One would think Steny Hoyer would have learned his lesson last summer after taking that big gulp of kool-aid from Nancy Pelosi's mega-mug, and then teaming up with her to call dissenters of President Obama's health care plan "un-American." In fact, he recently said
he regretted using the term. Well, apparently his regrets didn't keep him from labeling a significant majority of his constituents as racists.
Here's how it was reported in the Washington Examiner:
When asked about the Tea Party movement on CNN's State of the Union, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said there "are some members who have used the Tea Party… to exacerbate racial tensions in this country." He cited "virulent" flyers directed at some members "that have clearly referenced race."Way to keep the false narrative going, Mr. Hoyer.
Let's be clear here - the lawyerly parsing of words to say "some members" are guilty of racism is a propaganda ploy.
You've heard of guilt by association, right? By taking the negative qualities of the fringe elements and outliers on the periphery of the Tea Party movement, and giving them an inordinate amount of attention, the hope is that the public will associate their unacceptable behavior with the entire group, thereby discrediting the group and their message.
One only has to look at the typical liberal ranting on message boards to know that the propaganda masters like Mr. Hoyer have succeeded in persuading their base that the entire Tea Party movement is racist. Hollywood, academia and the media have picked up that narrative and run with it almost from the beginning.
Not only does this mobilize the voters most likely to support the team of Obama, Pelosi, Hoyer and Reid, it plants the seed of doubt in the minds of independent voters, the swing bloc that, according to the polls, is abandoning President Obama and the Democrats in droves.
Why is Steny Hoyer keeping the race issue alive? He and his colleagues on Capitol Hill have failed the American people. As much as he likes to blame the previous administration for the record level of spending in which this government has been engaged, he seems to forget that he's been the House Majority Leader since 2006.
Since he refuses to accept responsibility for anything that happened during the two years he served in that capacity while President Bush was in office, we have every right to hold him accountable for not doing his job.
Add to his negligence the record breaking trillion dollar plus budget deficits, and the unprecedented intrusion of government into the private sector and our private lives that has taken place under his watch, and it's clear why he wants to change the story.
The problem, however, is that by branding Tea Party participants as racist by association, he's impugning a significant number of his constituents, people who care deeply about this country, revere the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and are afraid of what's going to be left to their children and grandchildren. These are citizens who believe fiscal responsibility, limited constitutional government, and free markets are what made America the greatest nation in world history, and are the key to keeping her strong.
These aren't racists; they're our neighbors. They are us.
I criticize the race baiters and describe the great Americans who comprise the Tea Party movement in my upcoming book, Sellout: Musings from Uncle Tom's Porch:
Not only do their reckless charges of racism devalue the term, and diminish the likelihood of real racist episodes gaining a sympathetic hearing, it impugns the dignity and humanity of some of America's finest people.Why is Steny Hoyer keeping the race issue alive? Mr. Hoyer cynically believes that stirring the race pot will pit his black constituents against the white ones, just as he and his lieutenants' whisper campaign about base closures, job losses and economic calamity should he lose divides people in the community, torn between their concern for their country and their own economic well-being.
Whether it's the elderly woman at her very first protest, the pony-tailed, goateed small business owner, or the devoted wife and mother and her God-fearing, truck-driving husband who loved his family, his church and his community, these are the people who built this country and keep it running so we all may benefit.
These are the congregants at the local church, the parents at the ball games, the shoppers at the grocery store, the mothers picking up the children from school, the fathers and mothers coming home after a long work day and a seemingly longer commute.
These are the people who come to mind when terms like "heartland" and "flyover country" are used.
In fact, the "heartland" and "flyover country" aren't geographical locations but a state of mind, a place of time-honored values that harkens back to the intent of our Founding Fathers when they created this great nation.
This place is steeped in what conservative thinker Russell Kirk called "permanent things," those first principles which transcend generations and are as relevant in the 21st century as they were in the first.
This place is where faith, family, friends and country are revered and selflessness is a personal and voluntary act of love taken by individuals acting alone or collectively on behalf of their neighbors.
This place is where government protects and serves the people rather than impose its will.
This place is where we embrace the dignity and worth of every human being because they are God's creation and we are all precious in His sight.
This place is where humility and service take precedence over arrogance and self-fulfillment.
It's people like these who I've loved and who have loved me, unconditionally. The color of my skin was as far from their minds as the east is from the west.
It is their faith that all hard-working people can thrive in America if given the liberty and opportunity that lives at the heart of the Tea Party movement.
He ignores the real and ugly racism of the union thugs who beat up a black man outside a town hall meeting in Missouri because he was selling Gadsden flags and conservative pins to town hall attendees. He looks the other way while New Black Panther Party militants scream about "killing crackers" and "their babies", and stand outside polling places in military garb, wielding clubs and intimidating white voters - "You are about to be ruled by the black man, cracker."
Are there racists in the Tea Party movement? As Senator Mitch McConnell mockingly put it on the same CNN program on which Hoyer appeared, "Oh my goodness—in the whole country is there racism?"
The key is what the Tea Party movement has done, and continues to do, to confront racists when they expose themselves and expel them from their rallies and their membership. These bad actors are no more representative of the Tea Party movement than the sociopaths of the New Black Panther Party typical of the black community.
Why is Steny Hoyer keeping the race issue alive? Nearly thirty years in the U.S. Congress has developed in him a taste for the power and influence of the office. Who wouldn't desire the perks and privileges after benefiting from them for so long?
Keeping his seat is important enough to him that he sees no problem with pitting the people of southern Maryland against one another, even though he is sworn to represent them all. His plan is to divide so he can conquer in November.
Ron Miller, of Huntingtown, is a military veteran, conservative writer and activist, communications director for the Calvert County Republican Party, and executive director of Regular Folks United, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Ron is a regular contributor to RegularFolksUnited.com, American Thinker, and RedCounty.com. You can also follow Ron on his website TeamRonMiller.com, as well as Twitter and Facebook.