January 29, 2012 by David K. Sutton
Invention by Republican: Allen West To Dems “Get The Hell Out”
Invention by Republican is a regular series on The Left Call, highlighting factually inaccurate and hyperbolic narratives by Republicans, conservatives and right-wing ideologues.
Florida Republican representative, Allen West had the following to say about Democrats when speaking at a Lincoln Day Dinner in West Palm Beach:
We need to let President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and my dear friend the chairman of the Democrat National Committee, we need to let them know that Florida ain’t on the table … Take your message of equality of achievement, take your message of economic dependency, take your message of enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit of the American people somewhere else. You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it to the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America.
This is a great American sentiment, isn’t it? I don’t like you or your message so get the hell out! Nice. That’s the America that we know and love. Detect any sarcasm? Nah.
This vitriol is based entirely on something I call, Invention by Republican.
- Equality of achievement? What does this even mean? Is he trying to say that Democrats want to level the playing field by artificially pumping up under-achievement? This one sounds like the “spread the grades” narrative I’ve heard from the Right as explanation of their own narrative of “spread the wealth”.
- Economic dependency? Allen West and many Republicans believe it is the goal of Democrats and liberals to get as many people dependent on government as possible. This is laughably silly and a complete fabrication by the Right. Democrats and liberals recognize that people get left behind and we believe a caring society responds with compassion instead of blame.
- Enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit? This directly relates to points 1 and 2 by West. If the first two points were true then I guess you could say point three would be true as well. But since points 1 and 2 are Republican fabrications then point 3 is nonsense as well. Democrats and liberals are not anti-capitalism or anti-business. Having compassion and believing in certain governmental protections for a fair and equitable market does not result in enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. That the market treats everyone fairly due to government regulation and oversight – or at least striving for that goal – means more people from all backgrounds have an opportunity to make it in America.
Mr. West, I find that I disagree with just about anything I’ve heard you say, but you are just as American as I am and the Democrats you targeted are just as American as you. It’s time to end the over-the-top hyperbolic nonsense.
dks
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Elephant photo by Paul via Flickr
