Stop The Madness

If I read the right wing of the Republican party correctly, the United States is led by a racist President born in Africa who wants kill old people (only white ones, presumably). That's pretty much what passes for "thought" these days in the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Eisenhower.

The latter two positions are hardly worth commenting on, except that looney-toons birthers have actual supporters in Congress (be sure to watch Chris Matthews eviscerate Rep. John Campbell here). Similarly, Republican members of Congress have taken to the hustings to demagogue health care reform as meaning death to old people, encroaching socialism (I wish), and a general Armageddon that would result in the triumph of Evil over Good. All this while Democrats wrestle over the content of what could and should be the most far-reaching piece of legislation since the days of the Great Society.

But the worst by far is Glenn Beck's recent accusation that Barack Obama is a racist. This is a blatant smear designed to raise Beck's ratings and add nothing positive to the discussion of the most sensitive issue of all. Moreover, Beck indulges in the very thing many whites accuse blacks of: Playing the race card and claiming victimhood where none exists. It's ignorant, offensive, dishonest, cynical and done for no other reason other than to add a decimal point or two to a Fox News program. I can't think of any way in which Beck's blunt accusation remotely contributes to the dialogue about race, promotes mutual understanding, or raises the level of empathy for one race of people by another. In the same video, Michelle Malkin practically smirks when she alludes to Obama's racial attitudes.

I'm not going to dignify these accusations by refuting them. Barack Obama is about as racist as Martin Luther King; nothing more than that needs be said. But there are things we can do, such as write to the sponsors of Beck's show, who happen to include:

General Motors

Campbell Soup
Chrysler
Proctor & Gamble
Pfizer
Kellogg
Walmart
Kraft Foods

Nestle

Momma Politico has provided links to each company's contact web page here, making it easy to send simple but emphatic emails like this:

Yesterday, Fox News commentator Glenn Beck smeared President Obama by calling him a racist. This goes far beyond responsible commentary, and it troubles me that <> sponsors Beck's program. Respectfully, I urge you to repudiate what amounts to hate speech and by redirecting advertising dedicated to Beck's show to other Fox News programming.

Thanks to MP's action and the miracle of cut-and-paste, it took me about 15 minutes to compose the email and contact all nine companies. Why not join me?

(Thanks to Annette at Just my little piece of the world, Helen Wheels at Just Ain't Right, Perry at Momma Politico, and Zen Yenta for pulling together the material used in today's entry.)...

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