Thursday, March 31, 2011

Quote of the Day

Right Wingnut says that I don't praise conservatives enough, so I decided to post an amazing freedom-loving and Constitution-inspired quote from one of my favorite conservatives. Take it away Chris Christie.
"If it is disqualifying for the bench to be an Arab-American in New Jersey who represents innocent people and gets them released, then this isn’t the state I believe it is," Christie said. "I’ve known this man for 10 years. He’s a good, decent American and New Jerseyan, he’s an outstanding lawyer, and he deserves the opportunity to be on the bench. I am proud to have nominated him."
That was after he received criticism for putting a Muslim on the New Jersey courts. Thanks, Governor, for defending the Constitution and for another example of leadership. 

12 comments:

Right Wingnut said...

Actually.....

What I said is that you don't criticize liberals, including the president. In fact, you defend them more often than not -usually attacking a conservative to make your point. That's exactly what David Frum does.

Ellie said...

Yea Pablo! We have become a party of 'white only'. I see it too, from my standpoint as a mother of black and Hispanic children, and the wife of a South American. We 'conservatives' need to start looking into the mirror a bit more often. Sometimes, the image is not all that purdy.

Revolution 2012 said...

Good for Christie!

Lets stop judging people by their ethnicity and/or religion. Lets judge folks on what WE WOULD want to be judged on. Such as, Character, convictions, and experience.

larry said...

I'm with the Rev.

Anonymous said...

Ellie, I usually don't respond to the sort of comment you just made, but I am going to now.

One of my brothers is adopted. He was abandoned as a toddler by his biological parents in a motel room in East L.A. That is all he really knows about his biological parents. He came to live with us when he was four. My parents ARE his parents. WE ARE HIS FAMILY. It's been hard for him over the years, and he has made many poor choices, some of which landed him in jail. We love him; he is our brother; we do what we can to help him, and celebrate with him when he has successes. In the past few years, he has decided to make some positive changes in his life. Almost three years ago, he went through the temple. All of his siblings--and our parents--were there with him, although we live all over the country.

We are a family of nine children. Everyone else in the family is white. I had some kids tease me in high school when I told them he was my brother. They had a hard time believing me until it occurred to me to tell them he was adopted. It never crossed my mind about his skin color. By the way, my brother says that they wouldn't believe me because he was cool, and I wasn't.:)

All of my family are conservative. Very, very conservative. The kind of people you consistently smear as being racist and not accepting of other cultures. Nothing could be further from the truth; we just believe in our country and upholding and protecting the rights of the citizens FIRST. Somehow, our Constitutional rights seem to apply to everyone except the American taxpayers. We have a problem with that.

These political convictions do not make us racist, sexist, or homophobic. I know many people who are just like us and share our same political convictions. They are wonderful people; not racist, sexist, or homophobic. You are consistently unfair to many conservatives, and I am tired of it.

AZ

Pablo said...

AZ,

I appreciate your story and background. However, I need to defend Ellie here. There is every reason to believe that there is an element of racism within the conservative movement. That is why the birther movement is so appealing. That is why people like Newt Gingrich talk about Obama's Kenyan roots. That is why Sarah Palin defends Dr. Laura's right to use the N-word 7 times in a row. That is why there is such misinformation and intensity against immigrants. That is why there was never a Tea Party movement during the Bush administration, but only during the Obama administration.

I am not at all saying that the entire movement is racist. In fact, I think that the racist is element is relatively small. But it is definitely. Rush Limbaugh quite often speaks in racial code --- not overtly, but just enough to make some of his racists viewers happy.

Chris Christie's decision to appoint a Muslim judge has garnered a great deal of cyncism from conservatives. The reason is their is widespread bigotry towards Muslims.

We have go to deal with this problem, not pretend that it doesn't exist. It is every bit possible to be a conservative and not engage in the cultural warfare that Newt and talk radio engage in. It is possible to be a tolerant conservative. But when Ellie (and me) point to the racial code expressed today we have plenty of examples to back up what we are saying.

Anonymous said...

Right on Christie. And I have an adopted brother who is descended from Native Americans, is extremely conservative, thinks of himself as white, and is quite bigoted towards hispanics.

BOSMAN said...

I agree with most comments here.

Your race,gender, are characteristics you're born with. NOT YOUR FAULT!

Religion is personal and NO ONES BUSINESS.

Most other characteristics in life are the result of CHOICE. those things can be questioned.

Like Mike Huckabee and deep fried oreos.

Anonymous said...

Pablo,

I have never had a comment from you but that you patronize me in some way!

Ellie makes comments like this all the time, all the while defending her own superiority of being above race because her children are mixed blood. I think it's a great thing she and her husband are doing, but it really doesn't give her the right to pass judgement on everyone else who disagrees with her. I have put up with her comments one time too many, so I thought I would respond.

Pablo, in spite of your professed open-mindedness, I think you do not fully understand many American's perspectives on immigration. Perhaps you should spend more time listening to the enemy, one of whom I perceive is Rush Limbaugh. Why don't you try to understand his heart and soul as passionately as you read the socialists you have read. Maybe you will learn something.

Note, I don't say that you will change your mind, but your approach to immigration always takes on the didactic, patronizing tone of someone who believes that he understands all about it, and anyone who disagrees with you must not be as informed as you are. Labelling people who disagree with you as "racist" or "borderline racist" allows you to get away with condemning others' ideas without actually having to understand them.

AZ

Right Wingnut said...

I'm not sure how anyone can claim that the GOP has become "the white party" after what happened last November.

Rubio, Martinez, West, Scott, Sandoval, Haley...

I might even be missing someone.

Pablo said...

AZ,

How on earth was what I said patronizing? Because I don't agree with you?

Your charge: I don't understand the way many Americans view immigration.

Reality: In 2006, I shook Tom Tancredo's hand after I heard him speak in Greenville, SC. At the time I thought about financially supporting the Minuteman Project. I have since gone to the other side of the issue. Why? First, I started doing my own research and I found that the anti-immigrant is very rarely correct in their analysis. I have been over this a million times. There is very little violence in Arizona. Immigrants do not tend to commit crime. The United States government has spent an arm and a leg trying to stop it and has failed. Etc. Etc.

Second, I began to talk to immigrants myself. Of course, I spent a year in Mexico as well. Immigrants are one the reasons why the United States has been so a great country. It is who we are.

Third, I began to read about the history of immigration policy in the United States. It really puts the current debate into perspective.

So you may think I am patronizing because I have an opinion that differs from you. So sorry. But don't tell me about not understanding the way that people think. I used to be one myself. I grew up in the south. My parents would agree with Tancredo. I am very familiar with the way people think.

Pablo said...

I have got to start editing my comments. Yikes!