A Voice in the Wilderness In Defense of "Mere Conservatism"

Harry Reid: Historically Illiterate

Fresh off the wires today:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took his GOP-blasting rhetoric to a new level Monday, comparing Republicans who oppose health care reform to lawmakers who clung to the institution of slavery more than a century ago.

Those of you under the impression that our elected leaders in the House and Senate are superior to the average voter/taxpayer in any conceivable way, enjoy this from the leader of the United States Senate (Harry Reid, D-NV):

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right," Reid said Monday. "When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.'"

He continued: "When women spoke up for the right to speak up, they wanted to vote, some insisted they simply, slow down, there will be a better day to do that, today isn't quite right.

"When this body was on the verge of guaranteeing equal civil rights to everyone regardless of the color of their skin, some senators resorted to the same filibuster threats that we hear today."

So in the mind of the 4th most powerful man in the country, Government-run Health Care =Freedom (the kind slaves were only granted when a Republican president ignored Democrats and fought an unpopular, horrifically violent Civil War)?  Do you feel safer knowing this guy is making decisions about the fate of your nation?

Historically speaking, what Senator Reid said was something more than "false."  This is a new kind of wrong.

The Republican Party, for all of its many faults, was created in 1854 with one of its core tenets being the abolition of slavery.

Oh, and remember Civil Rights? It was the Republicans who helped Lyndon Baines Johnson pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The bill came before the full Senate for debate on March 30, 1964 and the "Southern Bloc" of southern Senators led by Richard Russell (D-GA) launched a filibuster to prevent its passage. Said Russell: "We will resist to the bitter end any measure or any movement which would have a tendency to bring about social equality and intermingling and amalgamation of the races in our (Southern) states.

But what's factual representation of history compared to forcing a public option through Congress, right?  Plus, it's not like Harry Reid will have to be worried about getting lambasted in the major newspapers in this country tomorrow.

There's no political fall-out from ridiculous spectacles such as the one he made today because the media will have plenty of "Sarah Palin sounds funny" and "Dick Cheney is an old, mean guy" write-ups to fill in the places in their publications that could be dedicated to actual reporting and intellectually honest commentary.

One last thing: please remember that in Bush's second term, the Democrats fought tooth-and-nail for judicial nominations to the federal court.  Now they are mad and shocked that the GOP would stand its ground over the government take-over of 1/6 of the U.S. economy.  Makes sense.