Tea Party Nation president Judson Phillips emailed members an article yesterday entitled, “What The F#@$ Is Up With Colin Powell?” by tea party activist John Wiseman that asks Powell’s family to “get his Alzheimer’s treated already.” He said Powell is “hypocritical” for criticizing intolerance in the Republican Party since he worked for several Republican administrations before he “began drinking the liberal kool aid.”
Before I go too much further in my rant of disgust with Powell's recent behavior, allow me to say that I admire his long, distinguished, and honorable service to our nation. I thank him for all that he has done. That being said, there is a difference between his past and current actions. What ever benefits of doubt he earned with his service, he has used up, and then some. Just to put the point to the word hypocritical that has been so thoroughly earned by Powell, let's do some score keeping, shall we? Powell served as a White House Fellow in both the Nixon and Ford Administrations. He served as a National Security Adviser to Republican Ronald Reagan. George H.W. Bush appointed Colin to be his Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. George W. Bush made him his Secretary of State. To date, he has been appointed to nothing by any of the more tolerant Democrats who occupied the Oval Office. Colin Powell's support of Barack Obama is his Constitutional Right. I applaud him for using his gravitas to support any candidate he chooses, he has earned that privilege to both hold that gravitas, and to use it in any way he sees fit. What I have a problem with is his usage of his gravitas to demagogue me, and any who agree with me because we would dare to disagree with him politically. Just for Colin, and any who might be swayed by his recent rap, here is the definition of demagogue.
dem•a•gogue /ˈdeməˌgäg/ Noun A political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument. (in ancient Greece and Rome) A leader or orator who espoused the cause of the common people.
Special note for Powell's family:
Please, for the love of God, get his Alzheimer's treated already.
It is possible to support your chosen candidate and to keep the arguments focused on factual debate. It should be possible to be opposed to any one and not automatically labeled as racist or be bullied for holding an opposing view point. The discourse coming from the political left for years has been nothing more than ad hominems, straw men, non sequiturs, and the lowest form of divisive class warfare. Part of my reason for being so angry with General Powell is not just the fact that he switched sides and began drinking the liberal kool aid, such is his right as an American. It is that I had come to expect so much more from him in terms of honest discourse. Watching a person for whom I had so much admiration descend to this level of slime is painful to me on a very personal level. I gave him my personal trust and admiration, and he has so thoroughly destroyed that trust, that I am no longer interested in welcoming him back into any tent that I will ever occupy. He may be a perfect fit for the new Republican Party, once they've successfully purged themselves of any who hold the slightest resemblance of being principled.
