This weekend I was in Cayman Brac with my diving group called the Dive Pirates. The organization does adaptive dive training with our Wounded Warriors and those who have suffered from spinal injuries. Even with a minor tropical storm, it was such a pleasure to be with those who have given of themselves for our freedom. But, in coming back to the States I soon realized that there is a maelstrom brewing here.
As I sat in the airport on Grand Cayman awaiting my flight back to Dallas, I began checking my news feeds and getting back up to speed. Sadly, I read of the dangerous justifications of the attempted assassination of Republican Members of Congress. The absurd and troubling assertion of one Joy Reid Sunday morning on her show on MSNBC should be cause for concern of all Americans. Ms. Reid offered her weak, boilerplate, insincere hopes for Rep. Scalise then went on to condemn the Republican Representative due to his “voting record”…and insinuate that there is some “moral responsibility” to take action against him for such.
Is this what we want in our Country? Do we want partisan commentators dangerously justifying the shooting of an elected representative because his policies are in opposition to theirs?
Ms. Reid took umbrage with Rep. Scalise because he supports traditional marriage between one man and one woman. She went so far down the progressive socialist identity politics trail to state that it was interesting that a “black lesbian” was one of the Capitol Hill police officers involved in defending Congressman Scalise. Does Ms. Reid believe that one’s personal lifestyle supersedes their sworn duty? Do we no longer respect individuals due to their commitment but must descend into the status quo of politicized traits and characteristics in order to make a point, a statement? Does Ms. Reid believe that anyone who takes a position supporting traditional marriage should be targeted for violence? Funny, it was another far left organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) who has targeted certain conservative groups and labeled them as hate groups. One of those was the Family Research Council, who, after the CEO of Chick-fil-A declared his support of traditional marriage, was the target of a shooter at their headquarters in Washington DC. It is time we stop denigrating those who have values in opposition to that of the progressive socialist left as being “hate groups”.
We consistently hear that Republicans want to kill people, you may recall Rep. Alan Grayson saying that Republicans just want you to die, and die quickly. We have news outlets and those who proselytize that any disagreement with climate change means you want the planet to die. We cannot exist as a free society if individuals are threatened, disparaged, and targeted due to opposing values and principles.
Ms. Reid in her commentary articulated that Rep. Scalise took a different stance on healthcare and voted against Obamacare as another aspect of her dangerous justification. Are we to believe that any contrary policy perspectives aligned with free market principles are grounds for violence? The certainty of Obamacare’s implosion cannot be debated. But should the quest for better, alternative, policy solutions be demonized? Are we supposed to be afraid to present a differing viewpoint and just allow a healthcare death spiral where some States are left without any health insurance coverage? Must we be so paralyzed by the fear of violent retribution? Are we to believe that Americans cannot make their own healthcare decisions, and that those who decide they do not want to be forced into purchasing a certain commodity should be punished?
Ms. Reid also advanced her thoughts that supporting the Second Amendment, an individual right in the Constitution, provides a dangerous justification to take violent action. Does Ms. Reid not believe, or even understand, that law abiding, legal gun owners have this constitutional right? I find it rather perplexing that Ms. Reid would say that same-sex marriage is the law of the land, but the Second Amendment is not. The 14th Amendment equal protection clause was used by five unelected Supreme Court judicial activists to construct a right, and since when does the SCOTUS have this as an enumerated power under our Constitution? The Second Amendment is an actual constitutional right, yet law abiding citizens appear to not have the same equal protection under the law. Therefore, in the world of Ms. Reid, my being a Board Member of the National Rifle Association, the Nation’s oldest civil rights organization, gives a dangerous justification for violence against me.
We are indeed diving into dangerous waters. When constitutional conservatives disagreed with President Barack Obama on policy they were disparagingly called racist. When black Attorney General Eric Holder had contempt charges voted against him in the House of Representatives it was called racist, regardless of the Operation Fast and Furious fiasco. When Hillary Clinton fails to win support, and the presidency, we are told it is because of sexism. When there are Americans who wish to not have an antithetical system of governance in our Country called Sharia law, leftists condemn them as Islamophobes.
What we are witnessing is the attempt to demean, denigrate, disparage, demonize, and now dehumanize any opposing viewpoints to progressive socialist ideology. This establishes a dangerous precedent and justification, of actions such as what was undertaken by Mr. Hodgkinson last week at the Republican baseball team practice. If the new mantra for the liberal progressive left, and their media accomplices, is to use the tools of coercion, intimidation, and violence in order to advance their ideals, and secure power, this is truly a dangerous avenue.
And, in what has to be a paradoxical association, if progressive socialism today only accepts their way, they are closing off any communications and free expression of other thought. If progressive socialism now believes that one must convert to its beliefs and be subjugated to their policies, or face possible violent assault, as presented in this very dangerous proposal by Joy Reid then there is a very thin line of separation between them and Islamo-fascists. No, that is not a stretch if you follow the logic of the assertions of Joy Reid.
If MSNBC keeps Ms. Joy Reid on staff and allows her to continue to have a program, we can only surmise that they concur with her dangerous justification. This means that all conservative policy centers, conservative institutions, conservative organizations, and even conservatives themselves are fair game in this new developing ideological uncivil war. Let us not forget that Mr. James Hodgkinson was an avid MSNBC viewer, who obviously deemed he had the moral justification to #HuntRepublicans.