Bob Sparks
The divide between our political parties is wider than at any time in memory. There is some palpable hatred out there.
Within Florida government the speech and interaction between the parties is mostly civil. That is a credit to both parties. But in Washington, we witnessed the spectacle of the government shutdown, which briefly distracted from the disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act.
President Obama is rightly given credit for speaking skills. On Jan. 12, 2011, with tensions running high following the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others, he went to Tucson, Ariz. His mission was to soothe and to beg for civility.
“It’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we’re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds,” he said. After what occurred over the past month, it might be time for another speech on the subject.
The legislator gaining the most attention during the 16-day shutdown was Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. After a faux filibuster of 21-plus hours against Obamacare, Cruz was most noted for reading “Green Eggs and Ham” to his children from the Senate floor than for anything said about health care.
His legislative aide, Amanda Carpenter, naturally tweeted praise for her boss and the hope Obamacare could be defunded. The Communications Chair of the Sacramento County Democratic Party, Allan Brauer, responded to Carpenter on Twitter by saying, “May all your children all die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases.”
Soon after, the party called for and accepted Brauer’s resignation.
Closer to home and at almost the same time, the GOP State Committeeman from Pinellas County, Dan Tucker, reacted to Pinellas County Commissioner John Morroni’s endorsement of Darden Rice for St. Petersburg City Council. Morroni, a Republican, has battled cancer for five years. Rice is a well-known Democrat.
Tucker posted this on Facebook about Morroni: “Doesn’t he have cancer of the brain…hmmm?”
Bipartisan outrage followed, but while Tucker apologized personally to Morroni, he has refused to resign.
Tucker’s transgression shows that both parties are capable of saying incredibly stupid and hurtful things, but since the President’s call for civility in Tucson, liberals have been the greatest offenders. Here is a sampling from the recent shutdown and debt-ceiling battle:
“We are for reforming our tax codes, reforming our entitlements. What we’re not for is negotiating with people with a bomb strapped to their chest.” (Dan Pfeiffer, Assistant to the President of the United States for Communications.)
Republican Congressman Tom McClintock “was prepared to sacrifice the towns around Yosemite when he was on the jihad against American citizens getting access to health care.” (Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.)
“But I have to say, when you start acting like you are committing domestic abuse, you’ve got a problem.” (Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.)
Those of us engaged in political communications are taught early on to think and speak in sound bites. We get that, but comparing those with whom you disagree to suicide bombers or Islamic jihadists somehow doesn’t fit the President’s call for talking in ways that heal.
Boxer’s comment hits closer to home because I have the great honor of working with the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence. A conservative arguing against Obamacare doesn’t rise to the level of a woman being thrown through a door, or even killed, by an irate man.
Florida has the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world when it comes to outrageous and hateful speech from a federal elected official. Following the shutdown, Congressman Alan Grayson decided to raise campaign money with an email pitch that included a picture of a burning cross representing the “T” in Tea Party. No further comment is necessary.
Ted Cruz took bipartisan heat and he was the face of the shutdown. Like him or not, wouldn’t it be better to be remembered for talking about “Green Eggs and Ham” rather than comparisons to terrorists?
I take mine over easy.
