Thursday, September 17, 2009
Live With It…
I have to say that I am surprised by the editorial written by the Chester News and Reporter which is forthcoming in Friday’s Lancaster News.
Although some of what the Chester News and Reporter states is on the mark, a lot of it is wide of the mark, and some of it is just plain wrong.
As the newspaper correctly reported, calling John Spratt a coward for initially saying that he would not hold town halls was distasteful, and was not the kind of response we should expect from our fellow southerners. After all, we proudly assert that we are gentlemen and ladies. We should take the time to live up to that assertion.
At the same time, a local resident of Lancaster called John Spratt's office in Rock Hill and was told that he would not be holding any town halls because the Democratic leadership in Washington had advised him against it. This did nothing to improve the congressman's image, and the justifiably angry response likely led to his reversal of course.
I will admit that I felt sorry for the congressman at the town hall. It was obvious to me that he was in pain and on pain medication. Clearly, he was not at his best. A couple of misinformed individuals even suggested that he looked drunk.
The Chester News and Reporter suggests that those of us who oppose H.R. 3200 and its various cousins organized our dissent in some great conspiracy. Please! I attended the town hall in Rock Hill, and the planning involved three individuals. Me, myself, and I. Truly, a grand conspiracy! I talked to dozens of attendees, and all came individually to listen and to voice their views. They were not there to voice someone else's preprogrammed commentary.
The Chester News and Reporter seems to be lock step with the Rock Hill Herald, who alleged that the attendees were "hostile" (i.e., dangerous, threatening). Nothing could be further from the truth. The crowd was loud and boisterous, yes, but the most rudimentary examination of American political history will tell you that that is what American politics is all about.
Finally, the Chester News and Reporter apparently has a very strange idea of what the 1st Amendment is all about. They assert that you are not permitted to be rude and obnoxious. Well I hate to break it to them, but that is exactly what the 1st Amendment does permit. It is certainly not the kind of conduct that we should expect from gentlemen and ladies, but they should be glad of that, since in my personal experience, the news media is profoundly adept at being rude and obnoxious.
What we saw at the town hall meeting in Rock Hill was nothing more than American politics at its best.
To the Chester News and Reporter I have but three remaining words, "Live With It".
