Older readers may remember good ol’ Sen. McCarthy served as a Republican in the U.S. Senate for the state of Wisconsin from 1947 to ’57 and managed to find communists under every nook and cranny. Communists were everywhere — schools, government and even the entertainment industry, for goodness’ sake. He looked high and low and far and wide, and then, one by one, called all the high-level U.S. communist “operatives” together to face his nationally televised hearings to root out all the ungodly communists once and for all — from the State Department to respected universities and Hollywood.
Problem was, there wasn’t a home-grown communist conspiracy operating in our country, and, after ruining the careers and lives of many fine U.S. citizens, McCarthy faded into the thin air of anonymity, a disgrace for someone who loved the glare of TV cameras and flashbulb lights more than his country. (Republicans weren’t for “country first” back in those days.)
But McCarthy’s alive, living in the heart and soul of the president of the South San Joaquin Republicans, Frank Aquila. After eight years of blundering and near-catastrophic international and economic policies, the Grand Old Party sort of lost its momentum and luster and needs to reinvent itself. So the local Republican Party has gone back nearly 60 years to pluck the familiar chords of the old communist conspiracy theory from a songbook they wrote themselves.
According to Mr. Aquila (“Democrats: Fulfilling the Communist agenda,” in Saturday’s Press), this time the communists haven’t just infiltrated institutions at every level of commerce, education and government, they’ve even converted the President of the United States to their evil cause.
If you believe that our lawfully elected president, Barack Obama, is a card-carrying communist, then you also probably believe that his presidency is illegitimate. (“Where’s his birth certificate? He can’t be American or one of us.”) You may also believe he wants to take all your guns, even though the words “gun control” are not even on his lips, much less on his political agenda. And it wouldn’t surprise you that A.C.O.R.N., a low-income advocacy and service organization, somehow — some way — stole the 2008 election from Sen. John McCain, a presidential candidate many conservative Republicans loathed from the start of his campaign.
I’m sure the list goes on and on, but not 1 ounce of it is based in reality or fact or rational observation. And not an ounce of it serves the national discourse during a time we need to come together and heal this country. It is all, well, a conspiracy theory.
I once thought all conspiracy theories lived in the minds of the outside fringe, the extremists. I don’t know Mr. Aquila, our local communist-conspiracy-believer, but I wouldn’t think that, as president of the local GOP, he’s a fringe-y, tinfoil-hat-wearing nut case. But here he is, against all credible evidence, espousing a lunatic stance.
One thing is certain: You can’t have a rational debate with this kind of extremist. You can’t have a meeting of the minds, compromise and come up with real solutions so desperately needed for our country at this dire time.
I just hope the Republicans don’t win this November — or any November. After writing this, I’m sure they’ll all be out to get me and the majority of Americans who just want an honest debate over real issues.
Silencing and scaring Americans and generating their own facts is now the modus operandi of the “new” GOP, and that’s the real conspiracy — it is a conspiracy manufactured just to get your vote, and be damned the admirable sentiment “country first.”
To true patriots, that should strike you as sad and sickening, if not downright scary.
• Randy Yates is a business-to-government proposal specialist, securing federal grants and contracts for a wide range of industries. He has lived in Tracy for five years.
Even though that is a quote straight out of Obamas book, I'm sure the Dems and Obama will say it wasn't him, he didn't mean it...just like Obama said that he'd never met Rod Blagojevich, yet there were pictures of him shaking hands and talking with Blagojevich multiple times...
The Democrat's willingness to turn to personal attacks instead of solving their own problem is appaling.
As I grow older and hopefully wiser. I find it harder and harder to vote for a Democrat.
"On January 21, 1950, a New York jury convicted Alger Hiss of perjury for denying to a grand jury that he had been a spy."
NYT
By SAM ROBERTS
Published: September 11, 2008
In 1951, Morton Sobell was tried and convicted with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg on espionage charges... after his release in 1969... became an advocate for progressive causes.
Through it all, he maintained his innocence.
But on Thursday, Mr. Sobell, 91, dramatically reversed himself, shedding new light on a case that still fans smoldering political passions. In an interview, he admitted for the first time that he had been a Soviet spy..."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08259/912294-84.stm#ixzz0hJ8PIeYw
Significantly, he (Mr. Sobell) confirmed that Julius Rosenberg was a major player in a New York-based spy ring made up of members sympathetic to the communist cause. One of the members was David Greenglass, Ethel Rosenberg's brother, who worked at the Los Alamos laboratory building the A-bomb.
Might want to take time to read the history of Sen Joe McCarthy and his impact in light of U.S. Intelligence records declassified, closed door Congressional records now in the public domain, and Soviet period records examined before you denigrate Mr Aquilla.
Dreams from My Father" [pg. 100-101]:
"To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully, The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists."
Capitalist or Marxist? Based upon his actions he's not a capitalist so the choice would be between a communist or socialist.
All this time your cheering democrat policies not republican because by your reasoning you can not change stripes.
Why did Obama appoint Van Jones? Valerie Jarret is on tape saying and Van Jones confirmed this week, that he was vetted, they knew he was a self avowed marxist and is still a revolutionary.
Why did Obama appoint Ron Bloom to a manufacturing position, Bloom wrote in a DSA publication in 2006 "in today’s world the blather about free trade, free-markets and the joys of competition is nothing but pablum for the suckers."
Why did Obama appoint Carol M. Browner, high ranking person in Socialist International and Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for "global governance" and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change.
Why did Obama appoint Andy Stern, president of the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) to the federal panel on reducing the debt, especially when Stern just went before Congress and said "We are in the aftermath of a severe financial crisis which has led to mass job destruction. And right now we need more of that deficit spending". Stern talked at the podium of the DNC in 2008 about “rebalancing power between wealth and work” to “make sure everyone shares in the wealth of a growing economy.” Since Stern became head of SEIU, the level of funding of the labor unions pension obligations, cumulative of all the organizations that Stern oversees, fell from over 90% in the 90's to under 70% now.That means SEIU are doing a poor job taking care of the union members pension money.
Why does Obama's HCR reform compromise proposal this past week include a new proposal for federal price controls on health insurance? Add to this that the Obama administration has instituted salary and benefit controls in the auto and banking corporations they have taken control of.
You don't have in these instances vague comparisons to a published communist party agenda, I give you facts. Obama said to judge him by the people he surrounds himself with.
The argument is that we should not be having this absurd argument! I believe Randy supports his position with his reference of Joseph McCarthy. History does not paint a pretty picture of this man. He ruined many people with his accusations that were based on here say and Innuendo. Referring to our President as a communist is no different.
It would be nice to hear some Republicans speak out against Franks letter.
I would have to agree with you. This letter provides no counter argument to Frank's letter. All it does is belittle him. Where are Randy's facts? Since he knows so surely that Frank is wrong.
dcose:
Good point. Who sounds like they gain the most from liberals and stimulus'? Randy...
The knee jerk response is to call it all lies, stupid, paranoid, extreme, etc, etc.
Amazing thing to me is that the Tracy Press made an editorial decision to allow a response to Frank Aquila that provides no response, simply derides him on a personal basis and brings up multiple unrelated issues.
I expect this type of thing in anonyomus comments, but I am disappointed in the Tracy Press for feeling obligated to print a response to Frank, this pablum really lowers the level of discourse.
We can disagree on policy without demonizing each other. Some people it seems are only happy when they're miserable and can make others feel the same way. They can't bring themselves up, so it's easier to bring others down with them.
Both sides can present their ideas, and since no one ever gets what they want entirely, we sometimes have to work out a compromise. After all how many of you out there ever come to a agreement with your spouse without some form of compromise many times ?
"Abduction is a method of logical inference introduced by Charles Sanders Peirce which comes prior to induction and deduction for which the colloquial name is to have a "hunch". Abductive reasoning starts when an inquirer considers of a set of seemingly unrelated facts, armed with an intuition that they are somehow connected. The term abduction is commonly presumed to mean the same thing as hypothesis; however, an abduction is actually the process of inference that produces a hypothesis as its end result[1]. It is used in both philosophy and computing."
It applies to the above letter. Hyperbole.
It also applies to your comments.
It has nothing to do with bringing this country back together.
Be ready for the incoherent back lash!
That says it all.