Kathy Griffin’s Terroristic Sensationalism

Why We On The Left Should Be Leading The Outcry Against Kathy Griffin
Yes, the hypocrisy from the right is mind boggling and outrageous. And, yes, Trump is blight on our entire world. But this decapitated effigy of Trump stunt by Kathy Griffin was filthy and vile. It is indefensible. It is abhorrent! How can we hold the moral high ground when we defend people, supposedly on our side, who do the same things, but just targeted at the Right? Wrong doesn’t stop being wrong because your tribe perpetrated the wrong. 

Let us ask ourselves: When they strung up and burned an effigy of Obama, was that terroristic sensationalism by any stretch of our reason and imagination defensible or justifiable? If our answer is that is “no…” If our answer is that it was wholly unjustifiable… Then our answer to Kathy Griffin’s terroristic sensationalism should be identical. Any other response is pure tribalism. Wrong is wrong even when your tribe behaves badly. In fact, I would say that our side is MORE wrong for justifying this vile display precisely because WE KNOW IT IS WRONG.

We must be better.

The Left Should Be Leading The Outcry Against This Terroristic Sensationalism.
That’s what stunts like this are – terroristic sensationalism. Any defense or justification of stunts like this is social poison. I have read a few defenses and reams upon reams of justifications on behalf of Kathy Griffin over this. In my estimation, the Left’s defense and/or justification is more wrong than were the right wing stunts with Obama or Clinton effigies – because we on the left know the pain and disgust those stunts cause. If we defend and/or justify the same types of stunts just because it’s our own side, we are all the MORE in the wrong.

What do we stand for? 

These kind of tactics are evil. If we use tactics as vile, as evil as those we decry from the other side, what good can there be in our side? You cannot create good by doing evil. The defenses and justifications try to ameliorate her vile actions in light of the other side’s evil by decrying the hypocrisy of the Right who are condemning her vile stunt. We excuse her because they did it first – that, folks, is the height of hypocrisy from us!

Pure Unadulterated FACT: 

Kathy Griffin’s stunt with a Trump effigy was no less vile and filthy – no less evil – than the Right’s stunts with effigies of Obama and/or Clinton. The source of inspiration is no justification. That the other side has done similar things is no justification. That the other side is hypocritical is no justification. There is no justification. 

This horrific stunt and Kathy Griffin should face the same social ramifications as we on the Left wanted to see the Right face for their heinous, acts of terroristic sensationalism against our side. The undeniable hypocrisy of the Right decrying this woman of the Left in tone-deaf ignorance of their own side’s perfidy in no way lessons the perfidy of Kathy Griffin’s disgusting, socially and morally degrading stunt.

These kinds of stunts are indefensible – no matter who perpetrates them. Something like this is like standing up in a crowded theater and yelling “FIRE!” These kinds of inflamatory are flat-out inhumane, degrading, and can only foment more fear, hate, bigotry, tribalism, and even violence in response – such acts are evil. They are incitement to hatred, fear, and violence. Evil can only ever render more evil. I don’t care whose hypocrisy is perceived as worse. It is hypocritical of the Right to have defended or justified their side’s poisonous stunts. IT IS EVEN MORE HYPOCRITICAL OF OUR SIDE TO DEFEND OR JUSTIFY SIMILAR TERRORISTIC SENSATIONALISM. I don’t care if it’s the Left or the Right who is responsible. Every single time something like this is done, it poisons our society. If we cannot be better than what we abhor, we are lost, already damned. We must be better.

Many of the anti-Trump feeds are defending and justifying Kathy Griffin’s behavior with this stunt. Most are trying to justify not condemning her or her for no other reason than the hypocrisy of other side. They may not be defending her actions, but they are justifying NOT condemning those actions. 

The right-wing’s hypocrisy or past actions should not have a thing to do with condemning such terroristic sensationalism and the person (in this case, Kathy Griffin) who uses our precious right to freedom of speech to inflict it. We shouldn’t be pausing to castigate the Right, as if they have no right to their outrage and anger because “they did it first.” The only thing we on the Left should be hearing and saying about it right now is that she was wrong and that she does not speak for our side. The Left is SUPPOSED to be the side of sanity.

Permit me a crass analogy: If you’re standing between two groups of monkeys and they start flinging feces at each other, will it matter which monkey’s shit stinks worse?

Moreover, the justifications I’ve seen are painfully similar to justifications made by thoughtful and moderate conservatives/republicans trying to justify not condemning people on their side who took their protest and anger too far. I know many republicans who said the effigies of Obama were horrible, but in the same breath justified it as an unfortunate extension of how angry people were.

We on the Left are all righteously angry right now. But, if our anger leads us to evil acts, we have abandoned righteousness and embraced evil.

We must be better.

WE MUST NEVER BECOME WHAT WE ABHOR!

Third Party Candidates: Political Ephemera

Stop blaming Hillary for not winning the Electoral College. Stop blaming the democrats or the republicans. Your delusions have been shattered and your vanity choices exposed for the uncompromising errors of which we kept warning you. Third party candidates were only ever vanity candidates with no legitimate chance to win – they could ONLY bleed the vote from the two major parties. 

What if there had been no third party candidates? Those republicans who voted for Johnson, would probably have voted for Hillary without Johnson’s vanity candidacy. Most of his libertarian base would likely have voted democrat too because they were virulently anti-Trump. Stein’s base certainly would have voted democrat because they are virulently anti-GOP as well as anti-Trump. 

The undeniable facts are: 

• There was NEVER a viable third-party candidate; 

• Mainstream old-school democrats were NEVER going to vote for the socialist – that boogey word is just too ingrained; 

• Right leaning independents were NEVER going to vote for the socialist; 

• Middle-of-the-road independents were NEVER going to vote for the socialist – again, people have been programmed to fear that word for too long; 

• NO REPUBLICAN would ever have crossed the isle to vote for the socialist; 

• Probably two thirds of Americans are still convinced that socialism is communism, and communism still scares the crap out of large swaths of voters over 40 (ask your dad and grandad) – ICYMI, that’s the majority of registered voters who actually get out and vote.

• BERNIE COULD NOT HAVE WON because too much of the registered voting electorate are still indoctrinated to fear the socialist.

All those things were true from day one of Bernie’s candidacy. All those things were true from day one of the the third party candidacies. Bernie achieved so much that just went POOF on November 8th. Bernie made democrats and progressives stop being offended or embarrassed for being called “liberals.” Bernie made the left stand up and own the progressive liberal agenda. It was all within our grasp. Hillary and Bernie were always within 3% agreement on everything – they voted the same in the Senate 97% of the time.

Third party candidates were and are ONLY political ephemera; they’re just background static drowning out the realities of our election system. The delusion of political ephemera left us with this bleak reality of our dystopian, Trumpian future. Third party voters, BernieOrBust folks, all the people carping on the emails as if those were worse than the racist, self-proclaimed sexual predator’s own evil words that we ALL heard on repeat… All those Americans who bought the anti-Hillary witch-hunts handed this country over to Trump. 

Your Hate wasn’t even really about Hillary. Many of you, if you were able to be deeply honest with yourselves, would have to admit that your full-throated hatred for Hillary was really just a convenient target for all your bigotries. Hating Hillary was the new “Nixon Southern Strategy.” Yes, the media helped. Yes, James Comey and the FBI helped. Yes, the Russians helped. Yes, Assange helped. But YOU – you, the voters, lapped it up… you didn’t care about the truth… you wanted the lies… you craved the innuendo… YOU fed your Hate… you coddled it… you stroked it… you turned against Bernie over it… YOU laid waste to Bernie’s legacy and to our American Ideal for your Hate. 

You blinded yourselves with the smoke of that political ephemera. You subsumed yourselves into the beast of Hate, became it’s beating heart. As the song says, “[You stabbed] it with [your] steely knives but [you] just can’t kill the beast.” You made yourselves the beating heart of the Hate… and now, we are all fodder for it’s appetites.

You deluded yourselves with political ephemera. You had to have all-or-nothing… Well, how does NOTHING feel now?

What I feel is beyond hurt. I’m probably a dead woman walking and my twelve year old son knows that. Because some BernieBros “feelings” were hurt when they couldn’t have their all-or-nothing, scorched earth agenda. What I feel isn’t just hurt. What I and everyone at risk from a Trump presidency feel is true, world-shattering loss.

The mostly white BernieBros – who will never be empathetic enough nor self-aware enough feel guilty for their part in this travesty – aren’t feeling afraid. They’re feelings are hurt because they didn’t win. I get that. But, in retaliation, they struck a killing blow to me and mine. It’s that simple.

from Democratic Underground

Republican Praise for Hillary Clinton

There has been a quarter century of GOP-led witch hunts… endless, exhaustive hearings and investigations on our hard earned taxpayer dime – by now probably to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars – only to produce the same RESULTS every single time: NO PROOF… NO CHARGES… NO CONVICTIONS! Again, that’s NO PROOF! Accusations, innuendo, and rhetoric are NOT proof. America, our constitutional democratic republic, is a country where the RULE OF LAW is predicated upon the principle still – for now, at least – of “innocent until PROVEN guilty.” 

People only parrot UNPROVEN – I’ll repeat that again – UNPROVEN accusations, unfounded innuendo, and rhetoric of a false narrative! Moreover, the very GOP mouthpieces spoon-feeding their base that false narrative have heaped praise upon our soon-to-be Madam President when they were not trying to defeat her politically. They slander a person who’s actual, well-documented record of accomplishments is in diametric opposition to the venal grotesquery of their gossip!

While there are many more examples, the following are a few of the notable republicans’ own praise of Hillary Clinton:

Condoleezza Rice  
Meet the Press 12/21/2008
“No, look, it’s a unique situation. I think we all see that it’s unique. But my successor, Hillary Clinton, is an extremely talented woman. She is a woman of integrity. She believes in this country deeply. We’ve already had a couple of conversations. I know her from the time she brought her freshman daughter to Stanford for the first time when I was Provost. And she’s going to do this very well.”

NBC news 08/12/2003 
"I think [Hillary Clinton’s] done a fine job. The problem isn’t Hilary Clinton, who’s great,’ Rice told members of Ohio’s delegation to the Republican National Convention. ‘The problem is that we’ve chosen to speak with a muted voice about America’s role in the world. We’ve chosen to try to lead from behind. That’s an oxymoron in my mind.’”

Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge
Ballot Box, The Hill 02/03/2015 
Ridge also offered some praise for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, saying he always had ‘productive’ meetings with her when he was in the Cabinet and she was a senator. He said a Bush versus Clinton match-up would be ‘almost a clash of titans,’ leading to a campaign that is ‘tough, rigorous, and hopefully, for the first time in a long time, civil.’”

Former Florida Governor, Jeb Bush
Philadelphia Inquirer, 07/28/2013; Constitution Center press release, 06/27/2013 – RE: 2013 Liberty Medal
“Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, chairman of the National Constitution Center and a possible contender for the 2016 Republican nomination… praised Clinton in a statement released… announcing her selection. ‘Former Secretary Clinton has dedicated her life to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy,’ Bush said. ‘These efforts as a citizen, an activist, and a leader have earned Secretary Clinton this year’s Liberty Medal.’”

Former Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels
Bloomberg’s With All Due Respect, 02/05/2015
“She is comprehensively experienced and has advantages that some of the other contenders would have to scramble to match in terms of her exposure to the world and… foreign policy.”

Former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee
Real Clear Politics, 09/15/2014
Huckabee described her as ‘smart’ and ‘tough,’ and cautioned that she should never be underestimated. ‘She’s a policy genius,’ he said. 

CSPAN2’s BookTV Programming. 01/25/2015
Huckabee: “I would have great respect for the formidable nature of Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.”

Ohio Governor, John Kasich
Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier, 01/22/2015
“I know her. I like her. I’ve worked with her.”

Former Texas Governor, Rick Perry 
U.S. News & World Report, 08/12/2014
Perry Sec. Clinton’s stance on Syria: “I think on that issue she was closer to being right than she has been on some other ones.” According to the U.S. News & World Report, “Rick Perry agrees with Hillary Clinton. Or at least, pretty close to it. Asked Tuesday at the Iowa State Fair whether he agreed with the former secretary of state’s assessment that a lack of prior U.S. intervention in Syria emboldened jihadists to penetrate Iraq, the GOP governor of Texas found some daylight with the potential future presidential rival. ‘I think on that issue she was closer to being right than she has been on some other ones,’ he replied.” 

The Daily Caller 08/30/2011
"In 1993, then-Texas Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry praised the efforts of then-first lady Hillary Clinton to reform health care. In a letter to Clinton…Perry wrote: ‘I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation’s health care system are most commendable. I would like to request that the task force give particular consideration to the needs of the nation’s farmers, ranchers, and agriculture workers, and other members of rural communities,’ Perry continued. … ‘Again, your efforts are worthy,’ Perry concluded, ‘and I hope you will remember this constituency as the task force progresses.’”

Former California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger
CNN, 11/16/2008
Schwarzenegger on Hillary’s selection as SOS: “Also on Sunday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the potential choice as a great move. ‘I think she is a very very bright woman and very experienced. I think this could be a great move,’ Schwarzenegger told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.”

General David Petraeus
Book review, The Wall Street Journal, 02/09/2014
According to a book review in The Wall Street Journal, “Gen. Petraeus also emerges as a Clinton character witness here, declaring that Mrs. Clinton was ‘extraordinarily resolute, determined and controlled’ in the wake of the attack. The retired general [told] Mr. Allen and Ms. Parnes: ‘She’d make a tremendous President.’”

Jenna Bush Hager
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports, 11/11/2014
President Clinton has become a dear friend. We call him — I call him a brother — my dad calls him a brother from another mother. You know, he didn’t have a close relationship with his father. He didn’t have a relationship with his father. And so in some ways my grandfather has become like a surrogate father for him. RONAN FARROW: Does the same warmth extend to Hillary Clinton and a potential Hillary Clinton run? BUSH HAGER: Well, I guess it depends who she’s running against, right? But we admire Hillary Clinton very much. I mean, she — as a woman, I admire her. She’s done a lot for our country and she’s a great public servant. I see her around New York and I’m always talking about Chelsea’s baby and I think they have a personal friendship that my dad even said that you know, obviously if there’s a Bush-Clinton part deux, you know that wouldn’t ruin any friendships.

South Carolina Senator, Lindsey Graham
New York Times, 07/01/2012 
“Even some Republicans in Congress acknowledge the skills she has brought to the job, though they remain critical of many administration policies. ‘I think she’s represented our nation well,’ Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican from South Carolina, who as a member of the House served as one of 13 managers in the 1998 impeachment trial of Clinton’s husband, told me in an interview in his Senate office. ‘She is extremely well respected throughout the world, handles herself in a very classy way and has a work ethic second to none.’”

CNN 03/30/2011
“It was a good briefing. I never got to ask a question, it was over. You know, Secretary Clinton and Bob Gates are really national treasures in my view. You know, very good people. I like President Obama.” 

Fox News, 05/28/2007
“I have no doubt that Senator Clinton would make a good president. She’s smart, prepared, serious.”

Graham’s speech at Council on Foreign Relations, 09/15/2011
“Secretary Clinton [was] a great choice to be our secretary of state…”

Voice of America, 02/03/2007
“We have become, actually, good friends. And that was a surprise to both of us. If the Hillary Clintons and Lindsey Grahams of the world can’t work together, America’s best days are over.”

The State, 01/28/2007
“Over the last few years, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Hillary Clinton have become a Capitol Hill odd couple, working across party lines… Graham said the two of them often come at problems from different directions, but share an interest in important policy issues. ‘Certainly, she’s a national figure, and to share the stage with her – I consider that a compliment,’ he said. ‘We’ll probably have totally different agendas that we think are best for the country, but the point is to speak boldly about problems that require bipartisanship and solutions that are essential to us surviving as a country in the 21st century.’”

Senator Graham press release, 09/29/2006
“Senator Clinton and I have been fortunate to have very good allies in this effort and Congress has stepped up to the plate to meet the health care needs of our Guard and Reserves. The Graham-Clinton TRICARE efforts have gained support from many groups including the National Guard Association of the United States, the Reserve Officers Association, and the National Governors Association.”

New Hampshire Senator, Judd Gregg 
Gregg Press release, 01/21/2009
Gregg issued the following statement on Senate confirmation of Senator Hillary Clinton to be the Secretary of State. "Senator Gregg, the Ranking Member of the State and Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee, stated, ‘Today’s overwhelming confirmation of Senator Hillary Clinton to be our next Secretary of State is a testament to the well regarded talents and qualifications she will bring to the job of overseeing our nation’s foreign policy. Like Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Senator Clinton will be a positive voice to carry America’s message around the world. As the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee tasked with funding State Department activities, I look forward to continuing my work with Senator Clinton to advance our nation’s interests through U.S. diplomatic programs and activities.’”

Arizona Senator, John McCain
MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, 11/19/2014
“It is well known that Hillary Clinton and I have a good relationship” “We do agree on a lot” “She is a great representative of America, kind of a rock star status, visited more countries than any other secretary of state.” 

Fox News, 01/23/2013
“First of all, Secretary Clinton is admired and respected around the world. She and I have been friends for many years. We used to travel together.” “So, I have — I admire the fact that she is admired throughout the world and a very effective secretary of state.

Foreign Relations committee hearing, 01/23/2014
“Thank you, Madam Secretary. It’s wonderful to see you in good health and as combative as ever. It’s — we thank you. We thank you for your outstanding and dedicated service to this nation, and we are proud of you. All over the world where I travel, you are viewed with admiration and respect.”

Politico 10/28/13
“Sen. John McCain said Monday… speaking in Chicago at an event with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)… praised Clinton’s work as secretary, according to Bloomberg News. ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt that Secretary Clinton would be a very strong candidate,’ McCain said. ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt she has widespread support. Her work as secretary of state… has been outstanding. I think she would be viewed by anyone, Republican or Democrat, as a very formidable candidate for 2016.’”

The Christian Science Monitor, 04/06/2011
“At a Monitor-sponsored breakfast for reporters on Wednesday, Senator McCain, the 2008 Republican candidate for president, was asked to rate President Obama’s national security team. ‘I think the international star is Secretary Clinton,’ McCain said. ‘She has done a really tremendous job.’”

The New York Times, 07/29/206
“I have no doubt that Senator Clinton would make a good president.” According to The New York Times, “It was during their joint trip to Iraq in late February 2005 that Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton appeared via satellite on ‘Meet the Press,’ an appearance that put their civility on display. When Mr. Russert asked Mr. McCain at the end of the interview whether he thought Mrs. Clinton would make a good president, Mrs. Clinton came to his rescue, saying: ‘Oh, we can’t hear you, Tim!’ ‘Yeah, you’re breaking up,’ Mr. McCain added, laughing. But then he said: ‘I happen to be a Republican and would support, obviously, a Republican nominee, but I have no doubt that Senator Clinton would make a good president.’”