BRIAN CHATWIN
Staff Writer
Working in a Las Vegas casino for a number of years. I have seen everything. The most common scene is the hard-luck bettor laying down his last $20 on a long — shot bet, hoping to recover the weekend’s losses in one stroke of good luck. He either places his money on the roulette wheel or on a 30-to-1 horse in the upcoming race. If a miracle happens and he does win, he will only break even for the weekend but not walk away a winner. Almost every time, this bet is lost. People who gamble like this build the opulent casinos in Las Vegas. The fountains, volcanoes and pirate ship shows are all monuments to the losers.
The same type of high-risk, low-return gamble was taken Friday as Democrats shamefully used the forum of a funeral to take political pot shots at the president. The funeral of Coretta King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was host to the most disgusting form of free speech that I have witnessed in a long time.
A former Democratic President and a former civil rights leader chose to take their long shot chance of getting their party politically even with the Republicans, while King’s body lay a few feet away.
I celebrate freedom of speech, but the Democrats abused it in this situation. With President Bush sitting directly behind the lectern, former President Jimmy Carter outrageously stepped far away from the benevolence of Habitat for Humanity and tried to shore up his party’s political base by blaming the president for wiretapping of all things. The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a black political activist, derailed the president for his efforts in Iraq. Someone should tell the good reverend that the mission in Iraq is to liberate an oppressed people.
But the Democrats ignored paying respects to a respectable woman and took a long-shot chance to get their political capital back to even. Just like every hard luck bettor that tries to get it all back with one roll of the dice, they lost. The political fallout from this horrendous behavior will have lasting effects on the Democrats. Certainly many will not look at former President Carter the same. He will not secure his best-ex-president status if he keeps up this type of chicanery
Betty Friedan died February 5th. She was one of the lionesses of the feminist movement. Can you imagine the uproar that would occur if former President Bush got up and, in the same manner as Carter, blasted the Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid or activist Cindy Sheehan? The shrills from CNN, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times would be deafening. I would imagine our own faculty feminists would be firing off Letters to the Editor to the Graphic, decrying the audacity that a Republican would use Friedan’s funeral as a forum in which to make political hay.
This is not a new trick for the Democrats. A few years ago, at the funeral of Sen. Paul Wellstone, Democrats used the opportunity of a live microphone to blast Republicans and whore for the upcoming election. Who could forget the images of Bill and Hillary cheering wildly as Democrat after Democrat turned Wellstone’s funeral into a political rally. In fact the only Democrat in the house not cheering was Wellstone himself. But people forgot about him. They forgot why they were there.
This behavior is disgusting and offensive. When I sit back and consider the political fallout, I realize that the party of sensitivity is growing insensitive, and as a Republican, I’d like to thank those who disrespected King’s funeral.
Thank you for the additional seats in the House and Senate that this behavior will give us.
Thank you for the White House for another four years. Thank you for never being taught manners or respect. Thank you for not being Republican. Thank you for this long-shot gamble.
02-16-2006