Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Face It: Politics Is Messy, Rhetoric HOT On All Sides

There are reportedly now two active Facebook pages calling for Sarah Palin's death and yes, she was hanged in effigy during the 2008 campaign. 
One of the Facebook pages is actually called "Sarah Palin must die." 
I'm not a Palin fan and I'm not defending her. 
But these are the facts. 
Also, a movie was made depicting the assassination of President Bush while he was in office. 
Likewise, John McCain was mercilessly ridiculed when he ran for office and even his heroic service to our nation was dismissed. When he sought the presidency, some who opposed Bob Dole actually made fun of his disability -- a disability acquired in service to our nation.
The targeting -- the mean stuff -- occurs on BOTH sides. And it's been that way for a long time.
Politics is a nasty, messy business.
As historian John Steele Gordon has noted in today's Wall Street Journal: "American political rhetoric has always been vigorous and often vituperative." But he adds: "Has the nation's political climate actually gotten worse in the last two years when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House? Of course not."

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