The political tsunami that swept our country yesterday, paving the road for the socialization of health care and the end of the private health insurance industry, is one for the history books. It’s an issue that has been brewing for the last 60 or 70 years that seemed to be coming to a head last week. And so it was that I set out to see what the Left had to say about it.
I thought I would find something on the Ring of Fire. But I was wrong.
So I asked a couple questions to a post entitled ‘This Week on Ring of Fire’ . . .
All that, and no mention about ‘deeming’ major legislation to be passed without a vote? No whisper about the constitutional issues with it all?
Don’t have 60 votes? Eh, no big deal. Well, don’t have 51 votes? No problem. Let’s just skip the voting part, let the RINO’s (Representatives In Name Only) take care of substituting that process with another one.
No mention about the process at all? Like President Obama as much as said to Bret Baier when he dodged his question about the ‘process.’ The end justifies the means.
Is the ROF ducking the most important issue facing America today?
Background Note: For those not familiar with the Ring of Fire, it was an Air America Radio program, hosted by a local (Pensacola, FL) attorney named Mike Papantonio. It still is, only Air America went bankrupt for the last time a few months ago. And at its outset, Papantonio boldly claimed (paraphrasing here) that his show and network was going to be the answer to Rush Limbaugh. He mentioned Rush by name, and then some. And being a fan of Rush, my interest in this show was piqued.
What followed that was a real gem. Follow the comment thread, if you can stand it, to see what the ‘process’ was to getting an answer from the show’s producer, Farron Cousins.
“You claim to come on here to engage Mike to support his views, yet you know for a fact that he isn’t a commenter on this blog,”
Re-read what I wrote here. Maybe slower this time. The operative word here is ‘trying.’ As in “Who knew that trying to engage a flaming liberal on his own turf, and on his own topics, would cause that kind of response.”
I believe my participation here is challenging your boss’s opinions. He is much more than ‘anyone on anything.’ And I do it not because of who he is but because of what he says. It’s about ideas and issues, not personalities. That’s called free speech, open debate. I’ll admit, when he doesn’t participate in kind, it looks like a monologue. But that’s not my problem.
“yet you know for a fact that he isn’t a commenter on this blog”
Right again. And again, that’s not my problem. But for a guy who pretends to be ‘the answer’ to Rush Limbaugh, he is anything but. And his unwillingness to take on an opposing view, like Rush does on a daily basis, makes him a pretender. Additionally, Rush talks about and takes calls about the issues of the day. The ROF does not. So again, claiming to be on par with Rush Limbaugh and his show makes him a pretender.
My original post here was due primarily to what happened in Washington last week, and because this topic is “This Week On Ring Of Fire.” Naturally, since the ROF is the answer to Rush Limbaugh, a name that slips out in nearly every article or monologue he has ever done, I fully expected to see a mention of the takeover of 1/6th of the private sector and paving of the road to socialized medicine to be part of the show.
What more facts, which you claim I don’t provide, do you need Farron?
“You come here uninvited to berate Mike Papantonio.”
Farron, I realize that invitations are not sent out on political websites. But if they were, would they be sent only to people who are on the same page as its host? I don’t know if you were around when the ROF first started, but the forum sections have always been populated by what I call lemmings. And that’s fine. It’s nice to have supporters. What is amusing to me is how thin-skinned the ROF is when it comes to a challenge on the issues. Ask Scotty how Mike, rather than participate in a forum discussion, had me banned from it. I call that thin-skinned, and then some. Now that he is also a FOX News contributor, whether he has the same reaction this time remains to be seen. By all.
I’ve made clear why I come to this site. Albeit uninvited. If you think it is to berate Mike Papantonio, that’s your problem. I hate to repeat myself, especially to someone who understands perfectly what I said, but I will.
“Since meaningful dialog seems impossible, not only with me but for anyone in this or all previous ‘forums’ they have ever had online, I just keep informed here on what the rabid Left is up to. There’s no better place to find out than right here.”
“You aren’t attacking Bobby, David, me, or the other bloggers – It is always Pap. My friend, that’s obsession”
Well excuse me, my friend. It is HIS show. Mike is clearly the driving force. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. The others serve as yes-men for the show and add some perspective to issues that hardly anybody cares about. Like wind power in Massachusetts waters. As for ‘other bloggers?’ You may find this hard to understand, given what happens on most Lefty websites, but attacking participants is not productive.
As far as David Bender goes, unlike ROF, he does take calls on the fly. And I called him on his XM radio show to challenge him on his and his callers’ theme, regarding health care, that the GOP was the party of no AND that they don’t have any alternative. I gave him the bill number, H.R.3400. He asked me who sponsored it, and I didn’t remember. He then told me who sponsored the bill. It was an amazing, if not revealing exchange. Where in one minute, there is no plan. Then in the next minute, yes there is. That was the end of the call, and the rest of his show was not about ‘gee, the GOP does have a plan after all.’ He commented that it wasn’t a single payer plan so it wasn’t really a plan to reform health care. Blinders on, head in the sand. Preserve the cocoon.
“I read conservative blogs daily, but usually just end up laughing, not commenting. They are so insignificant that commenting on their blog is a waste of time.”
No invitation needed of course. But you do raise a question Farron. If, as you say, “They are so insignificant that commenting on their blog is a waste of time.” Is a lurker merely a stalker-in-waiting?
