Congressman Allen West (serving Florida's 22nd congressional district) has never met an opportunity to bash President Obama that he didn't take with glee. On the Laura Ingraham Show, he referred to Mr. Obama as showing "third world dictator-like arrogance". While speaking to Fox's Greta Van Susteren, he stood by his words and added: “This whole talk about shared prosperity–that really gives me the goosebumps because I’m starting to believe that a community organizer is nothing but a low-level socialist agitator.”
Let’s ignore how sociopathic his railing against shared prosperity is. One would presume that sharing prosperity creates and maintains a civil society. Let’s also ignore how uneducated he sounds because if he really knew anything about socialism, he wouldn’t call Obama a socialist.
The ex-military West is clearly earning the other kind of stripes, the ones that get you a gig at Fox and the exclusive country club membership. If industrious and business-minded, he might get a few lucrative deals when done not serving Floridians. So far, however, this is unlikely so he may just have to do with the odd lunatic commentary on Republican outlets.
West represents the new noise machine in an ever-declining country. Power and money are concentrating in the hands of less than 1% of the country. With economic and social indicators heading south, it is clear that big propaganda guns will have to be taken out to quiet millions sinking into poverty.
For the past 30 years of decline, 24-hour news did the trick. With a clever mix of truth-skewing commentary and entertainment, a number of events were hidden or obscured from people: wages stagnated, jobs were outsourced, debts rose, education and health quality declined, industries were de-regulated, military spending increased, a case for illegal wars was made successfully, and through brilliant financial schemes, banks swindled savings and then stuck out their hands for taxpayer handouts.
Admit it, that was brilliant, wasn’t it?
Of course, things began to fray at the seams. Bubble after economic bubble burst. The jobless began to number in the millions. People lost their homes. Kids finished college with little hope of finding gainful employment. Hunger, homelessness, and despair rose. Unless you are heavily medicated or living in denial, things are pretty dire and liable to change for the worse every day.
Twenty-four hour news alone will just not do. How about adding fringe lunacy? The crazier, the better. And who does it with as much classlessness as the Republicans since Reagan? Their disdain for working people has always been there but they also had sane elements. Sanity will just not do in the coming years as things go from bad to worse. Loud noise and blatant lies are necessary.
Enter Fox News, the Tea Party, Bachmann, Ryan, Paul, Palin, Trump, etc. A veritable circus of loons whose only mission is to obscure truth and create as much discourse-destroying noise. Calling their machination a Ministry of Truth would not do it justice.
Let’s call it The Racket Ministry. Both loud and deceptive.
Back to Congressman West. He is that not-so-rare member of any group willing to sell out to the first buyer. Crazy is in and he is wearing the latest. He is clearly being used as a front to give legitimacy to political discourse that is more hostile and intolerant than it had been in decades. And it is not only hostile to minorities but to unions, working class people, women, and increasingly, the elderly, the sick, students, the environment, etc...
The service has given him a special skill in speaking in absolutes but it is his endorsement of radical, paranoid views on liberalism, socialism, government currently espoused by groups with racist elements such as the Tea Party that is dismaying.
West's sustained attacks on President Obama appease those very elements in their boorishness and condescension. Criticize the president and his administration all you want but, for the love of socialism, use your own bloody words.
If he chooses not to, we may have no choice but to give him the honorary title of Uncle Tom in The Racket Ministry.
Image courtesy of thinkprogress.org
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