Obama on Mid-East: Let Them Eat Falafels!

This was originally posted on January 19, 2007 in reaction to local journalists and their slavering coverage of Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) and his then impending announcement of a White House run. The Tribune's Eric Zorn has continued that ignorant comparison between the great Emancipator and the Senator who would leave the Arab world under the thumb of tyranny in this silly article in this morning's Trib.

Obama on Mid-East: Let Them Eat Falafels!

Since he announced an “exploratory committee” for the Democratic Presidential nomination our local journalists have been pushing the theme that Senator Obama will officially announce his candidacy in Springfield, Illinois just days before Lincoln’s birthday in order to tie Obama to the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln has long been known as the “Great Emancipator” due to his dogged determination to end slavery in the United States. Senator Obama on the other hand has had ample chance to stand up for the freedoms and liberties of others; instead of grabbing that chance or simply demurring on the issue Senator Obama has chosen to stand steadfastly against any chance for the people of the Mid-East to experience the thrill of liberty. Obama’s supporters have even bragged that the Senator’s “let them eat falafels” moment came while he was still an Illinois State Senator.

The Senator has announced his committee during the week of the anniversary of the inauguration of another charismatic Democratic politician, President John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy’s inaugural address was one of the great speeches of the twentieth century and one in which Kennedy threw down a moral gauntlet while stating “that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” The past forty-six years have seen the Democratic Party completely abandon that strong moral stand; whether it manifested itself in the refutation of the legacy of the late Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-Wa.) or making Congressman Zell Miller (D-Ga.) into some sort of apostate, the Democratic Party will no longer stand up for the freedoms of others. This immoral stand flies in the face of centuries in which mankind has gained personal liberty in the face of tyranny, the refusal to help others is quite simply a disgrace. In his wonderful inaugural speech President Kennedy reminded us that “each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.” The President was discussing the need for Americans to help others gain liberty because we have been given liberty by the actions of others. Senator Obama, like nearly all of the members of his party will not pay any price, bear any burden nor meet any hardship in order to help others gain freedom; unless the dispossessed are coming to the United States to cut their lawns. In short any comparisons of Senator Obama and President Lincoln are hysterical in all senses of the word.


Big Hat Tip: to Anne of the Backyard Conservative for inspiring me to re-post this piece, I had been waiting for an opportune time to re-post it and this is one of those moments.

Q: FDR, JFK & Eric Cantor? A: They All “Get It”

Republican Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Va), the Chief Deputy Whip gets it; he understands that the need to stand up for liberty and freedom in our world. Congressman Cantor’s office has put out a fantastic video containing a few Republican floor arguments spliced between key snippets of important speeches by Democratic heroes Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The Gateway Pundit has the video and has upped the ante by throwing a fantastic Winston Churchill quote on the fire. The Gateway guy has also properly described today’s Democrats as Copperheads, a group of northern civil war Democrats who wanted to trade slavery for “peace”, as if that trade would have settled the struggle against slavery. Cantor’s video screams out for the use of what was used as a pejorative against their opponents by the Clinton camp during the 1992 campaign, “they don’t get it.” The Clinton people never did “get it” and it looks like they may leave this earth before figuring “it” out. The Ivies should be in tears.

Obama on Mid-East: Let Them Eat Falafels!

Since he announced an “exploratory committee” for the Democratic Presidential nomination our local journalists have been pushing the theme that Senator Obama will officially announce his candidacy in Springfield, Illinois just days before Lincoln’s birthday in order to tie Obama to the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln has long been known as the “Great Emancipator” due to his dogged determination to end slavery in the United States. Senator Obama on the other hand has had ample chance to stand up for the freedoms and liberties of others; instead of grabbing that chance or simply demurring on the issue Senator Obama has chosen to stand steadfastly against any chance for the people of the Mid-East to experience the thrill of liberty. Obama’s supporters have even bragged that the Senator’s “let them eat falafels” moment came while he was still an Illinois State Senator.

The Senator has announced his committee during the week of the anniversary of the inauguration of another charismatic Democratic politician, President John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy’s inaugural address was one of the great speeches of the twentieth century and one in which Kennedy threw down a moral gauntlet while stating “that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” The past forty-six years have seen the Democratic Party completely abandon that strong moral stand; whether it manifested itself in the refutation of the legacy of the late Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-Wa.) or making Congressman Zell Miller (D-Ga.) into some sort of apostate the Democratic Party will no longer stand up for the freedoms of others. This immoral stand flies in the face of centuries in which mankind has gained personal liberty in the face of tyranny, the refusal to help others is quite simply a disgrace. In his wonderful inaugural speech President Kennedy reminded us that “each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.” The President was discussing the need for Americans to help others gain liberty because we have been given liberty by the actions of others. Senator Obama, like nearly all of the members of his party will not pay any price, bear any burden nor meet any hardship in order to help others gain freedom; unless the dispossessed are coming to the United States to cut their lawns. In short any comparisons of Senator Obama and President Lincoln are hysterical in all senses of the word.

Who Stole JFK’s Party?

On January 20, 1961 then newly elected US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy made his infamous inaugural speech, one of the great speeches of the twentieth century. Despite the previous evening’s heavy snowfall the ceremony went ahead as scheduled with Chief Justice Earl Warren of the United States Supreme Court administering the oath of office and poet Robert Frost reciting one of his poems, “the Gift Outright” (1942). Frost had written another poem for the occasion, “Dedication” but as an 87 year old man he could not read the typed page in the bright post-snow sun, so the great poet recited a wonderful poem that he knew by heart.

Kennedy’s inaugural address is sometimes referred to as the “Ask Not” Speech due to one of its memorable lines, “(a)sk not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” I grew up in an Irish Catholic household that always contained at least one image of Jack Kennedy in a prominent place so although I didn’t watch the speech live I am very familiar with it; in addition to reading the speech numerous times I own a vinyl record version of it. Now thanks to the miracles of Al Gore’s internet you can watch a 15 minute C-Span video of the event, and I do suggest watching it.

Kennedy’s inaugural speech is a moral tour de force; he expected much from Americans and believed that he would see the best. Kennedy also saw the moral necessity of spreading freedom, he rhetorically threw down a gauntlet when he stated:

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

He was a man who had experienced war first hand and the speech shows that although he abhorred war he also understood the necessity of war in order spread or insure liberty.

When I turned 18 I registered as a Democrat here in Illinois, not only was that what 18 year-olds do but that was my family affiliation and of course the Kennedy image in the living room. I had some idea that I was registering as a member of a party that understood the practical and moral strengths of freedom. Kennedy wasn’t alone, there was once a group of Democrats sometimes referred to as Scoop Jackson Democrats in honor of the late Washington Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson. Interestingly many of the current conservative boogey men, the dreaded “neo-cons” are sometimes referred to as Scoop Jackson Republicans. Indeed some of the more prominent ones even worked for Jackson, including Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith. The early Reagan years convinced me that Democratic Party was quickly moving past me to the left, they would not bear any burden or pay any price to help anybody. While he was still in Congress Georgia Democrat Zell Miller voiced some of the same concerns. Congressman Miller made himself an apostate in the eyes of many Democrats with this speech at the 2004 Republican Convention. It is sad that some of the most imaginative people in this nation have often chosen to side with the tyrants, actively and otherwise.