This anecdote illustrates a part of our problem with the political atmosphere in the States these days.
Over the weekend, I had a casual conversation with a professional person of my acquaintance. He was talking about an interesting client of his. The client himself remained nameless -- as would be appropriate, but he is in the same line of work as Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill's current husband. McCaskill's spouse and my friend's client have some sort of business and possibly a personal relationship such that the client recommended my friend to McCaskill.
This appeared to be a viable opportunity that would have been beneficial to all the involved parties. There arose one small hitch. My friend has a bumper sticker that reads, "Fire Obama". McCaskill saw this and refused to have any dealings with my friend. He shrugged, laughed and went on.
He was not asking to go into business with her. Without being too specific, his services are roughly the equivalent of hiring someone to clean the carpet, wash the windows or cut the grass. One wonders if McCaskill insists that her maids and landscapers be registered Democrats and vote the party line.
Like Obama, McCaskill seems to take disagreement about governance and politics quite personally. My father detested Jimmy Carter as a president, but he always insisted that Carter, the man, would probably have been a pretty good neighbor.
I have philosophical and constitutional reasons for opposing much of the agenda supported by Obama and McCaskill. If they want to limit the discussion to principles then there is no reason we can't get along as Americans. I don't even mind them saying that I am uninformed or ignorant of the nuances. That is legitimate grounds for a civil debate. Inform me, and see if you can defend your view reasonably.
However, McCaskill is not willing to debate the issues. She demonstrated this in her response to public opposition to Obamacare. Instead of trying to justify her support of the government take-over of health care, she thought she could silence citizens with her "mom voice". In other words, citizens, like children, should be quiet and obedient because the "elite", like parents, know what is best.
Hence the labeling of those who oppose Obama as racist, those who oppose McCaskill or Hillary Clinton as sexist. We are not arguing principles; rather, we are haters and filled with evil intent. Naturally, such people cannot be allowed to work around there betters.
Over the weekend, I had a casual conversation with a professional person of my acquaintance. He was talking about an interesting client of his. The client himself remained nameless -- as would be appropriate, but he is in the same line of work as Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill's current husband. McCaskill's spouse and my friend's client have some sort of business and possibly a personal relationship such that the client recommended my friend to McCaskill.
This appeared to be a viable opportunity that would have been beneficial to all the involved parties. There arose one small hitch. My friend has a bumper sticker that reads, "Fire Obama". McCaskill saw this and refused to have any dealings with my friend. He shrugged, laughed and went on.
He was not asking to go into business with her. Without being too specific, his services are roughly the equivalent of hiring someone to clean the carpet, wash the windows or cut the grass. One wonders if McCaskill insists that her maids and landscapers be registered Democrats and vote the party line.
Like Obama, McCaskill seems to take disagreement about governance and politics quite personally. My father detested Jimmy Carter as a president, but he always insisted that Carter, the man, would probably have been a pretty good neighbor.
I have philosophical and constitutional reasons for opposing much of the agenda supported by Obama and McCaskill. If they want to limit the discussion to principles then there is no reason we can't get along as Americans. I don't even mind them saying that I am uninformed or ignorant of the nuances. That is legitimate grounds for a civil debate. Inform me, and see if you can defend your view reasonably.
However, McCaskill is not willing to debate the issues. She demonstrated this in her response to public opposition to Obamacare. Instead of trying to justify her support of the government take-over of health care, she thought she could silence citizens with her "mom voice". In other words, citizens, like children, should be quiet and obedient because the "elite", like parents, know what is best.
Hence the labeling of those who oppose Obama as racist, those who oppose McCaskill or Hillary Clinton as sexist. We are not arguing principles; rather, we are haters and filled with evil intent. Naturally, such people cannot be allowed to work around there betters.
I dunno Mush, if I were in the same situation and there were other choices readily available, I'd give my business to my tribe.
ReplyDeleteAnd to contradict myself, we are in the planning process of building a house for my in-laws on our place. We had a hippie builder recommended to us (by another hippie... hmmmm..) and he does excellent work but was just so slow to get back with us on numerous occasions that we dropped him and will get a good ol' boy instead. And I feel better about having to work with a good ol' boy. (Hmmm the redneck transformation my be almost complete. Did I mention we now have a burn barrel, and a car on blocks?)
I understand. On the one hand, as my friend said, he could care less. She can do what she wants. We all understand she might have preferences for one thing over another.
ReplyDeleteHer problem is, where her property is located, there is probably no working person of any kind -- aside from illegals, possibly -- who agree with her. People on welfare generally aren't interested in working.
You mean there are people who don't have burn barrels?
Oh man! You don't know the half of it. Where I came from, if you stepped outside your house to do some shooting, somebody would call the police. No lie!
ReplyDeletePeople like McCaskill, Hillary and Obama expose the hunger they have to be tyrants when they attempt to shut people up, rather than have a civil debate.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost as if, deep down they know they can't defend their policies.
I've run across a few people who will defend the statist position, but it usually devolves into sophistry and rhetoric. The argument is, at base, that the "masses" do not know what is good for them. The "mom voice" thing was particularly telling in McCaskill's case.
ReplyDelete