 On Saturday, September 26th, two-term Republican Congressman Adrian Smith was the featured speaker for the WyoBraska Tea Party at the Five Rocks Amphitheater in Scottsbluff.
Although many have been quick to dismiss events such as this as manufactured dissent being promoted by powerful corporate interests to protect their hold on power, it's clear that Smith takes them very seriously and is even embracing such right-wing fringe groups as his political base. On health care reform and climate change, Smith proved particularly eager to tell this estimated crowd of 200 precisely what they wanted to hear.
The Gering Courier reports:
[3rd District Congressman Adrian] Smith said those [who] oppose major changes in health care are winning the debate right now. He also said there a lot of good things to say about health care in the USA but that's being ignored in a stampede to trash the entire system.
If changes are needed, the free market will take care of them, Smith said, drawing an "amen" from someone in the crowd.
He said he opposes capping health care costs and controlling salaries. "I get really nervous when the government says some people make too much money," he said.
At the same time, Smith said he was opposed to the "obscene" salaries some health care CEOs and officials are paid. But he said it's not time for sweeping reform, especially since the American people are not in favor of it. He said if health care reforms that are being discussed are adopted, only one thing will occur: health care will be rationed.....
I generally respect the tradition of sensible conservatism that has dominated in central and Western Nebraska. There's also such a thing as a healthy distrust of too much government. But, here, Smith is just shamelessly pandering to anti-government fears. And, guess what, it only got worse:
Smith said he wasn't convinced global warming was a reality....Smith said while the terms have shifted from global warming to climate change, he now hears talk about "ocean acidification" as some people seem determined to find a way to limit industry and human consumption.
"There's a pattern you see developing," Smith said. He said he didn't want to sound paranoid about conspiracies, but [a few people] shouted out that he needed to be paranoid now.
It's worth noting that Adrian Smith is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives' Science and Technology Committee. In fact, he's the ranking Republican on its Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation. Two years ago, he took a trip to Antarctica paid for by American taxpayers to speak with experts about global warming. After that trip, Smith admitted, "Our climate is changing. The question now needs to be what is the human impact and what we can do to lessen that impact."
Smith's remarkable shift in tone when talking to this Tea Party - suddenly promoting global warming conspiracy theories - reveals just how depraved the modern Republican Party has become, jeopardizing the future of our planet for cheap political advantage.
I do appreciate that, for one brief shining moment, common sense made an appearance at this Tea Party:
One man, who said he was a Republican, asked if the party had a solution for the health care problems in the country. "I don't see any way it can survive out of its current funding system," he said.
The crowd grew quiet at his comments and Smith didn't offer a detailed answer....
Sadly, this revealing moment - putting the spotlight on Adrian Smith and the Republican Party's lack of solutions and failures of leadership - failed to overcome something darker and more sinister about the Tea Party movement that receives far too little attention:
[President] Obama, one Tea Party attendee said, was "going too fast" and needed to slow down and consider his options. "We need to stop him," a woman cried out.....
An AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, the same rifle that a man carried to an Obama rally in Minnesota last month, was auctioned off and scores of tickets were sold, raising about $2,300...
There is nothing coincidental in cries of "We need to stop him" while a semiautomatic rifle is being raffled as a fundraiser - especially when that rifle's notorious appearance at an Obama rally is being celebrated by the crowd. There is something very ugly at work here - which Adrian Smith and the Republican Party have been only too happy to feed at every opportunity.
Do they fail to grasp the consequences of what it is they're encouraging? Or, do they simply fail to care? What sort of tragedy must we suffer as a nation before they'll break from this dangerous and destructive course and plead with other to do the same? |
