Boy is getting a test of that bitter medicine and they’re outraged. Gimme a break!
#1
Sweet Jesus! That’s the stupidest thing I’ve read on the internet. Thanks for that stolen minute of my life I’ll never get back.
um, pretty sure that dumb bitch wasn’t a left-winger
Pointing out that Democrats and liberals are dishonest hypocrites whose values and standards change with the times is like bumbing into a reporter who loves Obama- it is too easy. There entire worldview is a free-flowing mush of whavever works best for them. Most liberals deny God, deny that there is such a thing as good and evil, and go with the flow man. And if the flow runs one way sometimes, and other times anotehr way, that’s okay, as long as they win and man triumphs over God and eats that apple.
Countervail, did you read the same blog I did??? You arent making much sense. Dan is asking for some information and you put out some self righteous nonsense.
“The simple truth is that liberals had NO problem with the disrespectful, uncivil, and downright hateful protests against Bush. Now their Golden Boy is getting a test of that bitter medicine…”
Thank you for acknowledging that the protests against Democrats are disrespectful, uncivil, and downright hateful.
And thanks also for pointing out that the right – for all their squealing over the past 8 years, have never had the slightest interest in acting any better than those they complained about.
I always knew all that, but lots of your little friends here seem invested in denying all that.
I seem to recall that Barney Frank accused Mr. Bush of ethnic cleansing when Katrina swept Louisiana. If he was not talking of Hitler, perhaps he meant Pol Pot?
Tano,
Sure the townhalls are rowdy. Sure their is rudeness. Seems to me that the congresscritters are ruder than their constituents, however. Note that it is generally when the congresscritters make wild and unsubstantiated claims on health care or cap and trade that they get roundly booed.
Oh, and I empathized with the constituents when their reps are too cowardly to face them. Not to mention the astroturfing being done by the reps.
But to call the current health care protests as a right winger phenomonon is to miss the entire point. They underscore the issue that most amercans seem uncomfortable, in the extreme, about adding to the govenment leviathon, not to mention the unconscionable debt load.
But as far as equating left and right protests is concerned, I would suggest that you look at the methods of leftists versus those you consider rightests before doing so.
The actions on the left are extreme, to say the least. As an example, perhaps the meanest, least civil, and downright nasty protest in the nation, currently, is at Berkely over a law professor’s involvement with the Bush administration’s torture guidelines.
I don’t see any righties harassing people in such a criminal matter.
Sorry, but the left loves to compare conservatives to Nazis. The difference between Nazis, Facists, Socialists, Communists? ALL want the government to control the people. The Nazis and most of the time the Facists use race and or religion. The Socialists and Communists use class warfare. All end up the same, bitter way. A central government that trades “security” for freedom.
And thank you, Barack Obama, for acknowledging that you and your attacks on Bush were disrespectful, uncivil, and downright hateful.
Since it was perfectly OK for you to do them, though, your whining about others treating you in the same fashion is nothing more than pure hypocrisy.
Furthermore, your whining about others not following rules that you yourself ignore demonstrates that you fully support and endorse this behavior — and are just screaming and bawling about it now because you’re a bully and a coward.
You skin color doesn’t protect you any more, Barack Obama. And even better, you’re making all of your supporters look like utter fools for their racist views and willingness to put a cowardly incompetent such as yourself into power simply because you’re black.
I’m from Massachusetts. I further have a co-worker that works for him. I’ve met the guy a few times. I disagree with almost everything the man stands for politically so I pay attention when my congressman speaks. He has never come out publically or officially in support of Bush when they were calling him Hitler, a Nazi, a Fascist, and so on.
Link on The Corner to a neat little digest of some calm, considered, cerebral debate on Bush policy:
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621
If those of us on the right are to compete with that, we’ve got a lot mud to sling.
This article is utterly worthless drivel. The only redeeming thing on this page is the posting by “Countervail”, which hits the nail squarely on the head.
Yes, folks protested against Bush, mostly because he started 2 wars. But frankly, the contempt, vitriol, and outright lies being aimed towards Obama are tenfold what Bush got.
Worse, this supposed “grass roots” protest is by everyday folks who would actually be better off with some of the proposed changes, but are scared into protesting by the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, and Weiner with their outright lies and their ulterior motives.
Americans, start thinking for yourselves, lest you risk being a Limbaugh Lemming! If you think I’m wrong, chances are, it’s too late for you. Your thinking has already been done for you by conservative talk radio hosts!
Pat, to borrow an expression from Barney, “On what planet do you spend most of your time?” Did you pay any attention to what took place the past 8 years? Is MSNBC (and left-wing blogs) your only source for information on the rallies?
Yeah, there’s been some angry stuff, but nothing like what we say when W was in the White House. Here’s just one report, probably more pictures of signs calling for W’s death in that report alone than the total number of such signs at anti-Obamacare rallies.
SNORT!
Dude, you just LIED! Bush didn’t start ANY wars, he simply moved the theater for one war from American cities to the home of our attackers, and decided to finish another war that has never ended and was started by Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait nineteen years ago.
Liberals have done nothing BUT lie cheat and steal (top secret national security documents no less!) and destroy for the past eight years….check that….lying, cheating, stealing, and destroying is all liberals have EVER done.
I agree with Elephant regarding the real situation. Bush did not start any wars. Al Qaeda started the war when they attacked USA in New York and Washington as well as Pennsylvania. Please do some fact checking before repeating libtard points.
I’ve always liked the Aussies! 😉
Oh puhlease! Our president listened to people who disagreed with him. Yours calls them names, demonizes them, and refuses to allow them into the same building, lest it ruin his propaganda.
We have not written books, published and performed plays nor produced movies about the assassination of Obama. Liberals have done all of the above regarding president Bush. We have not tried to destroy military recruitment offices or marched in parades with banners imploring our troops to shoot their officers. We have not shut down entire cities, endangering the public with riots and property destruction as liberals so often do.
We have well-mannered, well dressed taxpayers who boo when democrat politicians lie to them at town halls, you had thousands of homeless, jobless, smelly wards of the state taking to the street and burning our troops in effigy when our president makes exactly the same claims every prominent member of your party had made prior to and after his election, and statements that 5 independent, nonpartisan investigations proved were not lies.
We have responsible citizens fighting a dictatorial government that is trying to unconstitutionally steal their liberty and the very control of their own health away from them to satisfy their naked powerlust.
You are petulant children who want to steal other people’s money so you can remain petulant children with big mommy government wiping your behinds for the rest of your lives. It is not enough that you want to forfeit your own freedom for false security, but you eagerly offer up everyone else’s as well.
So much evil in history is explained right there.
You turn funerals into Orwellian campaign rallies for crying out loud. There is no low to which liberals will not stoop. Nothing more sacred to liberals than politics. And there is not a day that goes by in which conservatives do not behave infinitely better than liberals. Our fringe behaves better than your elected officials for crying out loud!
Besides, the left has the market cornered on starting or getting us into wars. And in case you haven’t noticed, Pat, we’re still in Afghanistan and Iraq.
#4.
And again do you mean this woman with this poster?
That Harvard education works so well for bob, doesn’t it?
BTT- remember, we ARE talking about the man whose lover ran a rent-boy ring out of his Congressional office… “without his knowledge”. There really IS nothing beneath him (except for Keith Olberman, and that’s just a Friday thing) and the fact that he’s still a Congressman says a lot about how decadent America has become.
Well, #1, I live in Massachusetts. I keep an understandably wary eye on the cesspool that is politics in this Commonwealth. And I’ve never heard this particular congressman criticize anyone for comparing President Bush (43) to Hitler.
But don’t let facts stand in the way of your argument.
There was a time when the left thought death threats against the president were cool. I don’t recall any Democrat reprimanding these protesters, or saying these threats were out of bounds.
It sickens me that suddenly Bwany remembers his heritage, I wish he hadn’t.
Of course for some of us, it isn’t ‘heritage’ it’s a way of life.
For him being a Jew only pops up when he wants another angle of being a victim.