Intelligence, Please…

You know, I’ve met Rep. Scott Murphy (D-NY 20th). He’s a really nice guy. He’s also a former small business owner; he had an interactive media company that eventually went bankrupt during the dot-com boom. So not only does he “get it” when it comes to the difficulties and risks associated with small business – he’s a technophile. And like my own Congressman, Rep. Jim Cooper (about whom I blogged over the weekend), Murphy is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition. He was elected to serve the 20th in 2009 after Kirsten Gillibrand was tapped by Governor David Paterson to fill the US Senate seat left vacant by now-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But no matter how nice a guy Murphy is, I can’t say I have much sympathy for him when it comes to the aftershock of his health care votes last night. From an email:

Yesterday, I proudly stood up for New York’s families and small businesses by casting my vote to fix America’s broken health care system.  While voting YES on this historic step forward for our nation represents the change our nation needs, Dick Morris went on cable TV to declare me a traitor to the United States.

Not only will this historic legislation lower costs, improve quality and rein in the insurance industry, it is also the largest deficit-reduction package in a decade; it will reduce the federal deficit by $143 billion in the first ten years and $1.2 trillion over the next ten years.

By taking a stand against the status quo, I have already come under attack.  Glenn Beck and Dick Morris of Fox News singled me out this week as the number 1 target of the national GOP, and declared it their mission to defeat me in November. The National Republican Campaign Committee has already launched dishonest attacks to try to intimidate me.  And now that unlimited corporate spending in elections is allowed I will need to be able to combat these lies and make sure our positive message is heard.

I need your help to show that fighting for what’s right matters.

Help me raise $25,000 March 31^st to show that there is no place for words like treason and traitor in our national discourse.  Please support my campaign by making a contribution of $25, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, or up to the maximum $2,400 today.

I know that there are many people with honest disagreements about this policy and I respect that.  But calling me a Traitor is outrageous. It’s entirely inappropriate in a civilized dialogue about how to move our country forward and foments the worst parts of our politics.

First, I know that Scott Murphy knows better than to have supported this trash…but he did it anyway. He did it anyway, because he’s a rank-and-file member of a majority party with arguably one of the most powerful Speakers of the House in the last…I don’t even know how long, maybe ever. I don’t know if she’s gone all Gingrich on the froshmeat, and has threatened to keep her coffers locked during the upcoming summer campaign season or what, but she wrangled votes for this package unlike anything I’ve seen in awhile. Nothing – and I mean nothing can convince me that Scott Murphy was looking out for his constituents more than he was looking out for himself in casting this vote yesterday. Shameful.

Second, it’s always fun to poke a Democrat in the eye when they want “…words like treason and traitor…” removed from the national political discourse. It’s always a bit ironic when someone whose politics used to advocate freer speech and society no longer does so when it ceases to be their speech:

If you enjoyed that little video, check out the director’s blog (Brain Terminal, by Evan Coyne Maloney) on my blogroll.

Meet Fred Phelps.

To look at him, you’d think he was just an average Midwesterner who likes to wear Stetsons and drink bourbon. A God-fearing family man. Maybe he even owns a ranch and rides horses or something. (I’m not sure if he actually does any of these things.)

What I do know is that Mr. Phelps is the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. This “church” has become notorious for “preaching” an anti-gay agenda (note: not suitable for work) at the expense of those families who have lost loved ones from the present war. Not only that, but this religious group has the poor taste of picketing and parading its “message” at the actual funerals of those soldiers who have died serving their country.  The signs that they carry usually tote the motto of their website and other horrible messages which I will not repeat here because they are that bad. (again, not suitable for work, or anytime ever, really.)

Margie Phelps, the daughter of Pastor Crazypants claims that these funerals are the perfect stage to share their message. She says, “I remember watching the news, and all of its pomp and circumstance. These funerals are a major public platform and no one is telling the truth,”  That’s right, from a Crazy’s mouth to your ears. Did I mention that it doesn’t matter if the soldier is gay or not? They are very non-discriminatory about whose funeral it is; just as long as you have people there to offend.

Can you be a worse person?

Now, I think crazy people are in most cases extremely entertaining. But this goes beyond that. When you have the utter audacity to disrespect a mourning family in the midst of the most tragic moment of their lives, you will be labeled the Worst People in America. Not only that, but they are protected by the Constitution to continue doing this most abominable act.

You heard it, the Phelps Clan of Crazies can never be prosecuted because they happen to be sticklers of the law and take precautions to make sure that their act is protected under freedom of speech. Since 1991, the Phelps’ have offended people at over 42,000 events including countless military funerals and I’m sure have been sued a boatload of times. Yet somehow in their insanity and repugnance, they have managed to stay out of prison and have avoided costly fines.

The price of freedom of speech can be such a pain sometimes.