Let’s establish one thing up front; Aaron Alexis, the 34-year old practicing Buddhist, and suspected gunman who killed twelve people in Building 197 in the Washington Navy Yard Monday, was a black man. While that factoid pales in comparison to the horrendous, indefensible, and senseless acts he committed Monday, before authorities killed him, it had to be noted. In fact, I had to write those words.
In the past, I have pointed
out that the history of mass shootings in America
That is all so unfortunate. However, even in the aftermath of this most
recent episode, a number of gun advocates have lamented the fact that more of
the victims did not have their own guns.
It is as though they wish for a return to the ethic of the Wide Wild
West.
That is food for
thought. But the focus of this brief
commentary is the Republican response to President Obama’s “tone” in his
comments made shortly after Monday’s incident.
It should be noted that at the top of his comments during a White House
briefing, President Obama called the act cowardly, and demanded a seamless
investigation between local and federal authorities.
The rub, it seems, is he did
not stop there. He went on to speak
about developments in the Syrian conflict, and then to chide Republicans for
threatening to shut down the government because they may not get all they
want…which as you probably know, is the rescission of Obamacare. The cavalcade
of GOP brass who took exception to the
President holding their Party accountable included:
- House
Speaker John Boehner called it
a shame the President could not
rise above partisanship.
- Republican
National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted it was disappointing that the President didn’t rise above
partisanship
- Former
House Speaker, Newt Gingrich,
who has his own history with shutting down the government, channeled President Reagan, noting that Mr.
Reagan postponed the State of
the Union Address because he realized the Country needed to be in mourning.
- Alex
Castellanos, a key GOP Strategist, called the press
conference self-congratulatory and referred to the President as tone deaf.
It’s clear, the GOP really doesn’t want any spotlight
placed on the fact that many of them would like to grind government to a
halt. It is even more apparent that they
do not wish to be reminded of the fact that the war they were for, before they
were against it, before the President
backed it, before he sought the Congressional approval the GOP insisted he needed, before he asked for it, may actually be
resolved through diplomacy anyway. OMG!
The limitlessly irreverent Bill Maher coined a phrase recently, “Black-track.” The definition…”When a politician changes his mind because he learns President Obama
agrees with him.” Amen Bill; the truth will set you free. Meanwhile, “Republicans Call Obama Tone Deaf: More GOP Legerdemain!” I call that claim BS!
I’m done; holla back!
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For more detailed
information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-navy-shooter-profile-20130917,0,3662076.story
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