The Hypocritical Decline of the “Patriotic” Republican

Correct me if I’m wrong, but conservatives (Republicans and otherwise) have been known to denounce anyone they deem “unpatriotic” throughout the years, especially in the wake of 9/11. Simply put, “you don’t talk crap about America, it’s the greatest country ever, yadda, yadda, yadda, etc.” But, if you’ve forgotten the battle conservatives have waged on those they consider “unpatriotic”, here’s a refresher:

• Remember the Dixie Chicks? Remember when they went to a foreign country to play a concert and said they they were ashamed to be from the same state as George W. Bush? Remember how conservatives reacted to that? Oh yes, they labeled the Dixie Chicks “unpatriotic” and tried to ban them from the radio. Wal-Mart stopped stocking their albums, and conservative groups even set up “patriotic concerts” in cities on the same night the “Chicks” would be there (and then they’d honor Dixie Chicks tickets at the door in hopes of “shielding people from their anti-Americanism“).
• Remember last year when Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) called Obama unpatriotic and then suggested Congress should investigate the patriotism of its members (very McCarthy-like) by saying “I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out: Are they pro-America or anti-America?”?
• Remember McCain’s slogan for last year’s election? No? Well, it was “Country First”. Yes, “country first.” So you’d gather that the idea is that we should always show our brightest red, whites, and blues; hold true to our country’s honor, etc. etc. Great. (let’s see how Republicans fare with this below…)
• Remember Sarah Palin’s claims that there was a “Real America” and a “Fake America” (yep, turns out “real Americans” – by her count, at least – live in the deepest red states, go figure…). Sorry New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago; you just didn’t make the “real America” cut this time.

So there, it’s outlined, Republicans are patriotic. Right? They’ll unquestioningly support America through anything, right? Well, here’s where that all starts to come unhinged… Here we go:

Since late-January, it seems like Republicans have been on an all out attack on their former views. What during the Bush Administration would have been called “unpatriotic” has (in their twisted logic) become the “patriotic thing to do”

For instance, Republicans have long criticized liberal war protesters as being “unpatriotic.” The charge was simple: they equated anti-war with anti-troops. While that logic is clearly flawed in the first place, the fact remained simple: Protests against the American government were unpatriotic. Fair enough.

Now…

• We have clowns on TV (Glenn Beck) who despite their claim to be non-partisan, clearly represent the Republican party, organizing anti-government marches on Washington, DC, rallying against our leadership. How patriotic is it to attempt to delegitimize an elected official by shouting lies (oh, you know, birthers, deathers, etc.)?
• We have members of Congress (Joe Wilson – R -SC) interrupting the President of the United States in the middle of a speech to spread hate and lies.
• We have members of Congress (Jim DeMint – R – SC) traveling to Hondouras to denounce the United States’ foreign policy (there’s a word for this, and it goes a little beyond “unpatriotic,” I think it’s “treason”).
• We have conservative media and legislators cheering when the United States loses its bid to host the Olympics.
• We have a governor former (1/2 term) governor (Sarah Palin – R – AK) traveling to foreign countries denouncing our president and our government, all while spreading lies (still doing the whole “death panel” thing… maybe it’s fresher over there…). (keep in mind, that this is the EXACT SAME THING the Dixie Chicks did – except Palin goes beyond saying she’s “ashamed” as the ‘Chicks’ did, and instead calls the President a murderer, suggesting he’s promoting the death of the elderly – yet where’s the outrage? Come on, conservatives! Rather than putting her ghost-written book on the top of the best seller list, why didn’t you instead boycott it? Oh, right, hypocracy…)
• And finally, Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize, and we have members of the conservative media and Congress saying ridiculous things like the Nobel Committee must have been influenced by “affirmative action“, that our president should “give the award back” (Glenn Beck), and Rush Limbaugh even said that he “agrees with the Taliban.” I mean really, what could possibly be more patriotic than siding with the Taliban when they speak out against our president?

What I want to know is when rooting against your country to get the Olympics and denouncing your President’s receipt of the world’s most prestigious award became “patriotic.” Please, someone, tell me.

It’s not that I don’t believe conservatives have a right to voice their opinion (they do!): good, bad, positive, negative; it’s simply the fact that they’re not living up to their own standards. Standards they’ve used to destroy any liberal who dared “cross the line” by saying anything even remotely critical of our country.

One has to wonder, just one year after Palin’s famed “real America” comment and Bachmann’s “pro-America, anti-America” comment, which party is pushing themselves further into the “anti-America” (by their own standards) side of this paradigm?

And rather than read my rambling 811 word assault, I suppose this video courtesy of Media Matters (non-partisan) would have sufficed:

But remember… “Country First,” right?

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Filed under: politics, 9/11, barack obama, country first, dixie chicks, glenn beck, john mccain, michele bachmann, nobel prize, patriotism, sarah palin, tea party protests