Nancy Pelosi Watch: It’s also un-American when you do it, Madam Speaker
August 12, 2009 at 10:10 am by Tom Bortnyk
By Tom Bortnyk
PoHo correspondent
“Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American” - Nancy Pelosi
Madam Speaker, I could not agree more. Freedom of speech is one of our most cherished rights as American citizens. So, too, is the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the government without fear of punishment or reprisal. These rights are the foundation for Western Civilization as we know it.
Why then, Madam Speaker, do these rights only apply to citizens who share your ideological views? It seems to be the very definition of irony and a text book example of hypocrisy. The political Left in the US has been working diligently to silence opposition, not only with the current health care debate, but in numerous instances in the past.
I have personally experienced such measures. Just this past semester, while at Florida State University, I helped organize an effort to protest Bill Ayers, the self-proclaimed Communist and admitted terrorist of the Weather Underground, from coming to speak on the school’s dime. When the opposition was peacefully organized outside the event, the campus police forced us to back off into a “free speech zone“. This Orwellian sounding abomination is a slap in the face to the Constitution and the rights we hold dear as Americans.
“Danger lies not in some speaker’s ideas. Danger lies in teaching students that ideas they don’t agree with
are not important”, proclaimed FSU President TK Wetherell upon hearing that the event would be protested. Very true, Mr. Wetherell. Again, I agree. Which is why I am, to this day, perplexed that police were called in to silence the ideas that opposed Mr. Ayers.
Recently, at a town hall meeting on health care reform in, members of the community group ACORN commanded police to remove, from a public street, those demonstrating against the bill. A small group having a polite discussion on the issue (on a public sidewalk, no less) were told that they had to stop conversing, and move to another location.
“When a police officer tells you to do something, and you don’t do it, you’re actually resisting. So you have to listen to him” said a representative of ACORN, regarding the officer’s actions. Really? So then what was the outrage of the Henry Gates incident at Harvard recently? Was he not “resisting” as well?
Democrats and the political left have been characterizing their opposition as thugs and mouthpieces for the insurance lobby, but all evidence points to the contrary. A recent Rasmussen poll puts opposition to the health care bill at 53 percent, the highest it has ever been. Forty-four percent of voters strongly oppose the bill, while a meager 26 percent strongly support it.
Mike Sola, a man who recently had a heated confrontation with Congressman John Dingell (D-MI), has been bullied with threats and harassment ever since he voiced his opinion of the bill. At a town hall debate in Tampa, a Democratic Party official slapped a man in the face. Tell me again who the thugs are?
This of course says nothing about the “snitch” program that the White House has created. The administration has encouraged proponents of the bill to flag those who are speaking out against it, by reporting them to flag@whitehouse.gov. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has openly criticized this program, suggesting that it is merely an attempt to intimidate political opponents. It is certainly reminiscent of Richard Nixon’s enemies list, and it may be illegal under the Privacy Act of 1974.
Individual rights were trampled during the Bush year, say the Democrats, so why is there outrage from the Right now? I would respond by simply citing the age-old philosophy: two wrongs don’t make a right. The hypocrisy of some does not excuse the hypocrisy of others, and the suppression of ideas is wrong no matter which political party is in power.
You are correct, Madam Speaker. Silencing opposing views is, indeed, un-American. Including when you do it.
Tom Bortnyk is a student at Florida State University.
