Civility in the Democrat Caucus, Vol. 5

September 6, 2011

Democrats Celebrate Labor Day with Bombast and Bluster

Democrats took advantage of Labor Day to hold rallies with frustrated Big Labor allies and, true to form, Democrats made sure such rallies included a generous sprinkling of offensive rhetoric.
This is just latest the name-calling directed at conservatives by a Democrat party struggling to defend its failed, job-destroying agenda over the August recess.
The Democrats’ ongoing rhetorical race-to-the-bottom presents quite a contrast from the president’s own previous calls for civility.

BACKGROUND

Democrats took advantage of Labor Day to hold rallies with frustrated Big Labor allies and, true to form, Democrats made sure such rallies included a generous sprinkling of offensive rhetoric:

TEAMSTERS PRESIDENT INTRODUCED OBAMA WITH VITRIOL-LACED SPEECH: “[Hoffa] told a crowd in Detroit that America faced ‘a war on workers, you see it everywhere – it is the Tea Party,’ and urged the crowd to ‘take these son-of-a-bitches out.‘ Hoffa made the comments while introducing President Obama.” (Kristin Brown, “DNC Chair Dodges Questions on Hoffa,” Fox News, 9/6/2011)

BIDEN TELLS AFL-CIO “YOU ARE THE ONLY FOLKS KEEPING BARBARIANS FROM THE GATES.” (“Biden Fires Up AFL-CIO: ‘You Are the Only Folks Keeping Barbarians from the Gates,'” Breitbart TV, 9/5/2011)

OMNIPRESENT DNC CHAIR DODGES HOFFA COMMENTS: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” ” ‘ ‘I know you’d like to focus on language – that’s not what the American people are focused on,’ Wasserman-Schultz told ‘Fox and Friends’ Tuesday. ‘The American people are focused on job creation.

“The DNC chair has previously been vocal about calling for civil political rhetoric, in the wake of the shooting of her friend and colleague Rep. Gabby Giffords last year. … ‘I think all of us need to be more careful about the words that we choose to use,’ she told CBS in January.

“But when pressed on Hoffa’s rhetoric, Wasserman-Schultz fired back, ‘are you kidding me? Really? …’ ” (Kristin Brown, “DNC Chair Dodges Questions on Hoffa,” Fox News, 9/6/2011)

This is just latest the name-calling directed at conservatives by a Democrat party struggling to defend its failed, job-destroying agenda over the August recess:

REP. ANDRE CARSON (D-IN): TEA PARTY WOULD “LOVE” TO SEE BLACK AMERICANS “HANGING ON A TREE,” WANTS TO RETURN AMERICA TO “JIM CROW”: “Democratic Rep. Andre Carson told a Miami crowd last week that the Tea Party movement would ‘love’ to see black Americans’ ‘hanging on a tree.’ The comment is the latest charged remark made by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus as lawmakers tour the country talking about jobs. Carson, D-Ind., lamented at the event that the Tea Party was stopping ‘change,’ in an effort he said was reminiscent of the ‘Jim Crow’ era.” (Judson Berger, “Rep. Andre Carson: Tea Party Wants to See Black Americans ‘Hanging on a Tree,’ Fox News, 8/31/2011)

CARSON OFFICE “NOT PUSHING BACK” ON REMARKS: “Jason Tomcsi, Carson’s spokesman, is not pushing back on the comments, saying in an email to POLITICO that his boss ‘did make the comment during the Congressional Black Caucus’s Job Tour visit to Miami. The Congressman’s comment was prompted in response to frustration voiced by many in Miami and in his home district in Indianapolis regarding Congress’ inability to bolster the economy.'” (Jake Sherman, Politico’s “Huddle”, 8/31/2011)

REP. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA): “THE TEA PARTY CAN GO STRAIGHT TO HELL.”(“Maxine Waters to Tea Party: ‘Go Straight to Hell’,” National Journal, 8/22/2011)

REP. FEDERICA WILSON (D-FL): “LET’S ALL REMEMBER WHO THE REAL ENEMY IS. THE REAL ENEMY IS THE TEA PARTY.” (Anthony Man, “Congresswoman Federica Wilson Takes on Tea Party,” The Sun Sentinel, 8/24/2011)

The Democrats’ ongoing rhetorical race-to-the-bottom presents quite a contrast from the president’s own previous calls for civility:

OBAMA IN TUCSON SPEECH: “… ONLY A MORE CIVIL AND HONEST PUBLIC DISCOURSE CAN HELP US FACE UP TO THE CHALLENGES OF OUR NATION …”(President Barack Obama, “Full Speech: Obama Urges Civility at Tucson Memorial,” PBS’s News Hour, 1/12/2011)

OBAMA IN 2010: “A BASIC LEVEL OF CIVILITY” THE WAY TO “KEEP OUR DEMOCRACY HEALTHY”: “Now, the second way to keep our democracy healthy is to maintain a basic level of civility in our public debate. … But we can’t expect to solve our problems if all we do is tear each other down. (Applause.) You can disagree with a certain policy without demonizing the person who espouses it. You can question somebody’s views and their judgment without questioning their motives or their patriotism. (Applause.) … It makes it nearly impossible for people who have legitimate but bridgeable differences to sit down at the same table and hash things out. It robs us of a rational and serious debate, the one we need to have about the very real and very big challenges facing this nation. It coarsens our culture, and at its worst, it can send signals to the most extreme elements of our society that perhaps violence is a justifiable response.” (“Remarks by the President at University of Michigan Spring Commencement,” The White House, 5/01/2010)

DNC CHAIR DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: “It’s easy to throw bombs and to be incendiary, not so easy to sit down and actually govern.” (Remarks from Debbie Wasserman Schultz, CBS’ “Face The Nation”, 5/29/2011)