QOTD: The Protectors

 

Washington Post op-ed columnist Colbert I. King (and former security officer at the State Department), on the bravery of the Secret Service team protecting Trump yesterday in Pennsylvania:

"What stays with me — and will never leave for the rest of my life — is what immediately unfolded on the stage when shots were heard, when Trump’s hand went to his right ear.

I wasn’t on that stage, but I could have been in that situation.

Think of the anonymous men and women you saw come rushing to help Trump. [snip]

This I know: The armed, dark-suited men and women who rushed to the stage when Trump went down just experienced one of the worst moments of their lives. They failed, perhaps through no fault of their own, to protect the person they had taken an oath to defend from all harm or danger.

Oh, we sing the praises to 'first responders' — those women and men who sprint to the scenes of shootings, who climb ladders, staunch bleeding, bring frightened children and treed cats to safety.

That’s not what I was trained to do. Neither were those agents who rushed to a fallen Trump today.

Their job was not to defeat danger but to put themselves between the source of the danger and Donald Trump."  (our emphasis)

They're not members of the "deep state," they're not members of a conspiracy, they're dedicated public servants who have chosen a dangerous profession to protect political figures and their families. Remember that. 

 

QOTD -- An Existential Crisis Ignored By Horserace Journalists

Colbert I. King on the fundamental issue not getting the serious attention by the media it deserves:

White nationalism is on the rise and worming itself into the Republican mainstream. The country is experiencing a “racial justice crisis,” as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told a virtual Howard University audience this week.

Yet, that’s not what’s dominating the front pages or cable news shows. Instead, the Biden administration is being subjected to “horse race” reporting that pays more attention to whether the president is winning or losing against Republican rivals on a range of issues — infrastructure, gun control, climate change, withdrawal from Afghanistan, you name it — than to the substance and merit of the issues themselves. Public life in Washington is once again being reduced to a competitive game between Democrats and Republicans — who’s ahead, who’s behind in the battle over who knows what.

However, some of today’s issues are more than passing fancies that grab public attention until the next big thing comes along. One that looms large with those of us deeply concerned about the health of our democracy: the Republican voter suppression crusade that will diminish access to the ballot for people of color.

The worst offenders are the "savvy DC insider" types (Politico, Punchbowl, Axios, etc.) and some cable pundits like CNN's bottom- dwelling Chris "But Her Emails!" Cillizza.  But there's plenty of blame to go around, and consumers need to be alert to what's being reported and, most importantly in the context of King's op/ ed, what's not.  And let the offenders know you know the difference and the significance.

Today's Cartoon And Read - "Who We Are"

(click on image to enlarge)


(Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle)

Colbert I. King writes today about how the hopeful phrase "that's not who we are" that President Obama (most recently at the memorial for the victims of the Dallas shooting) and others have used to soothe Americans in moments of mayhem stands in sharp contrast to the "national disorder" that truly reflects "who we are" as a nation:

He [Obama] proclaimed us to be a people who won’t be driven apart, who believe in coming together and making our country reflect the good inside us. 

No, Mr. President, we are not. 

Air Force One had hardly cleared Dallas airspace before the attacks began. “7 Disgusting Things Obama Said While Hijacking Memorial for Slain Dallas Police” read a headline for a piece by the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro. “Opportunistic,” “despicable,” “a moral turd sandwich,” slimed Shapiro.

King then shares some disturbing e-mails he's received recently from some =cough= white =cough= people who are far from "coming together and making our country reflect the good inside us," concluding:

They represent an uncomfortable truth: There are hordes of Americans who aren’t about to guard against the prejudice in their heads and hearts or teach their children better. They don’t much care what people who don’t look, speak or pray like them think.

And in a matter of days, a dangerous demagogue who preys on ignorance and racial fears will probably become the Republican nominee for president. Exploiting resentments and stirring up hate, he won more votes in a GOP nominating contest than were won by anyone before. More voters, those who make up who we are, will join his side in November.

"Who we are" as a nation must allow for the uncomfortable truth that King lays out:  we have a lot of people in this country whose dark hearts and simple minds will never be changed, and who at times may have the power to enforce their prejudices upon some or all of us.  That's why we have to be watchful and can't be sanguine about the "goodness of the American people" carrying the day.  If you were so inclined, you'd have a hard time explaining to us how a neo- fascist ignoramus like Donald "Rump" Trump could be polling at 40 percent or more.

Suffice it to say, at the very least, this presidential election will provide, as John Fugelsang put it, an accurate head count of Americans who are "selfish xenophobic morons."  (And lest you think we're succumbing to the same emotions driving others to distraction, we refer you to this oldie but goodie.)