"Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views." - William F. Buckley
Pop-Up USA is a grass-roots organization unaffiliated with the official Republican Party however that has not stopped them from proudly displaying the Bush-Chaney 04 posters, much to the chagrin of a few Promenade regulars. The mere sight of a Bush-Cheney banner can cause convulsions of hatred to spew forth from the mouths of Leftists everywhere. I fully expected to see levitation and heads doing 360’s. Alas, what they lacked in visuals was made up for in vitriol.
The most interesting exchange of the day occurred when a woman describing herself as a Green Party candidate for Santa Monica City Council approached me asking why I “support someone like George Bush.” I asked that she explain what she meant by “someone like George Bush,” to which she answered, “Someone who lied to the American people, turned our long-time European allies against us, and has done everything he could to ruin our environment.” So there you have it. This is what substitutes for reasoned debate on the Left.
As for the “Bush lied” rhetoric, I have given-up explaining the obvious. I accept the fact that his is merely politico-speak brought to the fore by those who lack the intellectual acumen to engage in a civil manner. I place this on the level of resorting to vociferousness. Instead I thought there might be a chance at salvaging this discussion by concentrating on her other two points: Europe and the environment. I took great pleasure in explaining to her that the Left’s much-loved Europeans have always harbored a level of haughty contempt for Americans though they have historically held those on the political right to a particular level of disdain. She reluctantly agreed. Additionally, the Europeans understand that the only places where they still have power beyond their borders are the United Nations and NATO. Notwithstanding, it cannot be denied that much of the European hatred directed towards America in general, George Bush specifically, is driven by politics. They wear the mask of international mandates yet all one need do is reflect upon they deafening silence they exhibited when former President Bill Clinton bypassed the United Nations and NATO in his decision to intervene in the war in Bosnia-Herzegovinia. Even Howard Dean supported that one. President Bush is a Republican and is therefore the embodiment of all that they despise, namely, an unequivocal rejection of collectivism.
Before we could get to her issues regarding the environment, three women from the UK who apparently did not know that I was there in support of the Bush-Cheney ticket joined us. They allowed the older of the three to do their bidding and a fine job she did indeed. She was remarkably cordial. She stated that it was “sad that so many innocent Iraqis are dying but what else could we do?” Another of the three (I’m guessing her daughter) excitedly directed everyone’s attention to my Bush-Cheney 04 button and suddenly her entire demeanor changed (for the worse).
She now charged that George Bush not only lied to the American people, he actually assisted in planning the attacks on 9/11 so that he could get extra money for the CIA (I have to admit that I had not heard this one before). I asked if she thought George Bush was evil and to her credit she agreed emphatically, and proceeded to punctuate her position with the expression, “he is truly an evil and disgusting person.” Well, at least she still considers him a “person.” I’m guessing she was educated by DSK (Dean, Sharpton & Kenney, et. al.).
Not to be outdone, we were joined by my favourite Bush-hater of them all, Alexis. Now it is difficult to explain Alexis as one can only get a true sense of the man by actually meeting him. Alexis is French and comes complete with the expected mixture pomposity and arrogance and a cigarette to boot. Straight out of Central Casting. I know that may be all that need by said but allow me to add that Alexis gave new depth to rambling dissertations likely resulting from chemically induced paranoia.
Due to these constant interruptions, I was never able to get to the essence of my Green friend’s environmental concerns, however, she managed to sink to the level of her comrades by declaring that I was a “token of the Republican Party.” I asked if she meant that I was in a sense a mind-numbed robot directed by the Republican Party. “Of course,” she said. I inquired further, “do you believe that black people are incapable of seeing and making connections regarding social and economic issues? Perhaps we are too stupid to draw our own conclusions and would not know what to think were it not for the Democrats and Republicans?” “It appears so,” was her answer. What more can I say?
Well my friends, I dove into the fire of the intellectually bankrupt and all things considered, I’m a happier man for it.
Our opponents on the left are dedicated to one thing: the defeat of George W. Bush. Such single-focus fanaticism rarely proves successful. That, however, is no reason to become complacent. We have an uphill battle on our hands and while I believe that we will prevail, we cannot back away from the fight. This is why grass-root organizations like PopUp USA are so valuable.
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